The Albany Mayor’s Great Escape

Loyalist Mayor Abraham C. Cuyler: Background and Arrest

Abraham Cornelius Cuyler was a prominent Albany native born in 1742, from a Dutch family long influential in the region[1]. Rising in local government, he became Albany’s mayor in 1770 (the third in his family to hold that office) and also served as a militia officer and city magistrate[2][3]. As tensions with Britain escalated, Cuyler’s loyalties remained with the Crown. Unlike many Albany leaders, he refused to endorse the American revolutionary cause. In 1775, as royal government collapsed in New York, Cuyler pointedly did not join the extra-legal Albany Committee of Safety, signaling his Loyalist stance[4]. He even declined to sign the Association (a pledge to support the Patriot rebellion), which led Patriot authorities to view him as hostile to American liberty. The Albany Committee soon deemed Mayor Cuyler “notoriously disaffected” to the Patriot cause, essentially branding him a Loyalist enemy[5].

In the spring of 1776, evidence of Cuyler’s treasonous sympathies became undeniable. On June 4, 1776 (King George III’s birthday), Cuyler and a circle of fellow Loyalists gathered at Cartwright’s Tavern in Albany to celebrate. They reportedly offered loyal toasts to the King’s health and “damnation to the [King’s] enemies,” a public affront to the Revolution[6]. Acting on this provocation, Colonel Goose Van Schaick (under Committee orders) raided the tavern that evening and arrested Cuyler, his brother Henry Cuyler, and about a dozen others in attendance[6]. The Albany Committee gave the detainees a chance to swear allegiance to the Patriot cause by signing the Association; when Cuyler and his comrades refused, the Committee formally jailed them as dangerous Tories[7]. The Committee even seized Albany’s municipal records and took over city governance, effectively ousting Mayor Cuyler from power[8]. Within days, the Provincial Congress of New York approved a harsh remedy: Cuyler and six other “notoriously disaffected” Albany loyalists were to be removed under guard from New York and exiled to Connecticut[5][9]. In mid-June 1776, under this resolution, Abraham C. Cuyler (along with Henry Cuyler, Stephen DeLancey, John Monier, Lt. John McDonald, John Duncan, and Benjamin Hilton) was sent as a prisoner to Hartford, Connecticut, to be kept there at his own expense[9]. This extrajudicial banishment was intended to neutralize the Loyalists’ influence in Albany.

Evidence of Treason and Imprisonment

The commission of inquiry (New York’s Commission for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies) closely tracked Cuyler’s case as an example of Loyalist conspiracy. The evidence against Cuyler was primarily his overt behavior and affiliations: he had openly resisted colonial authority by refusing the oath to the rebel cause and by publicly celebrating the British monarch, conduct deemed inimical to American liberty. The Albany Committee’s records show that the community viewed him and his associates as dangerous Tory plotters. In their June 1776 resolution, the Albany Committee explicitly noted that Cuyler and the others had been “imprisoned…[for] being notoriously disaffected to the measures pursued by the friends to American liberty”[5]. No further need for subtle evidence was required—Cuyler’s own words and defiance were proof enough of treason in the Patriots’ eyes.

While confined in Hartford through the summer and fall of 1776, Cuyler remained technically a paroled prisoner rather than in chains. Connecticut authorities allowed such Loyalist internees limited freedom of movement (often a radius of a few miles) on their parole of honor not to escape. Cuyler’s wife, Jane “Jannetje” Glen Cuyler, stayed behind in Albany and even petitioned the local committee for protection in her husband’s absence[10][11]. By November 1776, however, alarming news reached New York: Abraham C. Cuyler had broken his parole and disappeared from Hartford. A letter from Hartford’s Committee of Prisoners (Chairman Jesse Root) informed the Albany Committee on November 4, 1776 that “Abraham C. Cuyler, Esq. … had broke [his] parole and run away”, along with fellow Loyalist Benjamin Hilton[12]. The Hartford committee enclosed copies of the signed parole agreements that Cuyler and Hilton violated[12]. This was compelling evidence of Cuyler’s continued treachery: despite being treated leniently as an honor-bound prisoner, he had secretly fled custody to rejoin the British cause.

The Commission for Detecting Conspiracies, which convened in late 1776 under the chairmanship of John Jay and others, took a keen interest in Cuyler’s escape. On December 11, 1776, Commissioner William Duer reported to the Commission that Albany’s former mayor had indeed absconded from confinement[13]. Duer himself had been involved in Cuyler’s case: after learning of the parole-breaking, Duer apparently intercepted Cuyler in New York’s Hudson Valley. It seems Cuyler had attempted to sneak back into New York (possibly to reach British-held New York City or to visit his family in Albany) when Patriot officials caught up with him. Rather than imprison him in a common jail, the Commission decided to hold Cuyler under a military guard in the Hudson River highlands while deliberating his fate[14]. Notably, one of Cuyler’s own relatives – Henry Glen, a Patriot officer and assistant quartermaster general – personally vouched for Cuyler’s good behavior. Glen assured the Commission of “the honor of the said Abm. C. Cuyler” and promised to keep a watchful eye on him if given some liberty[14]. On the strength of these assurances, the Commissioners granted Cuyler unwarranted indulgences. Instead of strict lockdown, Cuyler was treated more like a gentleman on parole: he was allowed freedom of movement under light supervision in Kingston, New York (where the state’s provisional government was meeting)[14]. This misplaced trust in Cuyler’s parole set the stage for his dramatic escape.

Escape from Kingston and Schoonmaker’s Leniency

In late November 1776, Abraham Cuyler was being held in Kingston (Ulster County), effectively under house arrest with a militia guard. Lieutenant Tjerck (Richard) Schoonmaker, a young Continental officer of Captain Bellknap’s company, was assigned as Cuyler’s custodian[15]. However, Schoonmaker—perhaps influenced by Henry Glen’s confidence in Cuyler—treated the prisoner with surprising laxity. The Commission later concluded that Lt. Schoonmaker had been “induced to be less careful” of Cuyler than he should have been, due to “the indulgences heretofore given [to Cuyler] by this Committee and the assurances given by Mr. Henry Glen” of Cuyler’s reliability[14]. In short, Schoonmaker trusted Cuyler’s word and allowed him unusual freedom of movement, instead of keeping him under close guard.

Cuyler took full advantage of this leniency. At the first opportunity, likely in early December 1776, he slipped away from Kingston and vanished. By the time a formal Continental Army escort arrived to collect Cuyler, he was long gone. On January 4, 1777, Captain Joshua Carman Jr. and a detail of five soldiers traveled down from Albany to Kingston to escort the mayor north for further disposition[16]. They discovered, to their chagrin, that “Mr. Cuyler [had] made his escape before they had an opportunity to take charge of him.”[17] The guard detail had spent an entire day outfitting themselves and traveling, only to find an empty room where the prisoner should have been[16]. (The Commission later reimbursed Captain Carman’s men £2.17s.8d for their futile mission[18].)

In the immediate aftermath of Cuyler’s escape, Lt. Schoonmaker was placed under arrest for negligence[15]. Commissioner Duer, upon discovering the jailbreak, had promptly put the lieutenant in custody pending an inquiry[15]. The incident was embarrassing for the Patriot authorities, who realized their error in giving Cuyler “undue freedom.” On December 17, 1776, the Commission for Conspiracies formally reviewed Schoonmaker’s conduct. The board took into account several mitigating factors: Schoonmaker was a very young officer, inexperienced in handling prisoners, and he was “well affected to the American cause” (i.e. loyal to the Patriot side)[19]. Moreover, he had been misled by the Committee’s own indulgent policy toward Cuyler and by Henry Glen’s false assurances. The Commission ultimately showed mercy to the hapless jailer. It ordered that Lieutenant Schoonmaker receive a stern reprimand from the chairman but then be discharged and returned to duty without further penalty[19]. This mild discipline underscored the Patriots’ acknowledgment that the real blame lay with Cuyler’s deceit and the over-generous parole system, rather than with malice or disloyalty on Schoonmaker’s part. After his reprimand, Lt. Schoonmaker rejoined the American ranks, presumably wiser and more vigilant thereafter. (Indeed, Kingston’s historian later noted that many local militia officers learned hard lessons from this episode.)

Flight to British Lines and Later Life of Cuyler

Abraham C. Cuyler’s “great escape” was a stunning coup for the Loyalists. Eluding Patriot custody in December 1776, he succeeded in reaching British-held New York City shortly thereafter[20]. By early 1777 he was reunited with his wife and children, who eventually managed to join him behind British lines[21]. Cuyler immediately offered his services to the Crown. In the summer of 1777, he accompanied General Sir Henry Clinton’s forces up the Hudson River during Clinton’s attempt to relieve Burgoyne at Saratoga[22]. Although that expedition failed to turn the tide, Cuyler remained a committed Loyalist. The British authorities later proposed raising a Loyalist regiment under Cuyler’s command – he was commissioned a lieutenant colonel in 1779 – but the unit never fully materialized[23].

The rebel New York State government, for its part, dealt harshly with Cuyler in absentia. In October 1779, New York passed an Act of Attainder against prominent Loyalists; Abraham C. Cuyler was among those condemned to death as traitors if ever caught, and all his property was confiscated[21]. Cuyler’s once substantial estate (estimated at £6,000 value) was seized, leaving him effectively ruined in the eyes of the law[24]. Exile became his only option. When the war ended in 1783 with an American victory, Cuyler realized he could not return home. He traveled to England to seek compensation for his losses as a Loyalist refugee[25]. The Crown granted him a modest pension (annuity) for his service and sacrifices[25].

Finding no welcome in his native Albany after the war – he was shunned by former friends and even by some of his Patriot relatives – Cuyler resettled in Canada[25]. In 1784 he helped establish a Loyalist settlement on Cape Breton Island (at Sydney), hoping to rebuild his fortunes there[26][27]. By the late 1780s, Cuyler moved to Montreal, where he spent his final years as a respected member of the expatriate Loyalist community[24][28]. He died in Montreal on February 5, 1810, at the age of 67[1].

Abraham C. Cuyler’s dramatic tale – from being Albany’s royal mayor, to prisoner of the Revolution, to daring escapee and staunch Loyalist exile – illustrates the divided loyalties and high stakes of the American Revolution. His escape from Kingston in late 1776 was a black eye for New York’s Patriot authorities, but a celebrated exploit among Tories. For the remainder of the conflict, Cuyler remained a symbol of Loyalist defiance. And although the Patriots ultimately prevailed – banishing Cuyler forever from his Albany home – the story of “the Albany Mayor’s great escape” lived on in local lore as a remarkable episode of cunning and misplaced trust in a time of civil war.

Bibliography (Chicago Style)

• Minutes of the Albany Committee of Correspondence, 1775–1778. Vol. 1. Edited by James Sullivan. Albany: University of the State of New York, 1923. (Primary source material documenting Albany’s Revolutionary War committee, including Cuyler’s arrest and exile)[29][9][12].
• Minutes of the Committee and of the First Commission for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies in the State of New York (December 11, 1776 – September 23, 1778). Edited by Victor H. Paltsits. Albany: J. B. Lyon Co. (State Printers), 1909. (Official minutes of New York’s Conspiracy Commission, detailing Cuyler’s escape and Lt. Schoonmaker’s reprimand)[14][19][16].
• Cuyler, Abraham Cornelius. Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 5 (Toronto: University of Toronto/Université Laval, 1983). (Scholarly biographical entry on Cuyler, detailing his Loyalist activities and later life in Canada)[30][31].
• Hess, Peter. “Revolutionary Albany: Setbacks As The War Presses Toward Albany.” New York Almanack. March 7, 2022. (Article providing narrative of Albany in 1776, including Cuyler’s refusal to sign the Association and June 1776 arrest)[6][8].
• Early American History Auctions. “Abraham Cuyler, Document Signed, 1774 – Last Loyalist Mayor of Albany.” Auction Lot Description, June 26, 2010. (Provides a historical summary of Cuyler’s career and fate, based on Albany records and family history)[32][33].
• Founders Online (National Archives). Footnote in William Heath to George Washington, January 9, 1777. (Cites evidence of Cuyler’s broken parole and wife’s situation, referencing New York committee minutes and loyalist claims)[34][11].

[1] [20] [22] [23] [24] [26] [27] [28] [30] [31] CUYLER, ABRAHAM CORNELIUS – Dictionary of Canadian Biography

https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/cuyler_abraham_cornelius_5E.html

[2] [3] [21] [25] [32] [33] Sold at Auction: ABRAHAM CUYLER, Document Signed, 1774

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/abraham-cuyler-document-signed-1774-14-c-9b430a6502?srsltid=AfmBOopQ2drYc2-ieli7zwzg4mJ-OhkDi0FhPr7sWfNe4-uFY2gKjdC5

[4] [6] [7] [8] Revolutionary Albany: Setbacks As The War Presses Toward Albany - New York Almanack

https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2022/03/revolutionary-albany-setbacks-as-the-war-presses-toward-albany/

[5] [9] [12] [29] Full text of "Minutes of the Albany Committee of Correspondence 1775-1778 Vol 1"

https://archive.org/stream/MinutesOfTheAlbanyCommitteeOfCorrespondence1775-1778Vol1/MinutesOfTheAlbanyCommitteeOfCorrespondence1775-1778Vol1_djvu.txt

[10] [11] [34] Major General William Heath to George Washington, 9 January 1777

https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-08-02-0028

[13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] Full text of "Minutes of the Committee and of the first Commission for detecting and defeating conspiracies in the state of New York, December 11, 1776-September 23, 1778, with collateral documents : to which is added Minutes of the Council of appointment, state of New York, April 2, 1778-May 3, 1779 .."

https://archive.org/stream/minutesofcommitt571newy/minutesofcommitt571newy_djvu.txt