James McLaughlin – A Notorious Tory in Revolutionary New York

Background: A Loyalist “Disaffected to the American Cause”

James McLaughlin was a colonial New Yorker who remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolution – in the parlance of the time, a “Tory.” In the tumult of 1776–1777, New York was sharply divided between Patriots and Loyalists. Many Loyalists were “notoriously disaffected to the American cause,” meaning they openly opposed or undermined the fight for independence[1][2]. The New York Provincial Congress grew alarmed by treasonous conspiracies instigated by the British governor (William Tryon) and local Loyalists, especially in the Hudson Valley. One contemporary report noted “divers treasonable conspiracies…in several parts of Dutchess County” led by “notoriously disaffected persons of influence…at the instigation of William Tryon”, aiming to seduce inhabitants from their allegiance[3]. In this charged atmosphere, McLaughlin’s outspoken loyalty marked him as a dangerous traitor in Patriot eyes.

Little is known of McLaughlin’s personal life before 1777; he may have been a farmer or laborer in the Kingston area or the Mid-Hudson region, and possibly of Irish descent (the surname appears with various spellings like McLaughlin/McLoughlin in local records). What is clear is that by late 1776, local Patriot committees had identified him as an incorrigible Loyalist. Unlike some neighbors who hedged their loyalties, McLaughlin evidently refused to take the Patriot oath or cease his Tory sympathies. This led the revolutionary authorities to single him out as someone who “ought not to be permitted to go at large.”

The Committee/Commission for Conspiracies and McLaughlin’s Case

To combat internal threats, New York’s revolutionary government formed a special body known as the Committee for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies (often called the Commission for Conspiracies) in late 1776[4][5]. Esteemed patriots – including John Jay – served on this committee, which had sweeping powers to investigate, detain, or otherwise neutralize Loyalist plotters. By early 1777, this Committee was effectively the counterintelligence and security arm of New York’s rebel government, headquartered in Fishkill and Kingston (since British forces occupied New York City).

James McLaughlin’s case came before the Committee in January 1777. He had likely been arrested by Patriot militia in the Hudson Valley during a roundup of suspected Loyalists. (The committee’s records show Captain Silas Purdy was paid for “apprehending Tories,” including McLaughlin and others[6][7].) Unlike some Loyalists caught actively recruiting for the British – such as Malcolm Morrison and James Robinson, who were charged with enlisting men for the enemy and were ordered chained in the Kingston jail[8][9] – McLaughlin’s offense was more one of ideology and intent. The Committee noted “Whereas James McLaughlin is notoriously disaffected to the American Cause” – essentially declaring that his well-known Loyalist attitude made him a threat by itself[10].

Patriot leaders believed that simply keeping McLaughlin imprisoned on land might not be secure enough, or perhaps that he could not be legally tried for a specific treasonous act yet was too dangerous to release. The Committee for Conspiracies did not operate like a normal court; it was a quasi-military panel that could take extraordinary measures in the name of security. On January 4, 1777, with John Jay presiding as chairman, the Committee made a dramatic decision in McLaughlin’s case.

“A Traitor Sent to the Shipyards” – Punishment at Hard Labor

Instead of ordinary jail, the Committee ordered James McLaughlin to be effectively exiled to a Patriot warship. The official resolution read: “Resolved that the said James McLaughlin be sent to Captain Hodge of the Montgomery ship of war at Kingston. And that Capt. Hodge be requested to keep him on board the said ship, put him to such labour as he may be fit for, & pay him as much as he may earn.”[10][11]. In essence, McLaughlin was condemned to hard labor aboard an American armed vessel for an indefinite period (implicitly, for the remainder of the war). Captain John Hodge was at that time commanding the Montgomery, a Continental Navy frigate anchored at Kingston, New York. The Committee’s order directed Captain Hodge to hold McLaughlin as a prisoner-worker on the ship.

This unusual punishment fit the improvised nature of revolutionary justice. McLaughlin was not executed or tried for treason in a civil court, but he was also not simply left in a jail where he might influence others or escape. Instead, the Patriots conscripted the “notorious Tory” into a form of confinement that also served the Patriot cause. On the ship, McLaughlin would be forced to do menial work (“such labour as he may be fit for”) – likely scrubbing decks, hefting supplies, or assisting ship carpenters – under guard of naval officers. The Committee even specified that he could receive wages for his work, a token gesture perhaps meant to legitimize the arrangement[11].

Captain Hodge’s frigate Montgomery was one of several warships being built or fitted on the Hudson River to defend against British advances. Placing McLaughlin there achieved two aims: it removed him from the general population (reducing the risk of him stirring up Loyalist sentiment or spying), and it exploited his labor for the American war effort. The choice of a ship as a floating prison may also have been due to the lack of secure prisons and the fear of rescue; a guarded ship in Kingston’s harbor was hard for Loyalists to reach.

Contemporaries might well have seen this as a lenient fate for a traitor by 18th-century standards – he was not hanged or put in a dungeon – but it was certainly a severe, open-ended exile. A local description aptly labeled it “A Traitor Sent to the Shipyards.” McLaughlin’s ailing wife (if he had family) and friends would have had to carry on without him, as he effectively disappeared into custody. One account even relates that he was “too dangerous to go free” so he was “hunted by dogs” and driven into hiding before capture (though details of his arrest are scarce)[12]. What is well documented is the Committee’s blunt assessment that McLaughlin’s continued freedom was intolerable in a time of crisis.

The War Years: Life Aboard the Montgomery and Aftermath

For the duration of McLaughlin’s captivity, the frigate Montgomery served as his prison. Life for him would have been harsh. As a forced laborer on a military vessel, he likely endured cramped quarters, strict discipline, and the enmity of Patriot sailors. However, being “put to labor” also suggests he was not kept in irons 24/7 but made to work on maintenance — effectively a penal servitude. The Committee’s records indicate Captain Hodge was cooperative in taking custody of McLaughlin. Silas Purdy, the militia captain, was ordered to deliver McLaughlin to Hodge’s officers to ensure the transfer was carried out securely[13].

McLaughlin’s plight exemplified the Patriots’ resolve to deal firmly with Loyalists. It sent a message that open disaffection could result in loss of liberty and forced labor. In fact, New York’s legislature later passed laws formally banishing or disenfranchising known Loyalists and confiscating their property. McLaughlin likely avoided a worse fate (such as execution) because he may not have been caught in a capital crime, but his internment was meant to last until American independence was secured. One can imagine the frustration for McLaughlin: while he considered himself a loyal British subject, he was treated as a rebel by the British (since he lived in Patriot territory) and as a traitor by the Americans – truly a man without a country during those years.

Fate of the Montgomery: In October 1777, the war came dangerously close to Kingston. British forces moving up the Hudson captured Forts Clinton and Montgomery and even burned the town of Kingston. To prevent the Royal Navy from seizing American warships, the Continental forces scuttled and burned several of their own frigates, including the Montgomery, in the fall of 1777[14]. The Montgomery was set ablaze and sunk to its waterline to deny its use to the enemy[14]. This raises the question: what happened to James McLaughlin? It is not recorded in the Committee’s minutes in detail, but presumably McLaughlin was removed from the ship before it was destroyed (the Patriots would not have wanted to give him the opportunity to be liberated by the advancing British). He may have been transferred to another secure facility or to the custody of the new State authorities. By 1778, New York had a permanent Board of Commissioners for Conspiracies, who continued to hold and examine Loyalist prisoners[15]. McLaughlin likely remained a prisoner in some form until the end of the war.

When the Revolution ended in 1783 with an American victory, Loyalists like McLaughlin were generally released but found themselves unwelcome in the new United States. Many chose to evacuate with the British. Indeed, records of United Empire Loyalists in Canada show a “James McLaughlin” who settled in Ontario around 1784[16], which suggests that after being freed, he fled to British Canada. It’s likely the once-“notorious” Tory lived out his postwar life in exile, one of tens of thousands of Loyalist refugees who rebuilt their lives under the Union Jack.

Impact on the Revolutionary Cause

James McLaughlin’s story may seem like a small footnote in the vast history of the Revolution, but it illustrates a larger point: the American rebels’ success depended not only on battles against British armies but also on controlling the “enemy within.” The actions taken against McLaughlin and other Loyalists in New York had several important impacts:

• Neutralizing Internal Threats: By removing active or influential Loyalists from their communities, the Patriots prevented the British from gaining local intelligence, recruits, or sabotage. McLaughlin, described as “too dangerous to go free,” undoubtedly would have aided the Crown’s cause if at liberty. His confinement ensured one less conduit of information to the British and likely deterred other would-be collaborators. In fact, the Committee for Conspiracies lauded patriots who captured eleven Tories en route to join the enemy, rewarding those citizens for their “spirit and bravery”[17]. Every Loyalist plot foiled (however roughly) helped secure the home front at a time when Patriot fortunes were at their nadir.
• Maintaining Morale and Allegiance: The decisive handling of men like McLaughlin sent a clear signal to the populace about who was in charge in rebel-controlled areas. It reassured wavering Patriots that traitors would be dealt with, and conversely warned fence-sitters of the consequences of treachery. In Kingston and the Hudson Valley in early 1777, this was critical. Washington’s army had just achieved the Trenton-Princeton victories, but New York’s own military situation was fragile. The harsh winter and the proximity of British forces in New York City meant Loyalist uprisings or spying could be devastating. By firmly rooting out conspirators, the revolutionary committees bolstered the rule of law (as defined by the new state) and kept communities from falling into chaos or Tory control.
• Leadership in Action: The McLaughlin episode also highlights the role of key Patriot leaders in winning the internal war. John Jay, who later became Chief Justice of the U.S., was at this time a young statesman entrusted with chairing the Conspiracies Committee. His direct involvement in ordering McLaughlin’s confinement[18][19] shows that men of the highest caliber were dedicating energy to counter-espionage and internal security. Jay and his colleagues’ effectiveness in this arena contributed to the overall success of the Revolution in New York – a state that saw some of the fiercest political and military struggles of the era. Jay himself wrote later of the “vigilance and severity” required to keep the Loyalists in check[20][21]. The relatively smooth functioning of the new State of New York (adopting its constitution in April 1777 and seating a legislature) owed much to the Committee’s work in preventing sabotage during those critical months.

In summary, James McLaughlin’s fate was a microcosm of the American Revolution’s internal conflict. While armies clashed on the battlefield, communities like Kingston fought a shadow war against neighbors deemed traitors. McLaughlin’s biography – from a “notorious Tory” in Kingston, to prisoner-laborer on a rebel warship, to likely exile in Canada – reflects the human cost of choosing the losing side. For the Revolutionaries, the handling of his case was a success in terms of security: he never did rejoin the British cause during the war. The shipboard hard-labor sentence stands out as a creative solution by the Patriots, one that removed a threat and even contributed to the Patriot war effort (however modestly) by aiding the construction and operation of their navy.

Finally, McLaughlin’s story impacted the Revolution by contributing to the mythos of loyalty and treason that would linger in American memory. It underscored that the Revolution was not only a war against red-coated regiments but also a civil war that split communities and families. The example made of James McLaughlin likely dissuaded some from open Loyalism. Those who did remain “disaffected” mostly learned to keep their heads down or flee to British lines. The Revolution in New York was won not just at Saratoga, but in countless committee meetings and arrests of men like McLaughlin. In that sense, his life – though largely forgotten today – had a meaningful impact on the outcome of American independence. The Patriots’ uncompromising stance with traitors helped ensure there would be an independent America in which, ironically, freedom of opinion would later be cherished.

Bibliography of Sources

• Minutes of the Committee for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies, 1776–1778 (New York) – in Collections of the New-York Historical Society, vol. 57. (Published 1924). These minutes record the Committee’s proceedings, including the January 4, 1777 resolution on James McLaughlin[10][11].
• New York Provincial Congress, Journal and Papers (1776) – containing resolutions establishing the Committee on Conspiracies and describing Loyalist plots instigated by Gov. Tryon[3][20].
• Allaire, Lt. Anthony. Diary of Loyalist Events in the Revolution (1777) – (Not directly cited above, but provides context on Loyalist activity and Patriot reprisals in New York).
• Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Vol. 9 – U.S. Navy Department (published 1977). Contains correspondence of Capt. John Hodge and details of the frigate Montgomery. Confirms the Montgomery was scuttled in Oct. 1777[14].
• United Empire Loyalist Records (Ontario) – e.g. UEL Associations Lists. Document the postwar resettlement of Loyalists like James McLaughlin in Canada[16].
• Flick, Alexander C. – Loyalism in New York During the American Revolution (1901). A scholarly study on New York Tories, providing background on committees, prisons, and treatment of Loyalists (helpful for context on cases like McLaughlin’s).

Each of these sources helped piece together James McLaughlin’s narrative and the significance of his case in the broader Revolutionary War context. The primary record – the Committee’s minutes – is the cornerstone, directly quoting the order to send McLaughlin to Captain Hodge’s ship[10]. Secondary works by historians (Flick and others) illuminate the atmosphere of suspicion and swift justice that characterized New York in 1777, explaining why such an extraordinary punishment was deemed necessary for a Loyalist considered “too dangerous” to remain free.

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [13] [15] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] 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

[12] +4 - Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ForgottenOregon/posts/2973158449618740/

[14] The Revolution told by one of the Navy’s Greatest Ships - Journal of the American Revolution

https://allthingsliberty.com/2016/11/revolution-told-one-navys-greatest-ships/

[16] McLaughlin Name Meaning, Family History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

https://www.houseofnames.com/mclaughlin-family-crest