William McCrea: A Redcoat on “Secret Furlough” in 1777

Early Life and Divided Loyalties

William McCrea was born into a prominent Scots-Irish family in colonial New Jersey. His father, Rev. James McCrea of Lamington, NJ, was a Presbyterian minister, and William grew up with many siblings – including the famous Jane McCrea[1]. The McCrea family was sharply divided by the American Revolution: while two brothers (such as Col. John McCrea of the Albany County Militia) joined the Patriot cause, at least three brothers – including William – remained Loyal to the Crown[1]. Jane herself was engaged to a Loyalist officer and became tragically famous when she was killed by British-allied Native warriors during Burgoyne’s 1777 campaign[2]. This family split set the stage for William McCrea’s own dramatic wartime fate.

Capture as a Suspected British Spy (March 1777)

By early 1777, William McCrea was serving the British cause. In March 1777 he attempted to move through Patriot-held territory in Orange County, New York, under the pretense of being on furlough. McCrea was apprehended near the village of Florida in Orange County, and the circumstances of his capture aroused suspicion among local Patriot authorities. The Commissioners for Detecting Conspiracies (a committee established by New York to uncover Loyalist agents) doubted the legitimacy of McCrea’s “furlough” and believed he was actually on a secret mission – essentially acting as a spy behind enemy lines. The commission’s minutes record a resolution “that William McCrea be sent to Gen’l McDougall to be tried as a Spy” under military law (General Alexander McDougall was the Continental Army commander in the Highlands region at that time). In other words, rather than treating McCrea as a conventional prisoner of war, the Patriots decided he should face a court-martial on espionage charges given his covert activities on American soil. This reflects how seriously the Revolutionary authorities viewed the threat of Loyalist informants and recruiters operating in New York.

Evidence and Findings: Contemporary accounts suggest that when McCrea was captured he may have carried questionable papers or passes that did not fully convince the Patriots of his innocence. The very fact he was a British soldier found moving among Patriot communities without a clear, legitimate purpose was damning. The Commissioners likely concluded his so-called furlough was a cover story – hence their decision to remand him for trial as a spy. Being caught out of uniform or under false pretenses in enemy territory was a capital offense, and many in similar circumstances were swiftly condemned. (For instance, around the same period the Americans executed Loyalist agents like Edmund Palmer and, later, the notorious Sgt. Joseph “Joey” Bettys for spying and recruiting behind Patriot lines.)

Military Service with Burgoyne’s Army and Recapture

Despite the Commission’s order, William McCrea’s story did not end with his March 1777 arrest. In a twist of fate, he avoided the hangman’s noose. The historical record is fragmentary on how – possibly he convinced the Continental authorities to treat him as a regular prisoner-of-war rather than a spy, or he may have been exchanged or escaped custody. In any case, by that summer McCrea had rejoined British forces. He attached himself to General John Burgoyne’s grand invasion army moving south from Canada into upstate New York. According to a later Loyalist memorial he wrote, McCrea “joined the army advancing to Fort Edward” in 1777[3]. He was present during Burgoyne’s campaign and fought with the British at the Battle of Bemis Heights on October 7, 1777 – the second Battle of Saratoga[3]. There, fate caught up with him: William McCrea was taken prisoner by the Americans during the fighting on Oct. 7 or in the immediate surrender that followed[3]. In effect, he fell into Patriot hands a second time, this time as part of Burgoyne’s defeated force.

Unlike spies, captured enemy soldiers from Burgoyne’s army were not executed but held as prisoners under the terms of the Convention of Saratoga. McCrea eventually regained his freedom via prisoner exchange. By late 1778 or 1779 he had returned to British-held New York City – alive, but having lost his property and position. In a petition to British headquarters, he described himself as “ruined and penniless” after his American imprisonment and exchange, noting his status as “brother of Miss McCrea” to elicit sympathy[3]. Indeed, British commanders were well aware of the infamous murder of his sister Jane, which had become a rallying cry for the Patriot cause. McCrea asked for subsistence aid for himself and his family in New York[3]. (He had married a woman named Sarah “Sally” Carter and had a young daughter, Maria.)

Final Fate and Postwar Legacy

Despite surviving his espionage scare and the Saratoga disaster, William McCrea did not enjoy a long postwar life. He never again achieved significant rank or wealth. It appears he died before the Revolution ended – likely around 1779 or 1780, while still in exile with the British. By one account, his health and fortunes had been broken by the war. His Loyalist brother Creighton McCrea (who had fled to England and India during the war) later returned to America and “made a home for the widow of his brother, William, and her daughter, Maria”, even leaving them his fortune[4][5]. This indicates William McCrea had indeed passed away, leaving his wife and child dependent on relatives. In contrast, several of William’s Patriot kin survived the war and thrived – his brother John became a county judge and legislator in New York, for example[6][7]. William’s story was largely forgotten in popular history, overshadowed by the legendary tale of his sister.

Interestingly, some 19th-century local histories claim that “three McCrea brothers – Samuel, James, and William – settled in Ballston, NY after the war” and even suggest William served in county office[8][9]. However, this appears to be a confusion or misattribution by later writers. Given the contemporaneous evidence that William McCrea fought for the British and died during or shortly after the war, it is unlikely he resettled in Saratoga County or held office under the new American government. More plausibly, those references either refer to other relatives of the same name or simply got the family details wrong. The primary sources (such as family letters and Loyalist records) support that William McCrea remained loyal to Britain, suffered capture twice, and died a Loyalist in the war – not that he lived on in the new United States.

Impact on the Revolution

William McCrea’s personal exploits had a limited direct impact on the course of the Revolution – he was one of many minor Loyalist agents moving through New York’s contested territory, and his eventual fate was shared by numerous Loyalists whose hopes were dashed by Burgoyne’s defeat. However, the McCrea family’s saga became woven into Revolutionary propaganda and morale in a significant way. The murder of William’s sister Jane McCrea on July 27, 1777 outraged American public opinion. Patriots used the tale of the young woman’s scalping by British-allied Indians as a powerful “atrocity propaganda” tool to rally resistance against the Crown[2]. General Horatio Gates and other American leaders publicized Jane’s fate in letters and newspapers to portray the British as cruel for employing Native warriors. The resulting surge of anger “led to widespread outrage in the Thirteen Colonies and was used by American Patriots as part of their anti-British propaganda campaign”[2]. Militia enlistments were reportedly spurred by the McCrea incident, and many wavering neutrals were pushed toward the Patriot side. Even Burgoyne himself acknowledged the incident was “most lamentable” and it undermined Loyalist support for his campaign. In the broader view, “the killing of McCrea inspired American resistance to the British, contributing to the failure of the Saratoga campaign” that year[10]. Burgoyne’s force, deprived of local Loyalist recruits and facing fiercer opposition, ultimately surrendered – a turning point of the war.

For William McCrea, this tragic twist was deeply personal. He had cast his lot with King and Empire, only to see his own sister’s death become a symbol of British perfidy. One can imagine the impact on his morale and that of other Loyalists from the incident. In his petition to Sir Henry Clinton, William pointedly mentioned that he was the brother of “Miss McCrea”[3] – likely hoping the British high command would recognize his family’s sacrifice (and perhaps feel some obligation to support him). The British did provide some relief to Loyalist refugees, but no amount of pension could repair the damage done by Jane’s murder to the royal cause in America.

In sum, William McCrea’s story illustrates the war’s intimate civil strife: he was a British redcoat traveling under false pretenses in Patriot country, caught and nearly executed as a spy, then fighting in a major campaign only to be captured once more. His ultimate fate – dying in exile and obscurity – was shared by many Loyalists. Yet through his family connection to Jane McCrea, his name became linked to one of the Revolution’s most famous legends. The “secret furlough” that ended in William’s capture is a small footnote in history, but the scalp of Jane McCrea galvanized patriots and “made it holy ground” in American memory[11][12]. The contrasting legacy of the McCreas – Patriot heroes on one hand, Loyalist “spies” on the other – highlights how the American Revolution often tore families apart and turned private grief into public impetus for liberty.

Sources: Contemporary accounts and family records (compiled in the Fort Edward Chronicles and other histories) confirm William McCrea’s Loyalist service and capture[3][5]. Jane McCrea’s death and its propaganda impact are well documented in Revolutionary War histories and even artwork (John Vanderlyn’s 1804 painting The Death of Jane McCrea dramatized the event)[2][10]. The Minutes of New York’s Committee/Commission for Conspiracies (March 1777) note the order for William’s trial as a spy, and a Loyalist petition to Gen. Clinton (c.1779) recounts William’s later hardships[3]. These sources collectively paint a vivid picture of William McCrea’s life and the tumultuous Revolutionary era that shaped his destiny.

[1] [2] [10] Jane McCrea - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_McCrea

[3] American Manuscripts - Electric Scotland

https://electricscotland.com/history/america/americanmanuscriptsvol02.pdf

[4] [5] [11] [12] Full text of "The Fort Edward book"

https://archive.org/stream/fortedwardbook01basc/fortedwardbook01basc_djvu.txt

[6] [7] [8] [9] Full text of "Centennial history of the village of Ballston Spa : including the towns of Ballston and Milton"

https://archive.org/stream/centennialhistor00gros_0/centennialhistor00gros_0_djvu.txt