Abductions in the American Revolution

Independent historian Christian McBurney has written books on the efforts to capture Generals Charles Lee and Richard Prescott and on the Rhode Island Campaign in the Revolutionary War. He lives in Kensington, Maryland.

• Table of Contents AcknowledgmentsPrefaceI. The Fighting Begins (April 1775 to June 1776)From Lexington and Concord to Mount VernonWas There a Plot to Kidnap King George III?The Tory Plot to Kidnap Washington in New York CityII. The Fall of New York City and New Jersey (July 1776 to March 1778)Signers of the Declaration of IndependenceJohn Fell in the ProvostThe Capture of Major General Charles LeeRichard Witham Stockton, the Land PilotThe Retaliatory Capture of Major General Richard PrescottGeorge Washington Supports Kidnapping Attempt Against British Headquarters in New York CityIII. The Fall of Philadelphia (September 1777 to April 1778)Delaware’s Chief Executive Is Abducted from His HouseCongress Responds to Tory KidnappingsJohn Paul Jones Strikes Fear in Great BritainIV. The War in the North (January 1778 to February 1781)Multiple Attempts to Kidnap Governor William Livingston of New JerseyRetaliatory Kidnappings: The Cases of Connecticut’s General Silliman and Long Island’s Judge JonesRaid Across the Frozen Hudson River: The Attempt to Kidnap Washington at MorristownWashington Attempts to Kidnap the Traitor Benedict Arnold in New York CityWashington’s Second Attempt Against the British Commander-in-Chief in New York CityThe Abduction and Dramatic Escape of General Peleg Wadsworth in MaineV. The War in the South (January 1781 to August 1781)“This greatest of all traitors”: Attempts to Kidnap Arnold in VirginiaBanastre Tarleton Almost Bags Thomas JeffersonWhen the Kidnapper Becomes the Hunted: The Case of Benjamin ClevelandThe Execution of Isaac HayneVI. British Secret Service Operations in Upstate New York and Vermont (July 1781 to June 1782)The British Attempt to Capture Major General Philip Schuyler at AlbanyThe Great Kidnap Caper of 1781 Falls ApartThomas Johnson: British Agent or Double Agent?VII. Yorktown and Beyond (September 1781 to September 1783)David Fanning Captures North Carolina’s GovernorMurder in North Carolina and GeorgiaWashington Plans to Abduct a Future King of Great Britain from New York CityLiving with the Risk of KidnappingsAppendix A: Letter from Colonel James Abeel Summarizing Information Regarding the Raid Intended to Capture Washington in February 1780Appendix B: Colonel Matthias Ogden’s Plans for Capturing Prince William Henry in New York City in March 1782Chapter Notes BibliographyIndex

“the most innovative look at the American Revolution I have read in a long time. The breadth of research Christian McBurney invested into this book is astounding. It is McBurney’s diligent research that allows him to write intricate stories about kidnappings in a way that makes the history digestible and fun.