The Wreck of the Rebecca and Francis
Duncan Campbell, a lieutenant or captain (I’m not sure which) in the British army, had made at least two successful voyages to recruit soldiers in New York and bring them to Boston. But some hazy weather kept him from making it back with his next shipload of recruits.
“Monday Morning [October 16th], before day, the weather being hazy, the ship Rebecca and Francis Struck on the Shore at Brigantine Beach [New Jersey], where she is Stranded”, was the report of the ship’s captain, George Hastings. Duncan Campbell and a couple dozen other soldiers were on board the ship, sailing from Boston to New York to get more recruits for the British army. Fortunately, Brigantine Beach is sandy, so the ship wasn’t wrecked; it just got stuck, and everybody got ashore safely. But they weren’t in very British-friendly territory. Campbell and his second-in-command, Lieutenant James Smith Sims, tried to escape to New York in a small boat, but they were
prevented by the zeal and activity of Lieut. Loveland of Egg-Harbour; who, after a tedious pursuit of one day and two nights, took them on board a boat at Cranberry inlet, about thirty-five miles from New-York, in which he was assisted by Lieut Cook with six men, from an adjacent county, his own party being wore out with fatigue.
Campbell and Sims were taken to Philadelphia, just as the others had been, and the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety questioned them to find out what they were doing.
Campbell was of Scottish descent and had settled in New York. He and Sims were part of the Royal Highland Regiment of Emigrants, which some people also called the “royal sensible Americans.” The captain of the ship, along with his sailors, were soon set free, but Campbell and his men were put in custody in Philadelphia. Their case was referred to the Continental Congress, who took it very seriously and made the following resolution:
That the said Capt. Campbel & Lieut. Symes, be confined in the Gaol [Jail] of the City and County of Philadelphia, and that they be kept apart from the rest of the Prisoners; that they be not permitted to have the use of Pen, Ink or Paper, and that no Person whatever be permitted to speak to them or either of them, but in the presence of some Member of this Committee, or some other Person authorized by a Member of this Committee in writing.
(I’m not sure why Campbell and Sims were considered so dangerous that they had to be kept from communicating with anyone, nor do I know how long they were kept in jail.)
The Rebecca and Francis was stuck so badly that she couldn’t be moved, and she eventually went to pieces; the Americans salvaged some useful supplies out of her.
Sources
Naval Documents of the American Revolution, vol. 2, pp. 88, 193, 545-46, 558-59, 574, 581-83, 596-97, 606, 613, 621, 627-28, 652-53, 841, 920, 1111-12, 1131, 1169-70.
A new and accurate map of New Jersey, from the best authorities. [London, 1780] Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/97683600/.