User talk:Rarowe

Thomas Posey (July 9, 1750-March 29, 1818) Born in Fairax County, Virginia, he was a member of the Virginia committee of correspondence, and served as an officer during the Revolutionary War.

I recently received words of encouragement from the author of the book about Major Thomas Posey who was the commander of the troops that killed my third great-grandfather, Harmonus Dumond on August 26, 1778: "There is no doubt in my mind that Harmonus Dumond was everything you portray him to be, and that is why I feel so strongly that your mission of vindication would best be served by publishing a full account of his life, focusing particularly on his role as a patriot whose contribution to the cause was to live in a dangerous area among citizens apparently leaning to the Crown, and providing the Revolutionary authorities with information about the Tories. Patriotic informers have not been widely reported by historians, and your research provides you with a uique opportunity to help fill that void in our country's history. I would be most interested in reading the final product of your work." (John Thornton Posey, author of GENERAL THOMAS POSEY, SON OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, Michgan State University Press, 1992.)

Mr. Posey sent this response after I wrote to him suggesting that if General Washington was as astute observer of character as is often portrayed, he might not have "read the affidavit [of Major Thomas Posey] detailing Posey's actions on August 26, 1778 "with a gleam of approval in his eye for the young major..." as Posey wrote in his book on page 43.

John Thornton Posey wrote: "The first of six known letters Thomas Posey wrote to General Washington during the Revolution was a simple acknowledgement of urgent orders to march his unit northward, along with elements of the 4th Pennsylvania Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel William Butler, Thomas' recent superior in the old Rifle Corps. His second letter of 31 August was directed from Fort Defiance, his new post near the town of Schoharie, located about twenty-five miles west of the state capital of Albany. It confirmed the arrival from army headquarters of a $2,500 warrant drawn on the fort's military paymaster, to cover his battalion's cumulated and subsistence allowances. In this letter, Major Posey apologized to the commander-in-chief for not yet having converted the warrant into cash for distribution to his men, 'as my time has been much taken up with Duty.'

"Although not further explained in Thomas' letter, that risky 'Duty' had been to lead a scouting expedition southward along the east branch of the Delaware River, deep into territory dominated by the hostile Mohawks. Along the way, Posey party of about 150 men entered a settlement of known Tory sympathies, only to find that all its inhabitants had fled, except for a group of uneasy women gathered in one house. Nearby, however two armed men were apprehended. Under questioning, they admitted that they were loyal to the Crown, and had provided beef cattle and other supplies to foraging parties sent into the area by the Tory Colonel John Butler and Chief Joseph Brant. Soon after this interrogation, one of the two loyalist prisoners, by the name of Demond, tried to escape from his three-man militia guard, but was fatally shot. When his family later complained to Governor Clinton of brutality by the troops, the governor ordered the army to surrender the three guards to civil authority for inquiry and possible criminal trial. ( fn. Thomas Posey to Washington 18 September 1778 GW Papers text-fiche - Library of Congress, real 52)

"Military protocol required that Major Posey, the commander of the mission, and other officers in the scouting party submit sworn affidavits describing the circumstances surrounding the incident. But Thomas, obviously concerned that General Washington not form an unfavorable opinion of his young former neighbor's soldierly conduct, was not content to let his formal affidavit speak for itself. He wrote a detailed personal letter of the explanation directly to the commander-in-chief, 'knowing that some of the people ... who are friends of this Demond have been endeavoring to Paint this matter in a very Black Light to the Governor & sundry other People.' (Ibid., Thomas Posey to Washington 23 September 1778) Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel William Butler, Posey's immediate superior, had forwarded the affidavits of all the officers to Washington, informing him that the guards would be turned over to Governor Clinton, 'altho I think the men not the least blamable, but rather deserve commendation for doing their duty so well.' (Ibid., William Butler to Washington 27 September 1778) There is no record of what, if any, action was taken by the civil authorities against the three militia guards.

"An interesting sidelight on the problem of maintaining military professionalism and discipline among the citizen-soldiers of the Revolutionary army is provided in the affidavit of one of the junior officers who witnessed the Demond incident. He reported that after the scouting party had left the Tory settlement Major Posey halted the column and directed that all the men be searched. When some were found to be in possession of various articles of clothing and other items taken from the empty houses of the inhabitants, Thomas ordered that all such property be collected and immediately returned to the women left in the settlement. (Affidavit of Lt. Alexander Ramsey September 16, 1778) The abandoned loyalist village had apparently proved to be too much of a temptation for some of the rank-and-file Continental and militia soldiers in Posey's task force. One can assume that General Washington read the affidavit detailing this occurrence with a gleam of approval in his eye for the young major's vigilant and astute handling of such unmilitary conduct."

It was from John Thornton Posey’s book about his third great-grandfather, Thomas Posey, that I first became aware of the fact that George Washington’s Papers in the Library of Congress contain nearly the full account of the events surrounding the death of Harmonus Dumond.

On the internet a direct link to Washington’s Papers in the Library of Congress can be reached at: "http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/gwhtml/gwhome.html." At that site “search” the name: “Thomas Posey”, then scroll down to #12: Thomas Posey, September 16, 1778, Affidavit on Scouting Expedition. Appendix [2] contains Posey’s account of what transpired at Pakatakan on August 26, 1778.

Posey’s book, like most published accounts of the killing of Harmonus Dumond are incomplete, inaccurate, or both, telling only one side, or only a portion of the story. Some, I believe, have deliberately distorted the facts for their own purposes which seem usually intended to glorify their particular "hero" in this event, or at least, not to cast doubt on his heroics.

I am presently writing the book suggested by John Thornton Posey in which I will publish the various affidavits of witnesses on both sides of this event. Several witnesses wrote, in their affidavits, that the facts were quite different from what Thomas Posey and his officers testified to, and in fact, it appears that Thomas Posey, himself, entered the cabin where Dumond lay dying, threatened him with a tomahawk and made off with Dumond's shoes and Hat and buttons from his clothing, according to the woman who owned the cabin. Likewise, those who write favoring Posey neglect to record that Dumond was a spy for the Patriot cause who only admitted (if, indeed he admitted) that he had helped the tories after he had been threatend by these troops who were posing as tories in order to trick Dumond and his companion into an admission which would then be used to justify killing them.