Braisted, Todd. "The Online Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies", (www.royalprovincial.com, last updated - 12/03/2017.)
Clark, Murtie June. Loyalists in the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War, Vol. II, (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1981.)
Corrado, Gary. The Black Hussars: A Brief and Concise History of Frederick Diemar's Hussars, (Westminster, MD: Heritage Books, Inc., 2005.)
Dandridge, Danske. American Prisoners of the Revolution, (Charlottesville, VA: The Michie Company, Printers, 1911.)
Gara, Donald J. The Queen's American Rangers, (Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, LLC, 2015.)
Katchner, Philip R. N. Encyclopedia of British, Provincial, and German Army Units, 1775-1783, (Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1973.)
Lewis, James A. Neptune's Militia: The Frigate South Carolina during the American Revolution, (Kent, OH: The Kent State University Press, 1999.)
The last post on British/Loyalist soldiers on board the frigate South Carolina was "'Former' British and Loyalist Soldiers on board the Frigate South Carolina, Pt. III - Additional Information on Loyalist Military Personnel Captured on board the Frigate South Carolina on December 21, 1782 -" and was posted on "09/11/2016". In this specific post, the writer of this blog made the preposterous statement that this post was the third and FINAL post of a series. Since that point in time almost two years ago, the now better enlightened writer of this blog has learned that there is always more information to be found on almost any subject concerning the frigate South Carolina and this certainly includes the topic of Loyalist military personnel serving on board the patriot frigate for its second, brief and final voyage. But, this post will have a strong conjectural nature to it. It addresses a single individual who has always intrigued the writer of this blog since it's inception, mostly due to the manner in which he is recorded in the Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, section entitled "Appendix: Roster of the Crew and Marines of the South Carolina".
In Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, section entitled "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina, page 156, the following two entries appear:
Jacques Martin French sailor?
Jacques Martin Hussar Boy
These could be two completely different individuals who happen to possess the same first and last names. After all, Jacques Martin at least seems to be a common name in the French language and in the French manner of naming male children. But, it is the two "positions" occupied by this seemingly single individual that gives pause to the writer of this blog. These two "positions" are actually quite diverse in nature. A sailor is a person who has chosen to pursue an occupation or career that is defined by their relationship to the sea. Yet, a "hussar" is, by definition, a light horseman, utilized by many of the land armies of the 18th century, and not at all suited to operating on board a ship-of-war. It is the rather confused nature of these two entries that leads the writer of this blog to postulate that this is indeed a single man who was first a hussar of young age (hence the addition of the appellation "boy" after "hussar") and, afterwards he became a member of the crew of the frigate South Carolina as a sailor of French ethnicity. The writer of this blog has located at least enough circumstantial evidence to provide for a logical argument that these two individuals are the same man as well as this man representing an as-to-yet unidentified loyalist soldier as a member of the crew of the frigate South Carolina.
There were only two British cavalry units that served here in North America during the American Revolution, the 16th and 17th Regiments of Horse. Evidently, at some point after the commencement of hostilities, the 16th Regiment was disbanded and its personnel rolled into the 17th Regiment while the former officers of the 16th Regiment were sent back to England to recruit a new regiment. The German auxiliary troops who were mounted on horseback were mostly dragoons which are, by definition, mounted heavy infantry. There were some hussar units - mounted light horse troops- among the German forces sent over to suppress the rebellious American colonies. But, the unit in question here, Captain Diemar's Black Hussars, were different from units sent over from the German states.
According to Corrado's work, The Black Hussars, pages 5-6, the following information appears:
"Initially, only two regiments of regular dragoons had been sent from England, the 16th and 17th, to help bring the unruly colonists back into line. But, as the American Revolution dragged on, the British high command realized the vast territories of the colonies required more mounted troops than the regular army could provide.
Therefore, in 1778 the 16th regiment was disbanded and its men transferred to the 17th regiment. The officers of the 16th were sent to England to recruit new men to fill its depleted ranks. It did not take long, however, before the British made up the shortage by raising Provincial troops of light dragoons, either as independent troops for attachment to Provincial regiments or as additions to existent regiments.".
The narrative now begins to focus more on the intended topic of this specific post. According to Corrados' work, The Black Hussars, pages 5-6:
"Captain Diemar's Troop of Hussars was one such troop. Raised in 1779, they were composed of escaped German prisoners of war from the various Brunswick regiments that had accompanied Burgoyne on his ill-fated attempt to split the colonies in two. Having made their way back to New York, and without their officers, these men had become somewhat unruly, so the concept of an independent troop on outpost duty appealed to their instincts.
What made this troop unusual was the fact that while being carried on the Provincial establishment as a Loyalist corps, most of the men were not Americans, but were in fact Germans. What further distinguished this corps was the fact that they were dressed as hussars. This type of dress in the British army was very new, although the Prussian cavalry had hussar troops for some time....
Frederick de Diemar held a Captain's commission in the 60th Regiment of Foot, otherwise known as the Royal American Regiment. Upon the recommendations of Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, Diemar assumed command of the troop in 1779. Fifty-six men, the majority in their early twenties, took the oath of office from Justice of the Peace, his Honor William Waddell. The oath of one such trooper, preserved, reads as follows:
'I, William Waddell, one of His Majesties Justices of the Peace for the City and County of New York, do hereby certify that Peter Laughhard, born in the county of Hanover in Germany, aged 20 years, is duly enlisted as a private soldier in the corps styled the Hussars - in His majesty's service under the command of Captain Diemar - that I administered to him the oath of fidelity and that - the 2nd and 6th sections of the articles of war against mutiny and desertion were read to him and he made oath that he does not belong to any of His Majesty's ships or to the marine service.'.
The oath is interesting as it is a complete example of the many oaths generally administered to the Provincial recruits upon their joining the various Loyalist regiments during the war. The total number of men enlisted over the three-year period totaled 180 men.".
The types of service provided to the British Crown and delivered by Captain Diemar's Black Hussars was a rather unique set of actions. According to Corrado's work, The Black Hussars, page 7-8, their collective set of actions can be described as follows:
"Diemar and his troop of hussars found themselves attached to Provincial regiments, including Tarleton's Legion and the Queen's Rangers, during various campaigns...
Since Diemar's Hussars were raised primarily for outpost duty, the troop was usually operating on the fringes of British-held territory and would have had a considerable number of skirmishes with the enemy by the very nature of their close proximity. This also meant their duty was quite dangerous and exhausting, exacting a heavy toll on minds and bodies of the men. Not surprisingly, we find a number of desertions to have taken place over the short history of this corps. Given the international pedigree of the men, from various provinces of Germany, England, France, America, and even Sweden, it is easy to imagine the difficulty of maintaining the discipline of such a corps in a wartime situation.".
Corrados' work, The Black Hussars, contains several appendices at the end of the book. But, it is the final appendix, Appendix E, that is the longest appendices of all of them and contains the information central to this post. Corrados' work, The Black Hussars, Appendix E: Roster of the Hussar Corps Raised by Captain Frederick de Diemar 1779-1781", page 30, contains the following information:
"Entry 114 - Jean Martin - Private. Enlisted October 9, 1780; delivered Queen's Rangers troop April 24, 1781."
The first item of information that stands out in stark contrast is the difference of the first names of these two "separate" individuals - Jacques and Jean. Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, section entitled "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina", page 156, cites this man as being named "Jacques Martin". Corrado's work, The Black Hussars, section entitled "Appendix E: Roster of the Hussar Corps Raised by Frederick de Diemar 1779-1781", page 30, cites this man as being named "Jean Martin". But, this discrepancy of names can possibly be explained. It could be that this man's name was Jacques Jean Martin or vice a versa. He may have used the name "Jean Martin" when he enlisted in the Black Hussars and used the name "Jacques Martin" when he signed on board the frigate South Carolina. This is all purely speculative but, there might be some grain of truth here due to further information that awaits to be introduced in this post.
The second items of information that might indicate that these are indeed two separate individuals is that of area of operations at the end of the hostilities between the rebellious colonies and Great Britain. Corrado's work, The Black Hussars, is organized into brief chapters according to the year of the American Revolution being addressed in that specific chapter. According to Corrado's work, The Black Hussars, chapter for the year "1781", page 17, the following information appears:
"Aside from the recorded death of the trooper in January, no further mention of the Black Hussars is made until April 24 when they were merged into the troop being raised by Captain [Thomas Ive] Cooke. Sixty-two men of that unique corps would now wear the green coats of the celebrated Queen's Rangers, not as hussars, but as new Light Dragoons.... The troop was not present at the surrender of the Queen's Rangers at Yorktown in October [1781]; rather they were detached for patrol duty with other troops of Queen's Rangers dragoons in the Charleston, South Carolina area.".
With all due respect to Dr. Gary Corrado and his wonderful, concise history of the Black Hussars, no other printed work cited in the brief bibliography above and available to the writer of this blog refers to service for a troop of "detached hussars" under a Captain Thomas Ive Cooke in South Carolina. Katcher's work, British, Provincial, and German Army Units, 1775-1783, does not even make reference to a "detached troop" of Queen's Rangers as operating in South Carolina during the late war period. This may be due to Katcher's work addressing entire regiments of troops rather than smaller, company and troop-sized detached formations. Gara's work, Queen's American Rangers, makes reference towards the end of his work to "...the detached dragoon troop under Captain John Saunders, stationed in South Carolina.". But, all of the rosters cited in Clark's work, Loyalists in the Southern Campaigns of the Revolutionary War, that reference John Martin (as he is referred to in these various different rosters) are headed as being under the command of Captain Thomas Ive Cooke. The first roster is found on page 338 and is cited as being an "Inspection Roll of Captain Thomas I. Cooke's Troop, Queen's Rangers, Cavalry,...from December 1, 1780 to February 23, 1781". Contained within this inspection roll is the following information:
"Number Rank Name Remarks
11 Private John Martin born in France"
This individual's name is referenced as "Jacques Martin" in Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, section entitled "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina", page 156, and as "Jean Martin" in Corrado's work, The Black Hussars, section entitled "Appendix E: Roster of the Hussar Corps Raised by Captain Frederick de Diemar, 1779-1781", page 30. Yet, in all the recorded rosters and lists contained in Clark's work, the individual's name is cited as either "John Martin" and "John Martine", both Anglicized forms of an otherwise obviously French name. The citation directly above confirms that this individual was indeed French in ethnicity or, at the very least, in origin.
The next citation for John Martin is on the following page in Clark's work, Loyalists in the Southern Campaigns of the Revolutionary War, Vol. II, page 339. The information is contained within a muster roll of the same troop of cavalry and the same date range and is as follows:
"Number: Rank: Name: Remarks:
10 Private John Martine -------"
(Note: an examination of the spellings of the other first and last names included on this roster along with that of John Martine and a comparison with the same names on the previous pages "Inspection Roll" demonstrates the variability of spellings in the 18th century. Almost all of the men's names cited on the second muster roll are spelled differently than on the first inspection roll. Also, one man's name is missing - Joseph Miller of Ireland - which is the reason for "John Martin" being Nr. 11 on the first inspection roll and Nr. 10 on the second muster roll.)
According to Clark's work, Loyalists in the Southern Campaigns of the Revolutionary War, Vol. II, there are two further citations of John Martin/Martine contained in this work. But, the headings of each of these citations is markedly different from the previous two. Instead of the above cited name at the head of the roster, the name of these two rosters are "Muster Roll of the Troop of German Hussars, attached to the Queen's Rangers, ... from June 25 to August 24, 1781". The second roster names is identical to the first except the date range is "... from August 25 to October 24, 1781...". The citations for John Martin/Martine on both of these rosters are as follows:
The first roster appears on page 622 of Clark's work, Loyalists in the Southern Campaigns of the Revolutionary War, Vol. II, and is as follows:
"Number: Rank: Name: Remarks:
39 Private John Martine -------"
The second roster appears on page 623 of Clark's work, Loyalists in the Southern Campaigns of the Revolutionary War, Vol. II and is as follows:
"Number: Rank: Name: Remarks:
43 Private John Martin transferred, October 24, 1781"
Again, the readers of this blog will notice the alternate spellings of the the last name of John Martin or John Martine. There are no remarks in the first citation, indicated by the line, "-------", while there is an unexplained remark in the second citation. Also, these are the only two references to John Martin/Martine contained in these pages, yet there are seven complete rosters of "...the Troop of German Hussars..." contained in this section of Clark's work. John Martin/Martine only appears in two of these rosters with the last of these two rosters containing a cryptic remark of "...transferred, October 24, 1781...".
It is worth noting that there are other who have this mysterious remark entered after their names and they all appear at the end of this specific roster on page 623. The first name has "deserted" and a date of desertion following the entry. The remaining nine names have "transferred" and their transfer date recorded after this citation. John Martin's name is contained among these last nine names. These are obviously men who are no longer with the hussar troop as of the date range of the roster. John Martin's status date - October 24, 1781 - is at the very end of the date range of this specific roster, which is August 25 to October 24, 1781. Another fascinating fact is that a considerable portion of the Queen's Rangers were captured at Gloucester Point in the Yorktown siege on October 19, 1781, when Charles, Lord Cornwallis surrendered his Crown force troops there. In subsequent rosters for the rest of the Queen's Rangers, entire companies of men are cited as "...taken prisoner, October 19, 1781..." while in other cases individuals are cited as "...prisoner without the lines...", "...prisoner with enemy...", or "...prisoner with rebels...". Yet, John Martin/Martine has this cryptic remark placed after his name and the date of his transfer is five days after the surrender of the Yorktown garrison to the combined American-French forces concentrated around the British positions at Yorktown.
This conundrum may be explained not by examining the military life of "John Martin/Martine" but, rather by briefly exploring the services of his immediate commanding officer - Lieutenant George Altus. This information can be found on Mr. Todd Braisted's website, "The Online Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies", section entitled "Queen's American Rangers - Biographical Sketches, Cavalry Officers", page 1-2. The information found on these first two pages of the sketches addresses Lieutenant George Altus and succinctly gives us an outline of his activities and geographical locations in the rebellious colonies during the American Revolution. This information is preceded by the following disclaimer by Mr. Todd Braisted:
"The following material was submitted by and is the copyright of Donald J. Gara - New Jersey. It is reprinted here with his permission.". It is the explicit intention of the writer of this blog to give full credit to Mr. Donald J. Gara, who is also the author of the book entitled The Queen's American Rangers, cited in the brief bibliography of this post, for the following information which the writer of this blog hopes will shed light on the possible movements of John Martin/Martine. Only information will be cited that is relevant to proving that Jean Martin and John Martin/Martine were in fact Jacques Martin who served on board the frigate South Carolina.
The information is as follows:
"Lieutenant George Altus - April 20, 1781 to October 13, 1783.
Formerly served in Captain Frederick Diemar's Independent Troop of Dragoons frequently attached to the Queen's American Rangers. He and his troop were subsequently absorbed into the Rangers on April 20, 1781.
(Note: According to Corrado's work, The Black Hussars, section entitled "Appendix E: Roster of the Hussar Corps Raised by Captain Frederick de Diemar, 1779-1781", page 30, Jean Martin's date of being "delivered to the Queen's Rangers Troop..." is given as April 24, 1781.)
Altus had been a Lieutenant in the Hessian Troops before joining Diemar. Appointed Lieutenant in Diemar's Troop on April 11, 1779...
(Note: According to Braisted's website, "The Online Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies", document entitled "Black Hussar Formation Orders", the following extract of a letter is cited:
"Head Quarters New York 11th April 1779
The Brunswick Soldiers who are here without Officers, are to be mounted for the Present & do duty as Hussars, under Captain DIEMAR of the 60th Regiment [un]till they can be restored to their proper Regiments.
The following Officers, are appointed to the above Troop, which is to be attached to the Corps commanded by Captain FERGUSON of the 70th Regiment
Lieutenant De MONTIER, late of the Anspach's Troops. Cornet ALBUS late Lieutenant in the Hessian Troops.".)
Not at Yorktown surrender. Probably in NYC [New York City].".
Each one of the various different muster rosters cited in Clark's work, Loyalists in the Southern Campaigns of the Revolutionary War, Vol. II, cite the commanding officer of "...the Troop of German Hussars..." at the outset of the roster and this name is always that of George Altus. Thus, John Martin/Martine was most likely not at the surrender of Crown forces at Yorktown but, was accompanying his commanding officer and operating in the environs of New York City on October 19, 1781 when Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. The existing documents do not address the nature of their operations or the purpose of the troop being in New York City. But, they clearly were not at Yorktown for the surrender. Yet, unfortunately, the documents also do not address exactly to where Private John Martin/Martine of the Black Hussars was transferred on October 24, 1781 or his subsequent duty post.
In the opinion of the writer of this blog, the greatest obstacle to verifying that Jacques Martin and Jean/John Martin/ Martine are one and the same individuals who may have served on board the frigate South Carolina is the complete lack of presence of his name on any of the captive American personnel rosters of the three British men-of-war that brought these prisoners-of-war into New York City harbor between December 23-24, 1782. A reference to Middlebrook's work, The Frigate South Carolina: A Famous Revolutionary War Ship, pages 18-25, and to the posts of this specific blog dated "03/24/2015", "03/25/2015" and "03/26/2015". The name of Jacques/Jean/John Martin/Martine does not appear on any of these rosters. There are a few possible reasons for this absence. First, Jacques/Jean/John Martin/Martine could have been killed in the battle between the frigate South Carolina and the three British men-of-war - HMS Diomede, HMS Quebec, and HMS Astraea - just off the Capes of the Delaware on December 20-21, 1782. According to Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, page 94:
"What casualties there were in this battle, some six killed and wounded, were suffered by the South Carolina sailors aloft, a good indication of where the British cannoneers were aiming.".
This second crew of the frigate South Carolina was smaller than the first crew, which numbered around 550 officers, crew and marines. This second crew was not a full one, numbering around 350-400 total. Even with fewer men on board the patriot frigate, it is unlikely but, not impossible that Jacques/Jean/John Martin/Martine was among the killed after this desperate naval engagement had ended. Being among the dead, his name would not have been recorded as being among the living prisoners-of-war.
A second, but again, improbable possibility is that following the capture of the frigate South Carolina, as the British were recording the names of the American prisoners-of-war, Jacques/Jean/John Martin/Martine chose to give a false name rather than potentially reveal the fact that he was indeed a defected Loyalist soldier. He may have known the proximity of the captured frigate to New York City and suspected that the prize vessel would be taken there. He also knew that the Black Hussars were possibly operating in the environs of New York City and he would be returned quickly to his unit for retribution and punishment once there. But, again, the muster rosters referenced in the above paragraphs never indicate that Jean?John Martin/Martine ever deserted or was captured by the enemy. These specific references and remarks do occur for other members of the Black Hussars but, never for Jean/John Martin/Martine.
On the other hand, there is evidence for a prisoner-of-war being known as "John Martin" being incarcerated on board the infamous prison "hulk", the Jersey or Old Jersey, in Wallabout, Bay, NY during the American Revolution. Actually, according to Dandridge's work, American Prisoners of the Revolution, section entitled "Appendix A: List of 8,000 Men Who Were Prisoners on board the Old Jersey", page 355, there are four prisoners named "John Martin" and three named "Joseph Martin". As far as the alternate spelling of his last name - Martine - is concerned, there is one prisoner whose name is "Thomas Martine" and two who are named "Jose Martine". Numerous sources have referenced that French and Spanish sailors and marines were treated quite cruelly on board the prison "hulk" Old Jersey, being placed in the lowest hold or the actual bilge where they would have perished quickly from disease, hunger, or contaminated food/water. This may have been the fate of "Jean Martin" since he is recorded as being "...born in France..." on one of the inspection/muster rosters of the Black Hussars, as recorded in Clark's work, Loyalists in the Southern Campaigns of the Revolutionary War, page 338. According to the brief disclaimer at the beginning of the Appendix A in Dandridge's work, there is no record of who among these eight thousand prisoners-of-war may have survived, died, escaped or been exchanged at the end of the war.
This specific post seems to be no nearer a definitive conclusion than when it was begun by the writer of this blog. It may well be that these are two separate, distinct individuals, having very similar names, who served in completely different theaters of operations, owing their allegiance to different sides in the war, and having never met or encountered each other. Yet, intriguing possibilities exist here. According to Clark's work, Loyalists in the Southern Campaigns of the Revolutionary War, page 338, in the "Inspection Roster" of Captain Thomas I. Cooke's Troop, "John Martin" is cited as being "...born in France...". According to Corrado's work, The Black Hussars, page 30, his name is cited as being "Jean Martin", which seems to be French in origin. According to Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, page 156, "Jacques Martin" is cited as being a "French sailor?". According to Braisted's website, "The Online Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies", the commanding officer of the Black Hussars towards the end of the war, Lieutenant George Altus, was not at the surrender of Crown forces at Yorktown on October 19, 1781 but, was more than likely in the environs of New York City at the time. He would have had his command with him and they could easily have been returned to the deadly space known as "The Neutral Ground". A man, like "John Martin", captured or deserted there, could easily have been taken south to the Philadelphia, PA area for incarceration. Once there, he could have taken the first opportunity to escape the confines of a patriot prison camp by signing on board the frigate South Carolina as her officers recruited in these same camps. Yet, it is the second citation of "Jacques Martin in Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, page 156, which appears immediately following the first citation, that is intriguing in itself:
"Jacques Martin Hussar Boy"
Perhaps, his "position" , cited following his name, should read "Hussar, boy" instead, indicating that he was a hussar of young age. Once again, no other citation found within Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, section entitled "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina", pages 135-170, contains this same type of reference - hussar. Thus, no matter how remote the possibility, there does indeed exist the chance that Jacques/Jean/John Martin/Martine was one of the previously unidentified loyalist soldiers who served on board the frigate South Carolina for her second, brief voyage resulting in her capture by elements of the Royal Navy just off the Capes of the Delaware on December 21, 1782.