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De Lancey's Brigade, also known as De Lancey's Volunteers, De Lancey's Corps, De Lancey's Provincial Corps, De Lancey's Refugees, and the "Cowboys" or "Cow-boys", was a
Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
provincial military unit, raised for service during the
American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. Its commanders were Brigadier General Oliver De Lancey and his nephew
James De Lancey James De Lancey (November 27, 1703 – July 30, 1760) served as chief justice, lieutenant governor, and acting colonial governor of the Province of New York. Early life and education De Lancey was born in New York City on November 27, 170 ...
.


History

De Lancey's Brigade was raised in September 1776 on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...
,
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, after the Patriot forces had lost the
Battle of Brooklyn The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn, New Yor ...
during the British
New York Campaign The New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776 and the winter months of 1777 was a series of American Revolutionary War battles for control of the Port of New York and the state of New Jersey, fought between British forces under General Sir Willi ...
. The Brigade consisted of three battalions of five hundred men each, with De Lancey serving both as brigadier general and colonel of the 1st Battalion. In the winter of 1776–1777, De Lancey's three battalions were stationed (one each) at Oyster Bay,
Huntington Huntington may refer to: Places Canada * Huntington, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Huntington, New Zealand a suburb in Hamilton, New Zealand United Kingdom * Huntington, Cheshire, England * Huntington, East Lothian, Scotland * Huntingto ...
, Brookhaven, Long Island, and
Kingsbridge, Bronx Kingsbridge is a residential neighborhood in the northwest portion of the Bronx, New York City. Kingsbridge's boundaries are Manhattan College Parkway to the north, the Major Deegan Expressway or Bailey Avenue to the east, West 230th Street to th ...
. In May 1777, the 1st and 2nd Battalions moved to the
Kingsbridge Kingsbridge is a market town and tourist hub in the South Hams district of Devon, England, with a population of 6,116 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards bear the name of ''Kingsbridge'' (East & North). Their combined population at the ab ...
area, north of Manhattan. The following month, the 1st returned to Long Island, while the 2nd remained at Kingsbridge. In the spring of 1778, the forts that had been erected at Huntington and Brookhaven were abandoned, and the 1st and 3rd Battalions removed to encamp near
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. Brigadier General Oliver De Lancy conducted regular operations in the region north of New York City, in
Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...
, between
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and the Croton Rivers, which was known as the " Neutral Ground". Lawlessness and
guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run t ...
were carried out by De Lancey's "Cowboys" and their compatriots, the New Jersey Volunteers, known by their nickname, the "Skinners." Both were British loyalist marauders who stole cattle,
looted Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...
, and gathered
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in the New York countryside. In November 1778, although the Brigade had originally been formed "for the defense of Long Island", the 1st and 2nd Battalions were ordered South, where they served under Lt. Col. Archibald Campbell.''Orderly Book of the Three Battalions of Loyalists Commanded by Brigadier General Oliver De Lancey, 1776-1778''
New York Historical Society, 1917, p. ix.
The 1st and 2nd Battalions fought successfully in the
Siege of Ninety-Six The siege of Ninety Six was a siege in western South Carolina late in the American Revolutionary War. From May 22 to June 18, 1781, Continental Army Major General Nathanael Greene led 1,000 troops in a siege against the 550 Loyalists in the for ...
and at the
Battle of Eutaw Springs The Battle of Eutaw Springs was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, and was the last major engagement of the war in the Carolinas. Both sides claimed victory. Background In early 1781, Major General Nathanael Greene, commander of the ...
and other battles in the Carolinas. The 3rd Battalion remained on Long Island for the entire war, as did De Lancey himself. The entire brigade was disbanded in
Woodstock, New Brunswick Woodstock is a town in Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada on the Saint John River, 103 km upriver from Fredericton at the mouth of the Meduxnekeag River. It is near the Canada–United States border and Houlton, Maine and the inters ...
in 1783. Many of the regiment settled in Nova Scotia after the war. The 2nd regiment were in a ship wreck off Nova Scotia, killing 99 of 174 men.Simon D. MacDonald, ''Ships of war lost on the coast of Nova Scotia and Sable Island during the eighteenth century,''
Read before the Nova Scotia Historical Society, March 6th, 1884, p. 11


References

{{reflist


Further reading

*Gue, Belle Willey and John D. Felter. ''The Neutral Ground''. Boston: Stratford Company, 1922

*Johnson, James M., Christopher Pryslopski, Andrew Villani Eds. ''Key to the Northern Country: The Hudson River Valley in the American Revolution''. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2013. *Kemble, Lieut. Col. Stephen. ''Journals of Lieut. Col. Stephen Kemble, 1773-1789: And British Army Orders: Gen. Sir William Howe, 1775-1778; Gen. Sir Henry Clinton, 1778; and Gen. Daniel Jones, 1778, American Revolutionary series: British accounts of the American Revolution, British accounts of the American Revolution, Volume 16 of Collections of the New-York Historical Society for the year ...'' New York: Ardent Media, 1972. *Ward, Harry M. ''Between the Lines: Banditti of the American Revolution''. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2002.


External links


Index to DeLancey's Brigade History - The On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies

DeLancey's Brigade, Second Battalion, Captain Allison's Company, recreated unit
Loyalist military units in the American Revolution Kingsbridge, Bronx History of the Bronx