Revolutionary War Delaware River and Bay Pilots

Two weeks ago I picked up the recently published book “The Cape May Navy” (2018) authored by Cape May area decoy maker and historian J. P. Hand and his West Coast collaborator Dr. Daniel P. Stites highlighting the contribution of Delaware Bay Privateers to the American Revolutionary cause. The book ends with a challenge to solve the mystery of “what became of the celebrated privateer” Yelverton Taylor. Always one ready to pick up a research mystery, I discovered quickly that Yelverton Taylor, or Yelvington as some records indicate, had an older sister wrapped up deep in a traitorous conspiracy to assist the British enemy. While the story does not precisely follow my concentration on the patriotic contributions of those in government service in the Continental Navy, I thought it a story worth telling. The devious plan centered on engaging two Delaware Bay pilots and one additional pilot capable of maneuvering through the “Chevaux de Freize” guarding the Delaware River and protecting Philadelphia and secreting to New York in order to pilot the British fleet up the Delaware for an attack on the fledgling nation’s capital. Testimony surrounding British Army Lieutenant James Molesworth’s plot indicates Yelverton Taylor’s sister Abigail McKay (aka McCoy) solicited the prospective collusion of several pilots at Molesworth’s behest from her home on Union Street in Philadelphia. When questioned by the pilots on how they would profit and avoid being caught, she responded that they would receive a lifetime stipend from a grateful Lord Howe aside from an immediate payment of five hundred guinéas. They were to be accompanied to New York on horseback, pilot Lord Howe’s flagship the Man-of-War Eagle up the Delaware and safely pass the Rebel fortifications as all the “Cannon wou’d be spiked up by some of our own People who attended the Fort.” Furthermore, she impressed upon the prospective conspirators “not to betray any of them by letting anything be known which had passed between them”.

Mrs. Abigail McKay’s initial deposition of 27 March 1777 appears on pages 275 and 276 of the “Pennsylvania Archives” (1853) and reads: “I know James Molesworth- he lodged at the Widow Yarnall’s in Chesnut Street, and was Clerk to Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Powell during the times of their Mayorilty. Molesworth has been often at my house and was there last evening I heard him then hint that he wanted Pilots. I saw Molesworth give Sneider money but knew not for what purpose. Molesworth asked for Eldridge & Higgons, and I told them that he wanted to see them. I saw Andrew Higgons at Mr. O’Bryan’s in Front Street, and told him I wanted to speak with him, he accordingly (as I was afterwards informed) called at my house, but I was not at home- he call’d last evening when I was at home. Yesterday morning I saw Higgons at my house, & told him I wanted to ask him some particular questions; but they were concerning my Mother. He asked me how he could go (meaning to New York) without being catch’d. I answered that I dare say he might go safe enough without being catch’d. I told him I dared to say, that it would be the making of him. I heard that a person had been sent from New York to engage Pilots, and I heard that some were going. I remember Higgons saying yesterday morning that he could get a Cheveaux de Frieze Pilot. I heard them yesterday talking about the Eagle, and some of them said she drew too much water to come up. Higgons brought Sneider to my House some time before Molesworth came. Higgons & Sneider agreed to meet Molesworth at my house. I told them Molesworth was the Person who wanted to speak to them. Molesworth asked me are these the People I wanted to speak to? I said yes. This happen’d yesterday evening. I did not hear any time certainly fixed for the Fleet’s being round, some having said next month, others not till the beginning of May. I might have said the Fleet are expected here. It was either Monday or Tuesday coming that Moleswarth told me he wanted these Pilots. My Brother Yelvington Taylor, who is a Pilot & goes to Sea, went down in a ship of which Sneider [John Schneider] was Pilot. I understood Molesworth he had been in Virginia.”

According to testimony before the Board of War, Abigail McKay apparently told the enemy agent Molesworth “she believed some of the Cape May Pilots would do it”. Thankfully, her opinion of her own patriot brother was higher than some of the other Cape May pilots as she returned the following day on 28 March to testify further. “Last Monday Evening, which was the first time she ever heard of the Affair, Molesworth came to her house & asked for her Brother, with whom he had very particular business & wou’d not miss her Brother for Twenty Pounds. She said her bro’ was gone down with a Wessel [Vessel], & on asking what he wanted, he said he wanted to employ Pilots to bring the Fleet round from New York… She knew Molesworth’s Character to be that of a Tory, his Conversation frequently tending that way. Mrs. [Sarah O’] Brien knew the whole affair fully. Molesworth on his application for her Brother told her at once the Reason why he was so anxious to see him. She told him her Brother would not engage in any such thing.” As if to excuse her own involvement in the treachery, Mrs. McKay pleaded innocently that she was recently “down at the Capes to see her Mother, & has been in Town only two weeks.”

The enemy scheme and American treachery ended with James Molesworth’s confession on the evening of 30 March 1777, the day before his execution where he reportedly requested his confession read aloud “when under the Gallows it might be made Publick.” Molesworth’s two female collaborators Abigail McKay and Sarah O’Brien, were seized and committed to prison by the War Office on 2 April. On Wednesday 2 July 1777, Yelverton Taylor’s sister Abigail petitioned to be set free on bail which was granted under the following terms, “That she be enlarged on Bail, with more or one sufficient sureties, in the Sum of One Thousand Pounds, conditioned that she appear at the next Court of Quarter Sessions and answer the charge which shall be brought against her; & that in the meantime she shall not reside or come nearer to the City of Philadelphia than the West side of Schuylkill on the Westward, and not nearer than three Miles of the said City to the Northward, for & during one Year.” While the final disposition of Mrs. Abigail McKay’s case has not yet been determined, this story of intrigue among those pilots of the River and Bay of Delaware named in the court records- John Eldridge, Andrew Higgins (Higgons), John Schneider (Snyder), William (Bill) Skillinger and Nathan Church has set me on another course of identifying all those pilots who served local shipping during those perilous times.

Privateer Captain Yelverton Taylor’s name appears with twenty-one others on a 20 September 1775 petition of the Pilots of the City of Philadelphia published in the Pennsylvania Archives (1879) on pages 376 & 377, pleading for use of two government galleys in order to fish and oyster to support themselves and their families who are deprived of their presence at the Capes. An alphabetized list of the petitioners is as follows:

John Adams

Michael Dawson

William Downs

Joseph Gamble

Miles Gerrard

Daniel Gorton

Abraham Marshall

William Marshall

Nehemiah Maull

William Moleston

Nathaniel Philip

Charles Richards

James Roberts

William Ross

John Schneider

Daniel Shillinger

Henry Shillinger

James Steward

Matthew Strong

Yelverton Taylor

Henry Tuder

William White

On 20 October 1775, the following ten pilots originally selected as the Chevaux-de-Frize Pilots “agreed to enter into the service of this Province [Pennsylvania], at the rate of six Pounds per month, for the purpose of piloting all vessels from Chester, through the machines sunk near Fort-Island, to this City [Philadelphia], and from this City to Chester”. Furthermore, “each of us duly sworn upon the Holy Evangelists, do, and every of us does, declare and swear, that he will not discover, to any person or persons whatever, any matter or thing which he shall be informed of or intrusted with, or which he now knows, or shall hereafter acquire knowledge of, by his own skill and experience or otherwise, whereby any person or persons may be taught and instructed how to conduct and navigate a vessel to pass through or between the machines called chevaux-de-frise, sunk in the River Delaware, by order of the Committee of Safety; and that each of us will use his utmost skill and endeavours to keep out of the way of and prevent his being taken by any British man-of-war, armed vessel, or other vessel in the immediate service of the King of Great Britain.”

Michael Dawson

Joseph Gamble

Daniel Gorton

William Marshall

Nehemiah Maule

William Moleston

James Roberts

William Ross

John Snyder

Matthew Strong

The ten pilots who were entrusted with the secret location of the Chevaux de Frize obstructions in the Delaware River and actually served are listed alphabetically on page 359 of the Pennsylvania Archives (1879) and, like the previous list, include the prospective conspirator John Schneider.

Dawson, Michael, October 11, 1775; discharged August 2, 1777.
Gamble, Joseph, October 11, 1775; discharged August 2, 1777.
Gordon, Daniel, October 11, 1775; discharged September, 1776. [Deceased]
Marshall, William, October 11, 1775; discharged August 2, 1777.
Maul, James, February 20, 1776; disc’d August 2, 1777. [Replaced Gordon Sept 19, 1776]
Maul, Nehemiah, October 11, 1775; discharged August 2, 1777.
Molleston (Mollestown), William, October 11, 1775; discharged August 29, 1777.
Robert, James, October 11, 1775; discharged August 2, 1777.
Ross, William, October 11, 1775; discharged August 2, 1777.
Schneider, John, October 11, 1775; discharged August 29, 1777.
Storey, Nathan, February 20, 1776; discharged August 2, 1777.

Joshua Fisher first published at Philadelphia in 1756 his subsequently suppressed Chart of [the] Delaware Bay from the Sea-Coast to Reedy-Island which served as the source of William Faden’s well circulated re-engraved chart issued in March 1776. This chart included a list of pilots and ship masters who attested to its accuracy and included the following pilots whose names are here alphabetized. One of Molesworth’s intended conspirators Andrew Higgins is included.

Joseph Bailey

Daniel Crowell

Samuel Davis

Samuel Edgell

Simon Edwards

Nehemiah Field

Henry Fisher

William Flower

Nathaniel Foster

Elihu Hand

Jeremiah Hand

Thomas Hand

Andrew Higgins

Peter Hunter

Silas Lupton

William Painter

Samuel Rowland

Samuel Rowland, Jr.

William Rowland, Jr.

Luke Shield, Jr.

Reuben Swain

Abraham Wiltbank

Scrutiny of the of the Pennsylvania Archives (1879) and Delaware Archives (1891) brings to light the service, patriot and otherwise of a number of pilots operating on the Delaware, some not noted on those dedicated lists including:

John Adams, pilot of ship General Green, died 29 May 1779

Frederick Bird, Former captain of sloop Defence May 1777, Entered on Fire brig Vesuvius June 1777, Fire brig Vulcano and pilot of the fire fleet 1777, Captain of the Sally January 1778

Alexander Bruce, unauthorized trip to Capes in a pilot boat 1776

Nathan Church, 1777

John Conner, Delaware, accused of trading with and piloting the enemy

Samuel Davis, Lewes Town

Samuel Edwards, April 1776, stationed at Lewes Town

John Eldridge, 1776

Nehemiah Field, Lewes Town

Henry Fisher, Lewes Town

Joseph Gamble, refused to go on board ship Delaware August 1777

Andrew Higgins, former Captain of PA sloop Defence, pilot of schooner Delaware May 1777-1778

Nicholas Himan, Master and pilot of brig Convention May 1777

Jeremiah Holden (Holben), pilot of brig Convention July 1777, pilot from Chester to Capes

George Jackson, pilot of fire ship Hecla 5/21/76-5/21/77, pilot of ship Strumbelo July 1777, Runaway September 1777

James Jones, 1776, Lewes Town

John Marshall, pilot of ship Stumbelo, pilot of fire ship Hecla July 1777, Runaway September 1777

John E. Maul, Lewes Town

William Moore, Jr, Cape May, accused of harbouring and piloting the enemy

Daniel Murphy, unauthorized trip to Capes in a pilot boat 1776

Thomas Rowland, 1784

Enos Schillinger, Jr.

William (Bill) Skillinger, pilot from Cape May 1777

Mr. Skillinger. 1784

John Smith, unauthorized trip to Capes in a pilot boat 1776

Henry Tudor, 26 years of experience by 1776, 45 days on PA brig Convention, on Randolph 12/1/1776

Richard Wells, Hire of pilot boat 1777

A scan of the Pennsylvania Archives (1879) reveals the 1777 wages of pilots navigating the Delaware to be forty-two dollars per month with two rations of food per day while the “Chevaux de Frize” piloting wages had increased from their initial rate of L 6 per month two years earlier to L 18 per month with three rations per day. One authorization for payment of L 3 stands out as evidence that pilots were also compensated on occasion for extraordinary duty or hazard pay if the specific situation warranted. Delaware River and Bay pilots operating out of Philadelphia, Chester or Wilmington hailed largely from the Capes, either Lewes Town or Cape May. No particular effort has yet been made to identify the home of each of the pilots listed however, familial clues can be found in both Hand & Stites “The Cape May Navy” (2018) and Andrew Knopp’s “One Hundred Year History of the Pilot’s Association Bay and River Delaware 1896-1996” (1996). Knopp quotes J. Thomas Scharf’s “History of Delaware” on page 5 noting “After 1800, the occupation of piloting at Lewes appears to have been confined almost entirely to persons bearing the names of Conwell, Clampitt, Rowland, Maull, Howard, West, Marshall, Wesley, Chambers and Verdin.” Hand and Stites on page 35 of their book list the families tied to maritime interests on the Jersey Cape, “from East Hampton and Southampton, on the east end of Long Island, came the Hands, Hughes, Leamings, Edwards and Schellingers. From Western Long Island and/or East Jersey came the Corsons, Stillwells, Willets and Stiteses. The Taylors, Steelmans and others came to Cape May from settlements on the Delaware River.” Following is an amalgamated alphabetized list composed from the previous sources of Chevaux de Frize, Government Service and Delaware River and Bay Pilots who served during the war years as well as, pilots named in the 1774 Tax List for Philadelphia County and mentioned in Philadelphia newspapers between 1775 and 1783:

John Adams

Joseph Bailey

Frederick Bird

Alexander Bruce

John Conner

Robert Cooke

Daniel Crowell

Samuel Davis

Michael Dawson

John Dillworth

William Downs

Samuel Edgell

Samuel Edwards

Simon Edwards

John Eldridge

John Emmes

Nehemiah Field

Henry Fisher

William Flower

Nathaniel Foster

Joseph Gamble

Miles Gerrard

Zachariah Goforth

Daniel Gorton (Gordon)

Abraham Gregory

Joshua Hall

Richard Ham

Elihu Hand

Jeremiah Hand

Thomas Hand

Andrew Higgins (Higgons)

Nicolas Himan

Jeremiah Holden (Holben)

Peter Hunter

George Jackson

James Jones

Elzey Long

Silas Lupton

Abraham Marshall

John Marshall

William Marshall

Abraham Mason

James Maul

John E. Maul

James Maule

Nehemiah Maul (Maull, Maule)

William Moleston (Molleston, Mollestown)

William Moore, Jr.

Daniel Murphy

William Painter

John Peckworth

Nathaniel Philip

Charles Richards

James Roberts (Robert)

William Ross

Samuel Rowland

Samuel Rowland, Jr.

Thomas Rowland

William Rowland Jr.

John Schneider (Snyder)

Luke Shield, Jr.

Daniel Shillinger

Enos Schillinger, Jr.

Henry Shillinger

Mr. Skillinger

John Smith

James Steward (Stewart)

Nathan Storey

Matthew Strong

Thomas Stuart

Reuben Swain

Yelverton Taylor

Henry Tuder

Richard Wells, Jr.

Richard West

William White

Thomas Willis

Abraham Wiltbank