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​​​​​The Blood of Revolution: A Lineage of Patriots

Introduction

The achievement of American independence was predicated upon an intricate network of conventional military engagement, irregular guerrilla warfare, and clandestine intelligence operations. The thirty individuals cataloged below represent a cross-section of this mobilization, spanning the New England, Middle, and Southern theaters. By documenting their military commissions, patriotic services, and logistical contributions, this compendium illustrates how localized resistance coalesced into a continental victory.

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Part I: Clandestine Warfare and Intelligence Networks

The northern maritime and intelligence apparatus provided critical strategic advantages to the Continental Army, particularly in the contested zones surrounding British-occupied New York.

• 1. Major Samuel Gregg (1738–1808) | New Hampshire | DAR #A047691
  Following his defection from a British commission, Gregg engaged in dual-faceted resistance. He leveraged domestic textile production to support the non-importation movement while funneling tactical reconnaissance directly to General George Washington’s headquarters.

• 2. General (Captain) William Brooke (1746–1829) | Pennsylvania | DAR #A014920
  Serving initially as Captain in the 4th Battalion of the Chester County Militia, Brooke operated as an intelligence agent for Washington. Concurrently, his family iron foundries manufactured 115 heavy naval cannons and the critical 10-inch mortar shells utilized during the siege of Yorktown.

• 3. Captain William Smith Scudder (1739–1793) | New York | DAR #A133282
  Scudder commanded armed whaleboat operations across the Long Island Sound, executing amphibious raids against Loyalist positions and gathering maritime intelligence to disrupt British shipping channels.

• 4. Lieutenant Henry Scudder (1743–1822) | New York | DAR #A100838 / #A100778
  Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the New York Militia, Scudder operated as an embedded scout and deep-cover asset within the Culper Spy Ring, providing detailed intelligence on British troop movements in Suffolk County.

• 5. Phebe Carll | New York | DAR #A213456
  Subjected to hostile interrogation by British occupying forces seeking the capture of her husband, Lieutenant Henry Scudder, Carll maintained operational security under threat of immediate execution, preserving the integrity of the local intelligence network.

• 6. Jesse Carll | New York | DAR #A019145
  Operating under British occupation on Long Island, Carll refused the oath of allegiance to the Crown. He provided capital to finance the underground whaleboat intelligence networks operating between Connecticut and New York.

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Part II: Irregular Warfare and Militia Resistance in the Contested Zones

In the "Neutral Ground" of Westchester County and the occupied territory of Long Island, local militias engaged in protracted counter-insurgency operations against British regulars and Loyalist partisans.

• 7. Captain Timothy Carll | New York | DAR #A019159
  As commander of the 3rd Company of the Huntington Militia, Carll utilized his commercial property as a clandestine staging and training ground, organizing local agrarian workers into a structured defensive unit.

• 8. Sergeant John Carll | New York | DAR #A019148
  A Minuteman in Colonel Josiah Smith’s Regiment, Carll transitioned to irregular warfare following the American defeat at the Battle of Long Island, executing nocturnal partisan raids to interdict British logistical lines.

• 9. Ananias Carll, Jr. | New York | DAR #A019139
  Carll managed his family's extensive agricultural estates to divert livestock, crops, and financial capital past British occupation checkpoints to sustain Continental forces.

• 10. Epenetus Platt | New York | DAR #A089599
  A signatory of the historic Huntington Association Test of 1775, Platt mobilized material aid and livestock for the embryonic Continental army prior to the British encirclement of Long Island.

• 11. Gilbert Scudder | New York | DAR #A100762
  Enlisted as a Private in Captain John Wickes’ Company within Colonel Josiah Smith's 1st Regiment of Suffolk County Militia, Scudder participated in the foundational defense of the colony during the Battle of Long Island.

• 12. Increase Miller | New York | DAR #A079011
  Serving in the 4th Regiment of the Westchester County Militia, Miller engaged in partisan skirmishes against Loyalist raiders, maintaining control of the critical northern corridors required for Continental troop maneuvers.

• 13. Elijah Miller | New York | DAR #A078750
  Operating as a militia officer in the Westchester theater, Miller structured ambush tactics and scouting parties that restricted British reconnaissance out of Manhattan.

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Part III: The Conventional Line and Frontier Defense

The maintenance of the Continental Line required disciplined infantry capable of matching professional British forces, while frontier units protected the interior flanks from asymmetric threats.

• 14. Thomas Lack | Pennsylvania | DAR #A212304
  Serving in the Pennsylvania militia establishment, Lack specialized in regional interdiction campaigns, utilizing topographic familiarity to disrupt enemy supply columns.

• 15. George Lack / Louck | Pennsylvania | DAR #A071199
  A Palatine German settler serving in the Berks County Militia, Lack was deployed to the western frontier to secure Continental supply lines and protect early settlements from British-aligned auxiliary forces.

• 16. John Miller | Pennsylvania | DAR #A079144
  An infantryman in the Pennsylvania Line, Miller participated in major conventional campaigns across the Mid-Atlantic theater, enduring severe winter encampments and holding frontline positions during set-piece battles.

• 17. Aaron Parker II (1739–1823) | Massachusetts | DAR #A087254
  A Minuteman from Westford, Parker mobilized during the Lexingon Alarm of April 17, 1775, participating in the initial conventional armed resistance in the Massachusetts theater.

• 18. Private Benjamin Chase | Massachusetts | DAR #A021063
  Enlisted in the Massachusetts Continental Line, Chase completed multiple deployments throughout the northeastern theater, a service later validated by the award of a federal pension.

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Part IV: The Southern Campaign and Civil Logistics

The Southern Theater was characterized by intensive logistical coordination, civil administrative resistance, and fierce engagement that ultimately exhausted the British army under Lord Cornwallis.

• 19. Judith Jefferson Farrar (1736–1782) | Virginia | DAR #A212130
  Farrar managed civil procurement operations in Mecklenburg County, systematically directing domestic supplies to local defense detachments resisting British foraging parties.

• 20. Thomas Jefferson Farrar (1726–1810) | Virginia | DAR #A038988
  Operating from Goochland County, Farrar coordinated agricultural logistics, provisioning Southern Continental and militia forces with food and livestock during the acceleration of the Virginia campaign.

• 21. Peter Farrar (1730–1815) | Virginia | DAR #A038990
  An adherent to the revolutionary cause, Farrar signed regional security petitions and systematically surrendered civilian estate assets to sustain regional military operations.

• 22. Captain John Anderson (1750–1817) | Virginia | DAR #A002452
  As a Captain in the Virginia Militia, Anderson commanded fortified frontier outposts, securing the western perimeter against multi-directional threats and preventing the encirclement of eastern units.

• 23. George Anderson | Virginia | DAR #A002410
  Appointed as a civil officer in Virginia, Anderson regulated the requisition, collection, and transport of cavalry horses, beef, and munitions to the Southern Continental Army.

• 24. Captain Robert Craighead (1751–1821) | Virginia | DAR #A027288
  Commanding a company within the Bedford County Virginia Militia, Craighead led tactical maneuvers and defensive engagements throughout the Piedmont regions.

• 25. Dr. Robert Clark (1755–1820) | Virginia | DAR #A022622 / #A022623
  Operating as a frontier physician and civil administrator, Clark provided critical medical triage to wounded combatants while concurrently executing regional civil directives.

• 26. Major Griffith John McRee (1758–1801) | North Carolina | DAR #A076135
  An officer in the North Carolina Continental Line, McRee served as a staff strategist during the Southern Campaign, contributing to the operational planning that depleted British mobile reserves.

• 27. William Skillern II (1754–1816) | Virginia | DAR #A104996
  Skillern provided sustained financial underwriting and material assets to support partisan guerrilla units operating in the Carolinas and Virginia.

• 28. Lieutenant Moses Brooks (1760–1838) | Virginia / North Carolina | Lineage Registered
  Commissioned as an officer in the Virginia and North Carolina militia structures, Brooks participated in the pivotal American victory at the Battle of King’s Mountain.

• 29. Private Wooldrich Fritz / Fritts (1731–1781) | North Carolina | DAR #A042797
  A member of the Rowan County Militia, Fritz engaged British forces at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. He was subsequently targeted and assassinated by local Loyalist partisans due to his prominent revolutionary alignment.

• 30. John Jacob Fritts Jr. | North Carolina | DAR #A042795
  Following the assassination of his father, Fritts assumed regional logistical responsibilities, providing ongoing material aid, provisions, and intelligence to the North Carolina militia forces.

footnotes 

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[1] Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Genealogical Research System (GRS), Ancestor Database, Record for Samuel Gregg, #A047691. Hereceived historical recognition for his support of the Homespun Movement.
DAR GRS, Record for William Brooke, #A014920; see also Chester County Militia rolls, Pennsylvania Archives.
DAR GRS, Record for William Smith Scudder, #A133282. Historical accounts document his whaleboat commissions on the Long Island Sound.
[4] DAR GRS, Record for Henry Scudder, #A100838. His documentation correlates with the historical bounds of the Culper network in Suffolk County.
[5] DAR GRS, Record for Phebe Carll, #A213456. Her patriotic service record validates the property defense incident during the British occupation.
[6] DAR GRS, Record for Jesse Carll, #A019145. Documented under patriotic service for non-allegiance and financial underwriting.
[7] DAR GRS, Record for Timothy Carll, #A019159; Huntington Militia Records, New York State Archives.
[8] DAR GRS, Record for John Carll, #A019148. Minutes of Colonel Josiah Smith’s Regiment.
[9] DAR GRS, Record for Ananias Carll, Jr., #A019139. Requisition receipts validate supply diversions to Continental forces.
[10] DAR GRS, Record for Epenetus Platt, #A089599. Calendar of Historical Manuscripts Relating to the War of the Revolution, New York Secretary of State.
[11] DAR GRS, Record for Gilbert Scudder, #A100762; Muster Rolls of New York Militia Campaign of 1776.
[12] DAR GRS, Record for Increase Miller, #A079011; Westchester County Historical Society Militia Records.
[13] DAR GRS, Record for Elijah Miller, #A078750; Minutes of the Committee of Safety of the County of Westchester.
[14] DAR GRS, Record for Thomas Lack, #A212304; Pennsylvania Militia Muster Rolls, Sixth Series.
[15] DAR GRS, Record for George Lack / Louck, #A071199; Berks County Militia Records, Pennsylvania State Archives.
[16] DAR GRS, Record for John Miller, #A079144; Pennsylvania Line Continental Regiment Archives.
[17] DAR GRS, Record for Aaron Parker II, #A087254; Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War.
[18] DAR GRS, Record for Benjamin Chase, #A021063; Federal Pension Records, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
[19] DAR GRS, Record for Judith Jefferson Farrar, #A212130; Mecklenburg County Legislative Petitions and Public Service Claims.
[20] DAR GRS, Record for Thomas Jefferson Farrar, #A038988; Goochland County Public Service Claims, Library of Virginia.
[21] DAR GRS, Record for Peter Farrar, #A038990; Virginia Revolutionary Public Claims Database.
[22] DAR GRS, Record for John Anderson, #A002452; Chalkley's Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia.
[23] DAR GRS, Record for George Anderson, #A002410; Virginia State Library, Commissioner of the Revenue Records.
[24] DAR GRS, Record for Robert Craighead, #A027288; Bedford County Militia Records, Library of Virginia.
[25] DAR GRS, Record for Robert Clark, #A022622; Virginia Medical Society Historical Rolls.
[26] DAR GRS, Record for Griffith John McRee, #A076135; North Carolina State Records, Army Accounts.
[27] DAR GRS, Record for William Skillern II, #A104996; Southern Campaign Pension Statements & Roster Rolls.
[28] Lineage Registry Database, Documentation for Moses Brooks. Fought under Colonel John Sevier at King's Mountain.
[29] DAR GRS, Record for Wooldrich Fritz, #A042797; Rowan County Court Minutes and Revolutionary War Files.
[30] DAR GRS, Record for John Jacob Fritts Jr., #A042795; North Carolina Revolutionary War Pay Vouchers.

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* "Major Samuel Gregg (1738–1808) of New Hampshire established a foundational engine of economic defiance during the American Revolution, defecting from his British Commission to place his life, family, and extraordinary craftsmanship entirely at the service of the patriot cause. A master spinning wheel maker and turner by trade, Major Gregg, alongside his sons, engineered high-efficiency, foot-driven spinning wheels that became the literal machinery of colonial resistance. Operating from his atelier, Gregg forged the physical foundation for the historic Homespun Movement, directly supplying the necessary tools for the Daughters of Liberty to turn domestic labor into a powerful political boycott against British textiles. By designing and building these wheels, the Gregg family enabled colonial women to break free from foreign economic dependency, manufacture vital garments for the Continental Army, and transform homespun clothing into an enduring badge of fierce American patriotism. While Major Gregg actively served on the Peterborough Committee of Safety and led local militias, his family's craft provided the vital foundation that spun the very fabric of American independence." 

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Major Samuel Gregg’s "spy" and intelligence legacy stems from one of the most daring double-agent acts of the Revolutionary War: an officer actively holding a commission under the British Crown who secretly defected to sabotage King George III from the inside out, mapping enemy infrastructure and pass strategic logistics directly to the Continental Army. 

Before fully and openly defecting to the American side, Gregg utilized his unique status as a "loyal" veteran officer to execute a high-risk intelligence playbook:

• The Infiltration: Having earned a prestigious commission as a lieutenant in the King’s service during the French and Indian War, Gregg retained high-level access to British military spheres. 

• The Intelligence Gather: In the opening phase of the Revolution, rather than quietly resigning his commission, he used his insider knowledge of British troop capabilities and command structures to act as an undercover radar in the New England theater. He quietly observed, mapped out, and monitored British strategic logistics, movements, and vulnerabilities.

• The Hand-Off: Gregg funneled this advanced, highly sensitive tactical reconnaissance directly to General George Washington’s continental operations

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* *Long before the war erupted, the Brooke family laid down the core engineering bedrocks of the Pennsylvania iron industry. When the war came, this entire industrial foundation was mobilized directly for the patriot cause. Under wartime coordination, these very foundries cast 115 heavy naval cannons for the Continental Navy and the vital 10-inch mortar shells that General George Washington deployed to secure final American victory at Yorktown. While Captain William Brooke (1746–1829) served directly on the front lines as a military spy for Washington, his family's industrial works fought the revolution from the home front. 

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"General William Brooke  of Pennsylvania advanced the cause of American liberty through vital tactical reconnaissance and high-risk scouting operations at the absolute height of the Revolutionary War. Commissioned into the 4th Battalion of the Chester County Militia, Captain Brooke operated as a key intelligence collector in the heavily contested regions surrounding British-occupied Philadelphia and Valley Forge. He organized and deployed specialized scouting networks directly tasked with monitoring enemy lines, tracking hostile troop allocations, and mapping logistics. Routinely operating under the threat of capture, Brooke famously navigated a dangerous British raid on his scouting party at the Swayne estate, successfully keeping his tactical assets intact. By funneling real-time, field-level espionage to the Continental high command, Captain Brooke successfully protected vulnerable American military lines and disrupted the Crown's strategic movements, earning an enduring legacy as an indispensable shadow defender of early America.

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*** "Captain William Smith Scudder (1739–1793) of New York Recognizing his immense tactical value, General George Washington repeatedly intervened on Scudder's behalf,shielding the rogue captain from prosecution and declaring his intelligence far too valuable to lose.

Captain Scudder commanded a legendary whaleboat spy network across the fiercely contested waters of the Long Island Sound, executing high-stakes tactical raids and covert intelligence gathering for the patriot cause. Operating the commissioned whaleboat Ranger, Scudder masterfully utilized the stealth and speed of his vessels to disrupt British supply lines, seize loyalist provisions, and extract critical military reconnaissance. Like many daring privateers of the era, Scudder's aggressive tactics often crossed into unauthoritative plundering and maritime 'piracy,' leading to severe civilian complaints and official legal reprimands. However, his operational brilliance and the intelligence he channeled directly to the Continental Army made him an irreplaceable asset to the high command. Recognizing his immense tactical value, General George Washington repeatedly intervened on Scudder's behalf, shielding the rogue captain from prosecution and declaring his intelligence far too valuable to lose. By balancing the lawless grit of a privateer with the clandestine precision of a shadow agent, Captain Scudder successfully challenged British naval supremacy, leaving an indelible legacy as one of Washington's most vital, protected, and audaciously effective maritime spies."

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**** "Lieutenant Henry Scudder (1743–1822) of New York served as an invaluable embedded scout and auxiliary operative within the historic Culper Spy Ring, placing his life at constant risk to dismantle British military infrastructure from within occupied Long Island. Operating out of Crab Meadow, Scudder repeatedly crossed enemy lines to map fortifications and monitor hostile troop movements, feeding high-value reconnaissance directly into Major Benjamin Tallmadge’s intelligence network. His crowning achievement occurred in 1781, when he successfully drafted a precise tactical blueprint of Fort Slongo, which enabled the Continental Army to execute a devastating surprise raid that neutralized the British stronghold. Furthermore, Scudder's deep-cover surveillance provided the foundational data necessary for the successful American assault on Fort St. George. Frequently evading targeted capture and executing daring counter-raids against British officers, Lieutenant Scudder's clandestine brilliance drastically hindered enemy logistics, cementing his legacy as a premier shadow architect of American independence."

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Operating as an "auxiliary spy" and deep-cover embedded scout, Scudder penetrated enemy lines to monitor troop concentrations and map fortifications. His intelligence fed directly into the network managed by Major Benjamin Tallmadge, advancing the American cause through critical tactical missions: 

1. The Map of Fort Slongo (His Most Famous Mission)

Scudder’s most impactful mission took place near his family farm in Crab Meadow (the Northport area). The British had built Fort Slongo (Fort Salonga), a highly disruptive stronghold used to launch raids and gather local provisions. 

• The Mission: Relying on local positioning, Scudder worked alongside patriot Bryant Scidmore to secretly infiltrate the perimeter and draw a highly detailed, tactical blueprint map of Fort Slongo.

• The Impact: He smuggled the drawing across the Long Island Sound to Washington's forces. Armed with Scudder’s exact layouts, the Continental Army executed a highly successful surprise attack on October 3, 1781. The garrison was overwhelmed, the fort was burned, and a wounded American sergeant named Elijah Churchill was awarded the very first Badge of Military Merit (which later became the Purple Heart) because of the battle. 

2. Deep-Cover Scouting and the Raid on Fort St. George

Because he refused to take an Oath of Fealty to the British Crown, Scudder was forced to flee his home and operate out of Connecticut. From there, he regularly braved whaleboat crossings back onto occupied Long Island to conduct espionage. 

• The Mission: Scudder frequently slipped through enemy territory to gather reconnaissance on troop allocations and naval movements.

• The Impact: His field intelligence was routed back to Chief of Intelligence Benjamin Tallmadge. This data directly enabled Tallmadge’s legendary November 1780 raid on Fort St. George in Mastic, depriving the British of vital winter stockpiles and timber. 

3. Evading Capture and Counter-Intelligence Action

Scudder’s active spying made him one of the most hunted rebels on Long Island. His operations severely degraded the British army's local security.

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• The Chimney Incident: During one close call, a British officer searched his home and threatened to execute Scudder's wife if she didn't reveal his location. Scudder was actively hidden inside the house chimney, listening to the entire threat. As the officer left frustrated, he declared, "If I don't find your rebel husband in a week, I'll be in my coffin." She received a DAR number for her bravery! 

• The Ambush: Taking the threat literally, Scudder utilized his intelligence tracking to locate the exact house where that officer was playing cards less than a week later. Scudder and a band of patriots launched a raid, killing the officer and taking 16 British prisoners.