The Soused Sentinel or the Case of the Tipsy Tory
Todd W. Braisted
Little is known of Lawrence Ferguson at the start of the American Revolution until his appearance as a private soldier in Lt. Col. Abraham Van Buskirk’s 4th Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers in 1777. Raised in late 1776 primarily from Bergen and Morris County Loyalists, the battalion had fought in numerous skirmishes and battles, taking some 133 prisoners along the way.
By May 1779, the battalion had been stationed in Hobuck (Hoboken) for some two and a half months, often engaged in skirmishes against members of the Bergen County Militia and the regulars of the 1st & 2nd North Carolina Regiments, stationed at Paramus. Those Continental soldiers made a tempting target to an enterprising Scottish officer, namely Captain Patrick Ferguson (no relation to Lawrence).
Patrick Ferguson was the captain of the light infantry company of the British 70th Regiment of Foot, but he had made a name for himself by developing a breech-loading rifle that could fit a bayonet. Receiving a serious wound in the arm at the Battle of Brandywine, Pennsylvania in 1777, Ferguson was sidelined for nearly a year, but was now once again in the field, leading successful attacks at Egg Harbor and Shrewsbury, along the Jersey Shore. In May 1779, he had the Carolinians in his sights.
Devising a plan to deceive the Paramus garrison, on 17 May 1779 men of the British Brigade of Guards and 64th Regiment, would deploy along the Hackensack, while the 63rd Regiment occupied Liberty Pole. Van Buskirk would take his men from Hobuck and occupy his old home area at New Bridge. The main force, some 300 British from the 17th, 57th and 71st Regiments under Captain Ferguson, would climb the Palisades at the Lower Closter Dock and attack Paramus from the northeast. In the darkness of the night however, this British force could not find the landing place, and either never landed or simply wound up at New Bridge. Paramus and its garrison was safe.
The rest of the British troops however paid no attention to the fate of the aborted raid. They would be vigilant against any parties of enemy troops in their area. Indeed, Colonel Thomas Clark, commanding the 1st North Carolina Regiment at Paramus, was well on his guard and aware of what was intended for him. Clark would detach his own light infantry company and some militia to the New Bridge area, to keep an eye on the British and Loyalist force. Small clashes took place, wounding three of the Continentals, while perhaps causing jitters in Van Buskirk’s force at New Bridge, deployed on the west side of the Hackensack River. Prudence dictated sentries be posted, which the Loyalists did, lest Clark and his force attempt to surprise them. It was only then that things got…interesting.
Lieutenant John Van Buskirk, the officer of the guard, posted, among others, John Rodit and Lawrence Ferguson of Captain Samuel Ryerson’s Company, as sentries “on the heights” to the west of New Bridge. While on sentry, Ferguson was then witnessed firing at Rodit, some fifty yards distant. Stunned, Rodit fired at Ferguson, who by this time was some 150 yards away, making his way to the woods to his front. Rodit re-loaded and fired one more shot, at which point Sergeant Charles Brown turned out the rest of the guard and pursued Ferguson. When they caught up with the wandering sentry, they found him walking along a fence, about a half mile from his sentry post, apparently pleased he had driven off an impending rebel attack. The guard placed him under arrest, taking from him his musket and accoutrements…along with a bottle of whiskey found in his coat pocket. Ferguson, in a state of complete inebriation, was confined in the guard post until the battalion returned to Hobuck the next day.
In late June 1779, Ferguson was brough before a General Court Martial in New York City, where he was charged with “For firing at the Centry posted with him, and deserting to the Enemy.” In the course of the two day trial, Ferguson was able, through the testimony of other sentries, prove he had fired at the woods, which he supposed were full of rebels, and not at Rodit. He likewise proved that other sentries had engaged with the enemy that day, establishing it was plausible there was an enemy force in the area. The part that didn’t help was his admission “that he had got some Whiskey the property of a Rebel Officer, which intoxicated him…[and] being very much in Liquor did not recollect any further particulars.” His defense worked, almost. He was found not guilty of firing at his fellow sentry, or of attempting to desert. However, he was found “Guilty of having quitted his post, in breach of the 6th Article, of the 14th Section, of the Articles of War” for which was sentenced to 500 lashes on the bare back with a cat o’ nine tails. While a severe punishment, it was actually on the lower end of the corporal punishment spectrum for a general court.
There is no record of whether Ferguson received all, part or any of his punishment. Within two months, he was captured at Paulus Hook when it was stormed by 400 Continentals under Major Henry Lee on 19 August 1779. Ferguson, along with 43 other enlisted men of the battalion, were marched to Pennsylvania and lodged in Philadelphia’s “New Gaol.” Showing no signs of resentment or disloyalty, Ferguson found means to escape and returned to his battalion, now serving on Staten Island, exactly 51 weeks later, on 12 August 1780. He went on to serve the next 2+ years, presumably taking part in the battalion’s final actions, until he died of illness in the General Hospital of New York City on 20 October 1782.