Life Under Occupation

Resolution on Armed Boats, Plundering, and Long Island Residents

This New York State resolution shows how complicated life on occupied Long Island became. The State argued that Long Island residents, though they lived under British control, should not automatically be treated as British subjects or targets for plunder. It complained that armed boats from Connecticut were landing on Long Island, taking property, and harming civilians.

New York State Senate and Assembly, resolution concerning armed boats and plundering on Long Island, June 28, 1781, transcribed by J. Vermaelen, in Town of Islip Revolutionary War Resource Guide.

Huntington Town Records: British Vessels and Fear Before Occupation

This Huntington record shows the fear and uncertainty on Long Island just before the British campaign. The Town Historian uses Huntington records because Islip's own minutes are comparatively quiet about occupation. These nearby records help explain the pressures Islip residents also faced.

Gilbert Potter to Gen. Woodhull, August 26, 1776, in Charles R. Street, ed., Huntington Town Records… vol. 3, excerpted in Town of Islip Revolutionary War Resource Guide.

Huntington Town Records: Joy After Independence, Fear Before Occupation

This excerpt captures the shift from celebration to danger in the summer of 1776. Huntington celebrated independence, but British military movements quickly changed the mood, framing Islip's context as part of a regional Long Island story.

Huntington Town Records, vol. 3, concerning July–August 1776, in Charles R. Street, ed., Huntington Town Records… vol. 3, excerpted in Town of Islip Revolutionary War Resource Guide.

Act on “Equivocal and Suspected Characters”

This New York law shows how the Revolutionary state treated neutrality and suspected loyalty to Britain. It authorized commissioners to summon people considered “neutral and equivocal characters” and require them to swear allegiance to the State of New York.

New York State, “An Act more effectually to prevent the mischiefs arising from… persons of equivocal and suspected characters,” passed June 30, 1778, in Laws of the State of New York… 1777–1784, vol. 1 (Albany: Weed, Parsons and Company, 1886).

Act for the Forfeiture and Sale of Loyalist Estates

This law declared that certain people who adhered to the enemies of the State had forfeited their estates, and it named people banished from New York. It shows how Revolutionary governments punished loyalty to Britain and how property became part of the political struggle.

New York State, “An Act for the forfeiture and sale of the estates of persons Who have adhered to the enemies of this State…,” passed October 22, 1779, in Laws of the State of New York… 1777–1784, vol. 1 (Albany: Weed, Parsons and Company, 1886).

Temporary Government for Southern New York After British Evacuation

This law planned how the southern parts of the state, including Suffolk County, would be governed once the British left. It shows New York expected the transition from occupation to restored government to be difficult, giving a temporary council power over order, food prices, billeting, supplies, elections, and suspected disaffection.

New York State, “An Act to provide for the temporary government of the southern parts of this State,” passed October 23, 1779, excerpted in Town of Islip Revolutionary War Resource Guide, Part Five.

Prisoner Exchange and Forfeiture of Property

This law let certain inhabitants apply to be treated as prisoners of war for exchange. The language is striking: once approved, the applicant would be treated as a prisoner of war and a subject of the King of Great Britain, and their New York real estate would be forfeited to the people of the State.

New York State, “An Act to enable the person administring the government to exchange persons applying for that purpose, as prisoners of war,” passed March 20, 1781, excerpted in Town of Islip Revolutionary War Resource Guide, Part Five.

Newspaper Accounts of Raids on Islip

Revolutionary-era newspaper items, collected by Henry Onderdonk Jr., record raids, robberies, and whaleboat activity around Islip and Blue Point. Several concern the home of William Nicoll, Esq. They show the Whaleboat War as it touched Islip's shore.

Henry Onderdonk Jr., Revolutionary Incidents of Suffolk and Kings Counties (New York, 1849), excerpted in George J. Munkenbeck, “What was life like in Islip… during the occupation?,” Town of Islip Revolutionary War Resource Guide, Part Six.

Isaac Thompson: A Man on a Tightrope

George J. Munkenbeck

The core essay of the project. It argues that Isaac Thompson should be understood not merely as the host of George Washington, but as an active figure whose family, offices, property, and choices placed him in danger during occupation.

George J. Munkenbeck, “Isaac Thompson: A Man on a Tightrope,” in Town of Islip Revolutionary War Resource Guide, Part Six.

Enslaved and Indentured Labor at Sagtikos Manor

Christopher Verga, quoted by George J. Munkenbeck

Connects Sagtikos Manor to slavery and indentured labor. The passage comes through Munkenbeck's essay quoting Christopher Verga's work on slavery in Suffolk County. The original Verga article should be verified directly.

Christopher Verga, “Slavery in Suffolk County, NY,” quoted in George J. Munkenbeck, “Isaac Thompson: A Man on a Tightrope,” in Town of Islip Revolutionary War Resource Guide.

What Was Life Like in Islip During the Occupation?

George J. Munkenbeck

Explains why occupation was difficult for people who stayed on Long Island: living under Crown authority, distrusted by British forces, and vulnerable to raids from across the Sound.

George J. Munkenbeck, “What was life like in Islip and the surrounding areas during the occupation?,” in Town of Islip Revolutionary War Resource Guide, Part Six.

The British Soldier and the Occupation of Islip

George J. Munkenbeck

Gives concrete examples of occupation pressures: soldiers quartered in homes, seizures, farms drained for supplies, and prisoners held without trial. It presents occupation as complicated, not a simple story.

George J. Munkenbeck, “The British Soldier,” in Town of Islip Revolutionary War Resource Guide: Part Four.

Singing and Defying the British Occupiers

George J. Munkenbeck

Explains how music could be compliance and resistance at the same time. Under occupation, residents might be required to sing “God Save the King,” but flexible eighteenth-century tunes let colonists sing different words to familiar melodies.

George J. Munkenbeck, “Singing and Defying the British Occupiers,” in Town of Islip Revolutionary War Resource Guide, Part Six.

A Hymn That Hid Rebellion: Come, Thou Almighty King

George J. Munkenbeck

Explains how “Come, Thou Almighty King” could work as hidden resistance because it could be sung to the same tune as “God Save the King.” One story tells of a Long Island congregation doing exactly this. The specific story is best framed as tradition unless further verified.

George J. Munkenbeck, “A Hymn that Hid Rebellion: Come, Thou Almighty King,” in Town of Islip Revolutionary War Resource Guide, Part Six.

Why Huntington Records Matter for Islip

George J. Munkenbeck

Explains why the project sometimes uses nearby Huntington records: Islip's own minutes are quiet about the occupation, while Huntington's preserve more detail about orders and military pressures.

George J. Munkenbeck, First Addendum to Town of Islip Revolutionary War Resource Guide, Office of the Town Historian, March 10, 2026.