Local Revolutionary War hero Henry Scudder honored on 283rd birthday
A new historic marker honoring Lieutenant Henry Scudder was unveiled at Northport Burial Ground on August 5.
Lieutenant Henry Scudder was honored for his service and sacrifice on August 5 with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque at Northport Burial Ground. After the event, participants laid a wreath at Scudder’s gravesite to honor his legacy.
Yesterday would have been Scudder’s 283rd birthday.
Part of the Northport Historical Society and Museum’s ongoing celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, the tribute honored the Crab Meadow native’s lasting impact on the nation’s history.
According to a writeup by the Huntington Historical Society, the Scudder family was among the earliest settlers of the Town of Huntington:
Thomas Scudder left England to become one of the earliest settlers in Plymouth, Massachusetts. He lived in Salem, Massachusetts from 1646 to 1657. His three sons left Salem and eventually found their way to Huntington in 1653, the year of the original purchase from the native inhabitants.
By the time of the American Revolution, Henry Scudder, a descendant who was born in 1743, lived on a large farm near Crabmeadow. In 1774, he was selected to serve on the Town Committee, through which news of events in the other colonies was spread and plans for action were coordinated. At a General Town meeting on May 2, 1775, Henry Scudder was named 2nd Lieutenant in a company of 80 men chosen to be ready to march and fight.
A year later at the Battle of Long Island, Scudder was captured by the British, but soon released. By the time he returned home to Huntington, the British had established a garrison on the Village Green and every male over the age of 15 was compelled to take an Oath of Fealty to the British Crown. Like many others, Scudder fled to Connecticut rather than take the oath.
Still he fought:
From Connecticut, he planned and led numerous raids on Long Island intended to deprive the British of supplies and to capture supplies for Washington’s army. He also helped gather information on British forts on Long Island.
In 1781, Scudder provided a detailed sketch of Fort Slongo just across the town line in Smithtown (near his Crabmeadow farm). In October 1781, the British were preparing a fleet in New York City to assist the troops trapped in Yorktown, Va. In order to create a diversion, which would keep the fleet in New York, 100 American raiders armed with Scudder’s drawing rowed across the Long Island Sound from Connecticut to Crab Meadow Beach.
Early the next morning the Americans caught the British completely by surprise and chased them off into the woods. The Americans burned the fort and the fleet stayed in New York. While there was no loss of life, the sergeant who led the American charge – Elijah Churchill of Enfield, Connecticut – was wounded. To recognize his heroism, George Washington created the Badge of Military Merit, now known as the Purple Heart. Sgt. Churchill was its first recipient.
Scudder’s activities almost resulted in his capture or death many times. Once he hid in the chimney of his house while a British officer threatened to kill his wife if she did not turn him in. Scudder’s wife did not betray him and the officer did not follow through on the threat. But as he left, the officer said, “If I don’t find your rebel husband in a week, I’ll be in my coffin.” The words turned out to be true. In less than a week, Scudder and a party of rebels surrounded a house where the officer was playing cards. He shot the officer and took sixteen prisoners.
After the war, Scudder was a member of the convention that framed the State Constitution. He also represented Suffolk County for several terms in the State Legislature. Around 1790, he moved to the head of Northport Harbor on what is now Route 25A. He died in 1822.
To read more about the Scudder family, many of whom are buried at Northport Burial Ground, click here.
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