A Counterfeiter's Paradise (39 page)

60, Rogers was lying

In his testimony, John McCurdy claimed Rogers had more interactions with Lewis. For the justices’ memorandum on the results of their investigation, see Loescher,
The History of Rogers’ Rangers
, pp. 267–269.

60–61, In the spring

The skirmish, subsequently known as the Battle of Jumonville Glen: Fred Anderson,
Crucible of War: The Seven Years’ War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754–1766
(New York: Vintage, 2001), pp. 5–7, 52–59. Washington’s men didn’t kill all thirteen Frenchmen. Some of them, including their commander Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville, were slain by the Indians after they surrendered.

61, These were the first

The lead-up to the war: Anderson,
Crucible of War
, pp. 36–41, 112.

61–62, As with the last

Rogers and Frye: Nevins, “The Life of Robert Rogers,” pp. 40–41, and Loescher,
The History of Rogers’ Rangers
, pp. 18–19.

62, While in Portsmouth

Rogers’s negotiation and Frye’s complaint: Nevins, “The Life of Robert Rogers,” pp. 41–42.

62, Rogers so successfully

Carty Gilman: Scott, “Counterfeiting in Colonial New Hampshire,” pp. 26–27; Scott includes an image of the note to Gilman.
“Gilman, for God’s sake…”:
quoted in Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial America
, p. 202.

62–63, Rogers presumably wanted

An overview of British forces and the reasons for training more irregular units: Daniel Marston,
The French-Indian War, 1754–1760
(Oxford: Osprey, 2002), pp. 16–21.

63, Rogers’ Rangers

Expansion of the Rangers: Marston, ibid., p. 18. Rogers didn’t invent ranging, but he certainly helped popularize and codify it. The “rules of ranging” used by the current U.S. Army have been modified and expanded since Rogers’s day.

63–64, While Sullivan shared

Silence Dogood incident: Walter Isaacson,
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003), p. 29.
“Let all men…”:
from the 1743
edition of
Poor Richard’s Almanack
, in Benjamin Franklin,
Autobiography and Other Writings
, ed. Ormond Seavey (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 280.

64, Sullivan took the advice

Sullivan’s pseudonyms: Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial Rhode Island
, pp. 31, 37, and
Counterfeiting in Colonial New York
, p. 81. The counterfeiter used the aliases John Pierson and Isaac Washington in Rhode Island, and the name Benjamin Parlon in New York. An example of an accomplice using an alias to deny knowing Sullivan was Joseph Munroe, a Massachusetts farmer caught passing counterfeit bills in Newport. Munroe confessed that a stranger named Smith had given him the notes, although Smith was clearly Sullivan. In
A Short Account
, Sullivan claims that his real name was John, and that he created the alias Owen Sullivan after running away from home in Ireland.

64–65, Sullivan’s various names

Purchasing a barrel of Spanish wine: Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial Rhode Island
, p. 37. Buying drinks for everyone at the tavern: Scott, “Counterfeiting in Colonial New Hampshire,” p. 20.

CHAPTER THREE

66, The sound of gunshots

The scene: Kenneth Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial Connecticut
(New York: American Numismatic Society, 1957), p. 117, and
Counterfeiting in Colonial America
(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000 [1957]), p. 198.

66–67, The crew was led

Sanford’s hometown was near the present-day town of South Salem, New York, which was renamed to distinguish it from another Salem farther north. Sanford’s career: Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial Connecticut
, pp. 116–117, and
Counterfeiting in Colonial America
, pp. 196–199. The story of Sanford’s arrest is found in the Waterbury court records: New Haven County, Superior Court Files, Box 311, 1751–1754, Case #32,
Rex
v.
David Sanford
, in the Records of the Judiciary Department at the Connecticut State Library in Hartford.
“Say nothing…”:
from the testimony of Elisha Hall, one of the travelers, who gave an account of the incident to the court at Waterbury on January 26, 1754, included in the trial records. Sanford’s raids: Mary Louise King,
Portrait of New Canaan: The History of a Connecticut Town
(New Canaan, CT: New Canaan Historical Society, 1981), p. 51. The Connecticut
countryside: Daniel W. Teller,
The History of Ridgefield, Conn.: From Its First Settlement to the Present Time
(Danbury, CT: T. Donovan, 1878), p. 241.

67, Sanford’s cronies shared

Joseph Nichols: Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial Connecticut
, pp. 117–118, and
Counterfeiting in Colonial America
, pp. 198–199.

67–68, Sanford’s victims, knowing

The young men of Ridgefield secured the cooperation of the constable of Salem, and together they caught Sanford; see Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial Connecticut
, pp. 118–119.
“arming themselves…”:
Charles J. Hoadly, ed.,
The Public
Records
of the Colony of Connecticut, from May, 1751, to February, 1757, Inclusive
(Hartford: Case, Lockwood & Brainard, 1877), p. 284. The resolution and
“Disclosing the wicked Design…”:
Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial Connecticut
, p. 119.

68–69, Sanford was a different

Damages inflicted by Sanford: Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial Connecticut,
p. 118.

69, In the four years

£400 reward for Sullivan: John Russell Bartlett, ed.,
Records of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in New England
, vol. 5 (Providence: Knowles, Anthony, 1860), pp. 376–377.
“famous Villain
Sullivan
…”:
Boston Evening-Post
, September 8, 1755. Sullivan’s counterfeits in the lottery: Kenneth Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial Rhode Island
(Providence: Rhode Island Historical Society, 1960), p. 40. The situation in Rhode Island became so bad that the legislature banned the use of New Hampshire currency because it was too heavily counterfeited; see Bartlett,
Records of the Colony of Rhode Island
, pp. 508–509. The New York treasury decided to withdraw all notes bearing the date May 10, 1746; see Kenneth Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial New York
(New York: American Numismatic Society, 1953), pp. 86–87.

69–70, Colonial governments could

Beecher’s testimony and the legislature’s resolution: Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial New York
, pp. 88–89, and Hoadly,
The Public
Records
of the Colony of Connecticut
, p. 455. Beecher’s speech wasn’t transcribed, but a later memorial to the assembly, dated May 7, 1756, reports that he first encountered the Dover counterfeiters while traveling on “private business”; the memorial is excerpted in
Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial New York
, p. 88. Description of the Green: Charles Hebert Levermore,
The Republic of New Haven: A History of Municipal Evolution
(Baltimore: N. Murray, 1886), p. 235.

70, From New Haven

Limestone deposits in the Housatonic River valley: William North Rice and Herbert Ernest Gregory,
Manual of the Geology of Connecticut
(Hartford: Case, Lockwood & Brainard, 1906), pp. 87–91. Beecher’s difficulties in New York and his complaint to the Connecticut legislature: Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial New York
, pp. 89–90.
“many difficulties…”:
Hoadly,
The Public
Records
of the Colony of Connecticut
, p. 462.

70–71, If he wanted

Beecher’s hiring of deputies: Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial New York
, p. 90; although he enlisted eleven assistants, they worked for different periods of time, ranging from twenty-seven days at the most (Beecher’s son) to six days at the least. Beecher ensnaring the tavern keeper:
Connecticut Gazette
, April 13, 1756, reprinted in Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial Connecticut
, p. 138.

71–72, Boggy ground squished

Beecher’s final pursuit and Sullivan’s capture:
Connecticut Gazette
, April 13, 1756, reprinted in Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial Connecticut
, pp. 138–139, and Owen Sullivan,
A Short Account of the Life, of John——Alias Owen Syllavan…
(Boston: Green & Russell, 1756), p. 11. The detail of the
Gazette
’s report suggests a member of Beecher’s group, possibly even Beecher himself, spoke directly with the journalist. Kenneth Scott speculates that Beecher gave the
Gazette
an eyewitness account of Sullivan’s arrest; this seems likely, as the newspaper was published in New Haven, where Beecher lived.

72–73, Sullivan was tired

Date of Sullivan’s imprisonment:
Boston Gazette, or Weekly Journal
, March 29, 1756. Location of the New Haven jail: Levermore,
The Republic of New Haven
, p. 235.

73, It was March 17, 1756

For more on historical St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, see Mike Cronin and Daryl Adair,
The Wearing of the Green: A History of St. Patrick’s Day
(New York: Routledge, 2002), pp. 1–4, 21–22.
“famous Money Maker…”: Boston Gazette, or Weekly Journal
, March 29, 1756.

73–74, Beecher never revealed

“in the course of his…”:
from Beecher’s statement to the Connecticut General Assembly, dated May 7, 1756, quoted in Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial New York
, p. 88. Beecher’s payment: ibid., pp. 90, 93. The businessman couldn’t collect the official bounty, since Sullivan was tried and convicted in New York, so the Connecticut legislators paid Beecher a bonus taken from the forfeited bonds of counterfeiters caught in Fairfield. In addition to the
Boston Gazette, or Weekly Journal
, March 29, 1756, the
New-York Mercury
, March 29, 1756, praised Beecher’s “extraordinary Address and Resolution.”

74, At the end

Sullivan’s transfer to New York:
Boston Evening-Post
, March 29, 1756. New York’s counterfeiting laws: Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial New York
, pp. 202–203. Connecticut’s counterfeiting laws: Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial Connecticut
, pp. 219–220.

74, The men charged

As late as 1783, the road from New Haven to New York was very rugged and even impassable at points; most people traveling to New York from the east rode overland to New Haven and boarded sloops for Manhattan. Country estates of colonial New York: Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace,
Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), pp. 178–179. Construction of palisades: ibid., p. 168. A 1755 map of New York, known as the Maerschalck or Duyckink Plan, shows the palisades along the northern border of town; the map is available in Allon Schoener,
New York: An Illustrated History of the People
(New York: W. W. Norton, 1998), p. 21.

75, The outbreak of war

Effect of war on the city’s economy: Burrows and Wallace,
Gotham
, pp. 168–170.
“New York is growing…”:
from a letter by Benjamin Franklin to his friend William Parsons, dated June 28, 1756, quoted ibid., p. 168. New York’s 1760 population: Michael G. Kammen,
Colonial New York: A History
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996 [1975]), p. 279.

75–76, Despite a booming

The City Hall jail: Philip Klein,
Prison Methods in New York State: A Contribution to the Study of the Theory and Practice of Correctional Institutions in New York State
,
Ph.D. thesis (New York: Columbia University, 1920), p. 32. City Hall housed a range of official bodies, including the Common Council, the Assembly, the Mayor’s Court, and the Supreme Court of Judicature. Sullivan’s near escape:
New-York Mercury
, April 26, 1756. Sullivan’s trial, conviction, and sentencing: Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial New York
, p. 91. The court records are available in the New York Supreme Court of Judicature Minute Book: April 1, 1754–January 22, 1757 (Engrossed), pp. 255, 261, and the New York Supreme Court of Judicature Minute Book: April 20, 1756–October 23, 1761 (Rough), pp. 10–12, 18–19; both items are held by the New York County Clerk’s office in Manhattan.
“That the prisoner…”:
the New York Supreme Court of Judicature Minute Book: April 1, 1754–January 22, 1757 (Engrossed), p. 261.

76, The place of execution

The place of execution: William Nelson, “The Administration of William Burnet, 1720–1728,”
The Memorial History of the City of New-York: From Its First Settlement to the Year 1892
, vol. 2, ed. James Grant Wilson, p. 165. Postponing of Sullivan’s execution:
New York Gazette: or, the Weekly Post-Boy
, May 10, 1756, and
Boston Evening-Post
, May 17, 1756.
“He is certainly…”:
New York Gazette: or, the Weekly Post-Boy
, May 10, 1756, quoted in Scott,
Counterfeiting in Colonial New York
, pp. 91–92.

76, The best route

The Bowling Green neighborhood and the artisanal wards on the west side: Burrows and Wallace,
Gotham
, pp. 175, 187–188. Trees along Broadway and Trinity Church: Andrew Burnaby,
Travels Through the Middle Settlements in North America in the Years 1759 and 1760
(New York: A. Wessels, 1904 [1775]), pp. 111–113.