Philip White
Philip White was killed in circumstances nobody agreed on, and a man was hanged for it with a placard giving his name. He was a New Jersey loyalist, one of the many in a state where the war was fought between neighbours rather than between armies. Monmouth County had loyalist raiders operating out of Sandy Hook and patriot militia hunting them, and by 1782 the two sides had been killing each other in small numbers for six years. He was taken prisoner in March 1782 and died in patriot custody. The loyalist account is that he was murdered after surrendering, cut down by his escort within sight of witnesses. The patriot account is that he was shot trying to escape. The truth has never been established and probably cannot be. What is certain is the consequence. In April a loyalist party took Joshua Huddy, a captured militia captain who had nothing to do with White's death, out to Sandy Hook and hanged him with a placard on his chest reading up goes Huddy for Philip White. Washington demanded the officer responsible; the British command in New York refused to give him up; and thirteen captured British captains drew lots to be hanged in retaliation. The lot fell on Charles Asgill, a nineteen-year-old taken at Yorktown under a capitulation that should have protected him, and it took the intercession of the French queen to get him released. The whole chain rests on a disputed death in a county war, months after the fighting that decided the outcome was over.
- Lived: 1750 CE – 1782 CE
- Nationality: American
- Roles: military
