{"chunks_used":9,"query":"The Burning of Crompond","report":"**The Burning of Crompond: A Revolutionary War Episode**  \n\nThe Burning of Crompond in 1779, a pivotal event during the American Revolutionary War, reflects the intense partisan conflict in Westchester County. On **July 1779**, British forces under Tarleton and Simcoe\u2019s command launched a surprise attack on Colonel Drake\u2019s American militia at Crompond, part of a broader campaign to destabilize patriot strongholds (Bolton 1881). According to **Thomas Strang\u2019s 1847 interview**, British troops crossed Vail\u2019s Ford and advanced via a winding route to avoid detection, ultimately burning the local church. This raid, which resulted in significant casualties and captures, was part of a pattern of harassment that plagued Crompond and its surroundings (Strang 1847).  \n\nThe attack had profound consequences for civilians. **Hannah Sackett**, wife of Stephen Delancey, recounted in Strang\u2019s interview being robbed of her shoe buckles by British soldiers while fleeing the burning church. Her defiance\u2014demanding an escort after invoking her husband\u2019s name\u2014highlighted the precarious position of loyalist families. Similarly, **Anna Sackett**, daughter of the Whig Presbyterian minister Samuel Sackett, was robbed during the same event, though she withheld her father\u2019s political affiliation to avoid further peril (Bolton 1881). These accounts underscore the personal toll of the war on local communities, where identity and allegiance often determined one\u2019s safety.  \n\nThe aftermath of the raid is marked by conflicting narratives. While Strang notes the burial of Col. Green and Major Flagg in Crompond\u2019s burying ground, Bolton\u2019s 1881 history emphasizes the broader regional impact, citing General Heath\u2019s account of British forces killing or capturing **30 Americans** in June 1779 (Bolton 1881; Shonnard 1900). The discrepancy in dates (July vs. June) and casualty numbers reflects the fragmented nature of contemporary records. Nonetheless, the event left a lasting legacy: Crompond\u2019s church ruins became a symbol of wartime destruction, and the graves of fallen officers, including Delavan and Brom Dyckman, remain as historical markers (Strang 1847).  \n\n**Sources consulted**  \n- Bolton, Robert Jr. *The History of the Several Towns, Manors, and Patents of the County of Westchester, Vol. II* (1881 revised ed.).  \n- Macdonald, John. Interview with Strang, Thomas (1847-10-20). *John M. McDonald Interviews, 1844-1851*. Westchester County Historical Society.  \n- Shonnard, Frederic, and W.W. Spooner. *History of Westchester County, New York, from its Earliest Settlement to the Year 1900* (1900).","sources_consulted":["Bolton, Robert Jr. A History of the County of Westchester, from its First Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. II. New York: Alexander S. Gould, 1848.","Macdonald, John. Interview with Strang, Thomas, 1763-1851; (1847-10-20). John M. McDonald Interviews, 1844-1851, WCHS item 1344. Westchester County Historical Society. Transcribed by history.croton.news April 2026.","Shonnard, Frederic, and W.W. Spooner. History of Westchester County, New York, from its Earliest Settlement to the Year 1900. New York: The New York History Company, 1900.","Bolton, Robert Jr. The History of the Several Towns, Manors, and Patents of the County of Westchester, from its First Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. II. New York: Charles F. Roper, 1881."]}