Bad Boy Recruiter Denis McCarty leads a short brutish life
Denis McCarty offered the deserters a chance to enlist in the Royal American Regiment. He recruited men out of the Virginia Regiment to join the Royal American Regiment. He was telling deserters from the Virginia Regiment to shoot any officers ordered to catch them. He was knocking down doors. He was throwing men into prison. He was stealing servants without paying their owners. He was getting the job done no matter what means used. He was doing on land what the British did on the high seas, impressing men from other ships. He was rough and crazy and opportunistic but he comes from high up society. His grandfather had been Speaker of the House of Burgesses, his father was elected a burgess representing Prince William County and his brother became a vestryman of Pohick Church in 1748. Washington was well acquainted with the McCarty family as they often socialized on the hunting field and in one another's homes. It is understandable that Washington wrote Dinwiddie of Denis as one ". . . whom all ties of honor and morality are of no force."
Pulling men out of the Virginia Regiment got him into big trouble.
But recruiting for the Royal American Regiment also got him out of Trouble.
It was Lt Gov Dinwiddie who gave McCarty a commission to enlist for the Royal American Regiment.
Notice Dinwiddie's letters condemns McCarty December 10, 1756 and then on December 15, 1756 and then rewards McCarty on December 23,1756. Lord Loudoun wants men for the Royal American Regiment. Lord Loudoun wants that done now.
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This story occurs during a 2 year period of 1755 to 1757, culminating in Denis McCarty dying end of May 1757.
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Table of Contents
Compiled by Jim Moyer, researched first in 2020, finally posted 7/25/2024, 7/28/2024
Timeline
Founders Online Footnote 3.
Denis McCarty recruited men for the Virginia Regiment [17 Oct 1755] in the fall of 1755 as a volunteer, without a commission.
On 22 Nov. GW rebuked him for “forcibly taking, confining and torturing those, who would not enlist.”
Despite this, GW sought and got Dinwiddie’s approval in 13 Jan. 1756 to make McCarty an ensign.
After serving in both William Bronaugh’s company and George Mercer’s during the next 8 months, McCarty quietly resigned in Oct. 1756.
At the same time he persuaded Dinwiddie to give him a commission to recruit for the Royal American Regiment.
On 4 Dec. 1756 GW denounced McCarty to Dinwiddie for having the night before “scandalously and underhandedly” persuaded 18 soldiers to desert from the Virginia Regiment with a view to signing them up for the British regiment.
William Fairfax a few weeks later, on 22 Jan. 1757, wrote GW that while recruiting for the Royal American Regiment McCarty had also “committed several illegal Acts . . . at Alexandria, forcing open Doors in the Night time, taking Men out of their Beds and carrying them” off. Dinwiddie revoked McCarty’s commission to recruit, and McCarty returned to his home in Fairfax County.
There, though not yet 30 years old, he made his will in March
and was dead before the end of May 1757.
Denis McCarty, the son of Denis and Sarah Ball McCarty, was a cousin of GW’s.
Members of McCarty’s family were lifelong friends and neighbors of GW at Mount Vernon.
Founders Online Footnote 8
Detailed Timeline
Criticism by GW:
Colonel GW writes to Denis McCarty November 22, 1755:
Rought Recruiting tactics
"I am very sorry you have given me occasion to complain of your conduct in recruiting; and to tell you, that the methods and unjustifiable means you have practised, are very unacceptable, and have been of infinite prejudice to the Service . . . "
"I am informed by many Gentlemen, as well as by all the Officers who were ordered to recruit in these parts: and am further assured, that it is next to an impossibility to get a man where you have been;
such terror have you occasioned by forcibly taking,
confining and torturing those,
who would not voluntarily enlist..."
Despite this, GW sought and got Dinwiddie’s approval in Jan. 1756 to make McCarty an ensign. [GW's command to Ensign Denis McCarty 10 May 1756 to get troops to Winchester from Maidstone]. After serving in both William Bronaugh’s company and George Mercer’s during the next 8 months, McCarty quietly resigned in Oct. 1756. At the same time he persuaded Dinwiddie to give him a commission to recruit for the Royal American Regiment. On 4 Dec. 1756 GW denounced McCarty to Dinwiddie for having the night before “scandalously and underhandedly” persuaded 18 soldiers to desert from the Virginia Regiment with a view to signing them up for the British regiment.
Colonel GW writes Lt Gov Dinwiddie on December 4, 1756:
". . . a very base and villainous scheme has been discovered; which has been I believe, the sole cause of 18 Soldiers deserting from us last night. The Gentleman concerned is our (late Ensign) Denis McCarty; of whose Character and practises, the enclosed Depositions will afford your Honor a specimen: and with whom all ties of honor and morality are of no force. By virtue of your Honors Commission to recruit for the Royal american Regiments; and under the specious pretence of immunity, . . . "
"I have dispatched a party of 25 men under Capt. Mercer, with orders that every endeavour and all possible diligence be made use of to apprehend those Deserters, who I imagine are gone to McCarty. and should be glad your Honor wou’d direct what punishment shou’d be inflicted; as the act for that purpose is sometime ago expired. The loss of the Drafts and those desertions, render us unable to manage such heavy timber as is required about the Fort [Fort Loudoun in Winchester VA] ; or even sufficient to do other necessary work there."
Washington says McCarty
instructed the deserters to kill any officer of a posse rounding them up.
Colonel George Washington writes to Lt Gov Dinwiddie on December 10, 1756:
Ultimately, most of the deserters surrendered "upon promise of pardon."
"They confirm the suspicion of Mr McCarty’s villany,
by confessing,
he had inveigled them with promises
of protection, rewards, and good usage!
and a deep-laid plan was concerted
for accomplishing his base designs,
binding each individual with an oath to follow him;
to stand true to each other in case of being pursued;
to kill the officer who attempted the command:
and in case of a separation, private instructions to repair to McCarty,
or some of his friends, who were to receive and entertain them.
These proceedings & the within depositions must convince your Honor, how dangerous a person of Mr McCarty’s principles must be to the peace & quiet of Society.
The Soldiers surrendered to Capt. Mercer upon promise of pardon:
and as they seem sorry for their Behaviour,
assuring all duty and obedience for the future;
I thought it most expedient to forgive them;
knowing we have no law at present to punish them;
and believing the poor ignorant fellows less culpable than their Seducer.
I hope your Honor will therefore approve of my measures in this matter."
During this time Colonel George Washington and his aide de camp, Captain George Mercer, met up with Captain Lewis at Fort Edwards. Then they met with Waggener who organized a posse to hunt down Indians who were spotted on the South Branch. Then they met with Ashby's Rangers on the Patterson Creek.
McCarty and The Royal American Regiment
Denis McCarty offered the deserters a chance to enlist in the Royal American Regiment. He recruited men out of the Virginia Regiment to join the Royal American Regiment.
That is what got him into big trouble.
But recruiting for the Royal American Regiment also got him out of Trouble.
It was Lt Gov Dinwiddie who gave McCarty a commission to enlist for the Royal American Regiment.
The actual letter to Denis McCarty which Dinwiddie enclosed has not been found, but there is in Dinwiddie’s letter book the following copy, dated 10 Dec. 1756: “Sir, “You have acted unworthy the Como. I gave You, to recruit Men for the Royal Am[erican]s by an underhand, unjust, & vile Manner endeavourg to perswade the Men in the Virga Regiment to desert that You may have the Opportunity of enlisting ’em—as this apps. to me by the Affidavit of three Persons I shall take proper Care to prosecute You thereon; In the mean time by this Lr I recall the Como. given You for recruitg & never hearafter expect any Favo. from R: D.”
Lord Loudoun was the overall Commander of all North American forces. There was power behind this.
How Dinwiddie changed mind on McCarty:
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Lt Gov Dinwiddie didn't think McCarty would be creating deserters from the Virginia Regiment to join the Royal American Regiment? Or did he?
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Notice Dinwiddie's letters condemns McCarty December 10, 1756 and then on December 15, 1756 and then rewards McCarty on December 23,1756: because Lord Loudoun wants men for the Royal American Regiment and Lord Loudoun wants that done now.
It no longer matters how McCarty was getting this done. If he was stealing servants, knocking down doors, imprisoning men, taking men out of the Virginia Regiment, asking deserters to shoot officers ordered to catch them --- none of that matters. Dinwiddie needs to please Lord Loudoun's needs.
Dinwiddie wrote on 23 Dec. 1756 the following conciliatory if not cordial letter to McCarty: “I received yr Letter of the 12th The People yo. have recruited march down here, the enlisting Mony, Maintenance, & wt. Cloathing yo. have purchas’d for ’em shall be pd by me on receipt of ’em here—
The bearer Capt. Campbell is one of the officers sent from Ld Loudoun to receive our Recruits,
let ’em know they shall be properly taken Care of wth those already here & when they arrive at N. York they will be compleatly cloath’d—I shall be glad yo. can clear yrself from inveiglg some of the Virginia Regiment, in [to] Desert, ...."
Report from Council President, William Fairfax
Although Lt Gov Dinwiddie was willing to give McCarty a pass, the Council and the House of Burgesses were not so forgiving
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William Fairfax is the President of Council. When both Governor and Lt Governor cannot perform their role, then President of Council acts as Governor. The Council advises the executive Governor. The council is upper chamber to House of Burgesses and must agree with House of Burgesses for any billl from them to become law. Also the Council acts as the final court in Virginia before any appeal goes to the Privy Council in London.
To George Washington from William Fairfax, 22 January 1757
From William FairfaxBelvoir. 22d Janry 1757
Denis McCarty Supported by Mr Thos Campbell an Officer sent from the Noward [from the north, from Lord Loudoun] to recruit among Us, committed several illegal Acts lately at Alexandria,
forcing open Doors in the Night time,
taking Men out of their Beds and carrying them to their Guardho.
wch Mr Kirkpatrick then in Town can pticularly acquaint You with.
I sent by Him Depositions relating the Facts to the Governor.
Mr Campbell &c. went afterwards to Westmorland where They acted other gross Enormities countenancd by Colo. Pp Lee.8
Such Irregularities must obstruct the recruiting Service and cause a Freemen to disesteem the licentious Officers—The Genl Assembly is prorogu’d to Febry—When Mr Kirkpatrick returns He will inform whether It may then meet or No.
Founders Online Footnote 8.
This was Philip Ludwell Lee (1727–1775), who in 1750 had inherited Stratford Hall in Westmoreland County from his father Thomas Lee.
Philip Lee served in the House as a burgess from Westmoreland until elevated to the council in March 1757.
In a petition to the House of Burgesses received on 18 April 1757, a number of men from Richmond County complained that John Bayne, acting for Colonel Lee, had taken off a number of their servants to serve as soldiers in the Royal American Regiment and had refused to pay them for the servants.
A committee of the House found on 4 June that Lee, Bayne, and Denis McCarty had collected for the regiment “a large Number of People” who were sent in Campbell’s charge to Williamsburg (JHB, 1752–1755, 1756–1758, 485–86);
at that time five of the Richmond petitioners still had not been reimbursed for the loss of their servants.
The Thomas Campbell named here may have, in fact, been Lt. James Campbell of the Royal American Regiment. For references to Denis McCarty’s earlier recruiting activities, see GW to Dinwiddie, 4 Dec. 1756, n.2.
Source of above
Research Notes
More on this McCarty fellow:
Excellent bio on Denis McCarty from this Historic Prince William County site:
One individual from Fairfax County, Denis McCarty, was quite successful in his recruiting by forcibly seizing men from their beds in the night, as well as confining and torturing men until they volunteered.
Made Ensign:
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So desperate was the recruiting situation that Washington recommended McCarty for an Ensign's commission despite his disreputable behavior. Unfortunately his behavior did not improve as a complaint of a different nature was registered against McCarty from a tavern keeper. John Stewart complained of "...very gross abuse and ill treatment" received from the young Ensign.(31)
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Recruiting for the Royal American Regiment:
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Less than a year later, Washington was to write Dinwiddie of the discovery of a "...base and villainous scheme" involving the same Dennis McCarty.
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By virtue of a commission from Dinwiddie, McCarty was authorized to recruit for the Royal American Regiment. Lord Loudoun was authorized to raise a regiment in the Colonies composed of four battalions which were to be commanded by officers bearing the King's commission and known as the Royal American Regiment.
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Recruiting officers were paid a sum of money for each man who enlisted in the regiment.
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Unfortunately, McCarty's recruits were deserters from the Virginia Regiment whom he had "seduced" with promises of protection and rewards.
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Washington informed Dinwiddie "...a deep-laid plan was concerted for accomplishing his base designs, binding each individual with an oath to follow him; to stand true to each other in case of being pursued; to kill the officer who attempted the command; and in case of a separation, private instructions to repair to McCarty, or some of his friends who were to receive and entertain them."
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Further evidence of McCarty's recruiting methods is related in a letter to Washington dated January 22, 1757. Col. Fairfax wrote,
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"Denis McCarty supported by Mr. Thomas Campbell an Officer sent from the Noward to recruit among Us, comitted several illegal Acts lately at Alexandria, forcing open Doors in the Night time, taking Men out of their Beds and carrying them to their Guard etc. which Mr. Kirkpatrick then in Town can pticularly acquaint You with."(32)
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Dinwiddie revoked McCarty's commission on December 10, 1756.
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McCarty's Background:
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McCarty came from an illustrious family. His grandfather had been Speaker of the House of Burgesses, his father was elected a burgess representing Prince William County and his brother became a vestryman of Pohick Church in 1748. Washington was well acquainted with the McCarty family as they often socialized on the hunting field and in one another's homes. It is understandable that Washington wrote Dinwiddie of Denis as one ". . . whom all ties of honor and morality are of no force." McCarty died in 1767, young and unmarried.(33)
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Source:
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McCartys of Virginia: With Emphasis on the First Four Generations in the Colony
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More on the Royal American Regiment:
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More Unrelated followup on Commissaries such as Walker, Rutherford, Charles Dick
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You recommend Messrs Carlyle & Ramsay to be Commissaries in the room of Mr Walker, which I by no means approve of
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Walker and Washington correspondence
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Mr Walker has been here lately, who says his Assistant, Mr Rutherford, has contracted for Flour sufficient for 1000 Men for twelve Months; & no doubt Mr Walker is with You
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and about indian presents
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I propos’d sending Lieut. McNeil to command the Men for the Garison built in the Cherokee Country; if the Catawbas will not remain longer, is not he a proper Person, with an Interpreter, to convey them Home? by his return probably shall have occasion to send out the Men as above.7
As to Silver Trinkets for Wrists & Arms, they were never given but to the Chief Warrior of the Party; but if they are determin’d to go, let them known on their return, I shall oblige them with every Thing in my Power that’s reasonable; And write Majr Lewis to supply them with Necessaries for the present from the Goods under his Care.
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. . Broadcasting note to those following on Facebook
. This Fort Loudoun Winchester VA Facebook Page began Thursday 25 april 2013.
. Weekly posts on April 2017 Sunday Word began, missing only last Sunday September 2, 2018
. 22 February 2015 might be the first post for the group page called Friends of Fort Loudoun
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Just a little tidbit on Denis McCarty. This little biography reminds us of Hemingway's short story titled, The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber.
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Notes on Denis McCarty
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He got 20 recruits from Fairfax County 17 October 1755.
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But Denis McCarty is accused of heavy handed tactics in recruiting.
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While this is going on Col George Washington with his aid de camp (A.D.C) Captain Mercer are visiting the perimeter defenses at Fort Edwards to Fort Cumberland. Captain lewis journal
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When Col George Washington comes back from his tour, he rebukes Denis McCarty:
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Meet William Fairfax for the Last Time
Oct 17, 2021
jimmoyer1
Meet William Fairfax et al
Apr 4, 2021
JIM MOYER
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