I Grew Up Hearing Joshua Huddy Was a Hero But Records Tell a More Complicated Story

Life is messy, so it stands to reason that the lives of prominent historical figures can be quite messy, too.

Take Joshua Huddy, for instance. He's a hero in local Monmouth County lore around the American Revolution: he was famously a thorn in the British military's side as he led militia raids and his execution in Highlands drew such an uproar that George Washington had to intercede. He was also a debtor who was expelled from the Quakers and taken to court after marrying the wealthy widow of a tavern owner, throwing her children out of the house and stealing her possessions.

I first learned Huddy wasn't so virtuous and heroic while researching Penelope Stout in the archives room of the Monmouth County Library Headquarters in Manalapan for a newspaper article in 2004. (The home of the "Mother of Middletown," one of the first European settlers in Monmouth, was in the headlines at the time as Holmdel sought to preserve it. The effort was unfortunately not successful and the home was knocked down.)

A woman working in the archives room spoke to me at length about Stout, Huddy, and other Monmouth County historical figures in a matter of fact way. She recounted Huddy being a rebel with a spotty reputation, noting that a lot of the high-profile figures in the American Revolution in Monmouth weren't necessarily the type of people who played by the rules and listened to authority.

READ MORE: Middletown, NJ Had Its Own Version of the Boston Tea Party

This simple explanation took Huddy out of a mythical, saintly status and grounded him in the reality of what I knew to be true about human nature. Most people wouldn't take up arms and overthrow their government because of some abstract concept of how government should work. They were motivated either by being pushed to extreme degree to protect their family and their resources; or, as in Huddy's case, they were naturally a rogue, would push their risk-taking nature further in a time of upheaval and war, and that risk-taking behavior would appear heroic from a rosy, distant lens over two-hundred years away.

Ghosts on the Coast Details Joshua Huddy's Checkered History

The library staffer presented local history in an accessible, conversational way that brought it to life for me. I feel the same way about the work Greg Caggiano is doing with the social media account Ghosts on the Coast. While the account started as a paranormal group, the focus of their social videos has shifted in recent years.

"In 2024, we changed gears to focus mainly on history and its creepier aspects such as cemeteries, true crime, myths, legends, and a little bit of the paranormal," Caggiano said over Facebook Messenger. "We found that despite having 'Ghosts' in our name, people were coming to us for history."

READ MORE: Colts Neck Once Housed a Utopian Commune Called the North American Phalanx

Some of Ghosts on the Coast's historical videos go viral and while most feedback is positive, some topics unexpectedly draw ire from viewers. Prior to releasing a video on Huddy, Caggiano took to social media to note that some might not like the history he was about to discuss.

"I figured since Joshua Huddy truly is a hero to Monmouth and Ocean Counties, reaction of him being painted in a negative light would be strong. People do not like realizing that their heroes had faults, or in Huddy's case, was simply not a good person aside from his soldiering. As it happens, reaction to the video was pretty warm," said Caggiano, the author of Legends and Hauntings of the Jersey Bayshore.

The irreverent but accurate title on the video? "Joshua Huddy Was an A------."

A Timeline of Joshua Huddy's Bad Behavior

Joshua Huddy was indeed not such a great guy, according to the records that exist about him. A catalog of the October 2004 exhibit "The Joshua Huddy Era" at the Monmouth County Library Headquarters dives into some of the primary source documents.

When the Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers, expelled him in 1757, it was because he "Suffered himself to be Lead by the Enemy of the Welfair of our Souls Pease and our Present welbeing into Evil and Loose Company and the Corruptions of the world."

In 1778, he pleaded guilty to assault and paid a fine of 10 pounds for the offense.

In 1779, he was back in court. The Monmouth County Sheriff Nicholas Van Brunt took issue with how he was treating his new wife, Catherine Hart, a Colts Neck neighbor of Van Brunt's and the widow of a wealthy tavern owner. Van Brunt tried to compel Huddy not to sell his wife's possessions and to allow his wife's three children to remain in the home. Huddy reportedly violated both terms.

If you want to learn more about Huddy or other figures in Monmouth County history in all their complexity, take advantage of some of the America 250 events occurring around the county for the nation's 250th birthday.

Colonel Tye Captured Joshua Huddy During Colts Neck Raid

This summer, the Sandy Hook Foundation sponsored an immersive exhibit on the man who captured Huddy during an overnight raid of Huddy's home and tavern in 1780: Titus Cornelius, also known as Colonel Tye. Cornelius was an enslaved person who ran away from his master and joined the Loyalists at a village established at the base of Sandy Hook Lighthouse called Refugee Town. The Loyalists would launch raids from there.

After Huddy surrendered to Cornelius, the Middletown militia attacked the Loyalists on their way back to Sandy Hook. Huddy escaped -- he would be captured again in 1782 and executed -- but Cornelius was shot and later died from the wound. The bullet that struck him likely came from Huddy.

"Colonel Tye: Fighting for Freedom" uses a VR headset as part of the experience and held at the Taylor-Butler House, 127 Kings Highway, Middletown on Saturdays and Sundays from 1-4PM until July 25, 2026.

There is also a newly released book about this particular pair of historical figures called New Jersey's Revolutionary Rivalry: The Untold Story of Colonel Tye and Joshua Huddy by Rick Geffken, the historian who narrated the video on Tye that I shared above.

I also recommend following Ghosts on the Coast on your preferred social media platform and keeping an eye out for events on the Monmouth 250 website.

Keep scrolling to learn more lesser-known facts about Sandy Hook: