12 Facts About Enoch Crosby

Enoch Crosby was an American spy and soldier during the American Revolution.

Enoch Crosby's family moved to what is Putnam County, New York, when Crosby was only an infant.

The family was poor, and by 1766, Enoch Crosby set out from home to find a career.

Enoch Crosby became an apprentice shoemaker in Kent, New York, and continued in the apprenticeship until it was completed in 1771, on his 21st birthday.

Enoch Crosby enlisted with a Connecticut regiment in the first weeks of the war.

Enoch Crosby's unit became part of the invasion of Canada by the Continental Army in 1775.

Enoch Crosby managed to deliver the information that he learned to John Jay, a member of the local Committee of Safety, and at Jay and Crosby's direction, the group of Loyalists was arrested.

Enoch Crosby was recruited to a full-time spy by Jay, and to gain entry into Loyalist and British circles, he adopted the identity of a spy employed by the British General Howe.

Enoch Crosby requested that if he died, the Committee of Safety would clear his name for having supported the British, and it gave him a special pass that was to be used in an emergency if he was captured by American forces.

Enoch Crosby served as a spy in Westchester County, farther north near Lake Champlain, and in other areas.

Enoch Crosby followed the same pattern of infiltration, capture, and escape at least four times.

Enoch Crosby was repeatedly captured by Americans who believed him to be a Loyalist but always escaped.