Enemies of the State

Rediscovering the Patriot-Loyalist Struggle
in Revolutionary New York

In 1779, a statute was passed authorizing prosecution in the Supreme Court of Judicature of "Enemies of this State" on the charge of treason. Documents from this time contain details about the state's vigorous proceedings against suspected Loyalists, and about the royal government's continuing operations in New York City until the end of the war. These archival records often provide the only documentation of ordinary people, including those who were marginalized, especially in the colonial and early national periods.

In 2018, the New York State Archives and Archives Partnership Trust received a "Save America's Treasures" grant from the Institute of Museum and Library services and the National Park Service for the conservation and digitization of historical court records and other important documents from the Revolutionary War era. The New York State Organization of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Cromwell Foundation also provided seed funding to preserve the documents for conservation and digitzation. Thanks to funding from these organizations and generous donors the Archives Partnership Trust, these previously unkown documents will be made accessible to students, educators, researchers, genealogists and those passionate about history via the State Archives' Digital Collections.

Explore a selection of documents from the collection:

Bring these documents into the classroom with Classroom Connections.


Visit the State Archives and State Library websites for the full finding aids:


"Duely & Constantly Kept"

Learn more about the Enemies of the State Grant Project and the Court Records held at the New York State Archives.


With support from the William Nelson Cromwell Foundation and the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Conservation of the Enemies of the State: Rediscovering the Patriot-Loyalist Struggle in Revolutionary New York is being supported in part by a Federal Save America's Treasures grant administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Park Service.

    

William Nelson Cromwell
Foundation