People vs. Piercival Carr, farmer, late of Unadilla Creek, Tryon County, Richard Brooks, yeoman, late of Old England District, Tryon County, and four others, indictment for adhering to enemies of this state
— Supreme Court of Judicature, April Term, 1783
Tryon County, formed in 1774, included not only the Mohawk Valley but also the hilly country to the south, where many people were loyal to the Crown. James Marr of the Old England District (now in western Otsego County) informed a grand jury in Albany County that he had been captured at his house in late July 1777 by Piercival Carr, Richard Brooks, and others. They accused him of providing intelligence about local Loyalists to the Patriots at Schoharie. They threatened to hand him over to “Joseph Brandt the Indian,” the famed Mohawk war captain. While Marr was a captive, Carr brought in news of the battle of Oriskany, August 5, 1777. The Indians had inflicted heavy casualties on the Americans, and the wounded men were being nursed at local homes. Marr was told he must swear an oath of allegiance to the King before being released, but after several weeks he was rescued by a party from Schoharie. Carr, Brooks, and the other Loyalists were indicted in Albany County in April 1783 for adhering to the “enemies of this State.”
People vs. Piercival Carr and others
