Captain Sam Allen of the Allenwood Militia brought the war to the backwaters of the Manasquan River. Captain Sam, a cousin of Ethan Allen, took his band of Minute Men to maraud British shipping. He specialized in guarding the coast from Toms River to Sandy Hook. His successful forays against the British and the Tories did however bring him personal disaster. The British forced Allen to watch his own home burned during each of the three times the Captain was captured. Allen’s nemesis, the Tory Captain Tighe, was finally captured by Allen, judged by him and hung. A stone marker erected near this noteworthy hanging spot by the Daughter of the American Revolution is located on today’s Highway 70.
Another enemy during the Revolution besides the British sympathizers or Tories were the Pine Robbers. While the Tories who had received their land from the King were amiable neighbors during the day and enemies by night, the Pine Robbers were disgruntled British sailors who had jumped ship. They banded together with local outlaws to burn and pillage throughout the area. A local heroine, Hannah Dennis, was attacked by Pine Robbers in her Allenwood area home. The hung her, leaving her for dead. Hannah’s daughter Amelia saved her mother. Amelia later recognized the Robbers when they were captured. She confronted and accused Jacob Fagan, a leader. Due to the zeal of Captain Sam and his men, many Pine Robbers were hung near Wreck Pond.
Captain Sam Allen outlived the Revolutionary War’s threats, dying peacefully in 1831. His body is thought to be buried off Ramshorn Drive near Highway 70. Allen’s direct descendants attest to the validity of his wartime deeds, contradicting those critics who consider Allen just a folk tale invention.
Travis, aren’t you related to this Sam Allen? Weren’t these people hung on the street you live on? Or so James says.
