Titus Cornelius, also known as Titus Tye, was born in 1753, and was one of four slaves owned by Quaker John Corlies from Shrewsbury, Monmouth County, New Jersey. Most Quakers taught their enslaved to read and write and freed them when the men and women reached the age of 21, Corlies did not follow the same practice even keeping them enslaved past 21 years of age. Corlies was known around the region to be extra hard on his slaves, severely whipping them for minor causes.
At the age of 22 Tye escaped his master, and quickly learned that the day before he fled Lord John Murray, the Earl of Dunmore, and royal governor of Virginia, issued a proclamation that not only declared martial law, but also offered freedom to those slaves and indentured servants who would join the royal forces. Titus did exactly that. He assumed the name of Tye and joined the Royal Ethiopian Regiment. He quickly found respect and saw his first action at the Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778, during which he captured a rebel militia captain.
In July 1779, Tye and his fellow guerrilla fighters operated out of a forested base called Refugeetown in Sandy Hook, launching raids throughout Shrewsbury, New Jersey, seizing food, fuel, clothing, furniture, horses, cattle, taking prisoners, and free slaves. Tye continued to attack and plunder patriots’ homes, using his knowledge of Monmouth County’s swamps, rivers, and inlet to strike suddenly and disappear quickly. These raids were often aimed at former slave masters.
It was said that Tye and his men were well-paid by the British, sometimes earning five gold guineas. During the winter of 1779, Tye was among an elite group of twenty-four black loyalists, known as the Black Brigade, who joined with a British guerilla unit known as the Queen Rangers, to defend and protect the British occupied New York City and to conduct raids for fuel and food.
The twenty four African Americans of the Black Brigade were also involved in raids on rebel sympathizers during that winter. In 1780, Colonel Tye, led a series of three actions against Patriot supporters into Monmouth County. His raids continuing throughout the summer were aimed at demoralizing the rebels and depriving them of arms and manpower to resist the British. Tye’s tactics were so effective that most of the raids were successfully completed without the loss of any of his men.
In June 1780 Colonel Tye was still leading his guerrillas. They captured and executed Patriot Joseph Murray, who was well known for murdering Loyalists in the Monmouth area. Next they attacked the Patriot militia forces of Barnes Smock, capturing a number of his men and destroying his artillery. Finally, in September 1780 they attacked the home of Patriot captain Joshua Huddy. Huddy and his servant girl resisted Tye’s attacks for two hours before surrendering. However, one of Huddy’s musket balls struck Tye in the wrist. Gangrene soon set in, and Tye died in 1780 just 7 years before New Jersey entered the Union which some of the surrounding colonies had already done.
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