LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION defending the New York State Patriots during the
American Revolution and recognizing the Patriots from the Southern
District of this State as Civilian Prisoners of War

WHEREAS, On July 4, 1776, a state of war existed between the United
States of America and Great Britain; and
WHEREAS, On July 30, 1776, General Washington and Lord Howe negotiated
an agreement in which citizens would be identified as subjects for pris-
oner exchanges: "Soldiers for Soldiers, Sailors for Sailors, and Citi-
zens for Citizens"; and
WHEREAS, On August 29, 1776, General Washington was forced to abandon
Long Island, conceding the Counties of Kings and Queens to the enemy,
leaving Suffolk County open to British military conquest; and
WHEREAS, On September 1, 1776, General Nathaniel Woodhull capitulated
Suffolk County to Great Britain and the citizens of said county were
mandated by the rules of war to scrupulously adhere to the terms of
surrender; and
WHEREAS, On October 28, 1776, the Continental Army was forced to
concede the County of Westchester to the British and eventually withdrew
to New Jersey; and
WHEREAS, On November 12, 1776, the Committee of Safety for the State
of New York recognized the Southern District of the State (inclusive of
the counties of New York, Kings, Queens, Richmond, Westchester, and
Suffolk) as being "in the Power/Possession of the Enemy" and that the
State of New York repeatedly used this phrase to describe the subjuga-
tion of its people and territory; and
WHEREAS, The British subjugation of the Southern District of this
State led to many cruel abuses and acts of oppression against the citi-
zenry of this State, such as: forcing citizens to swear an oath of alle-
giance of the King, using the citizenry for propaganda purposes by
printing their names in THE NEW YORK GAZETTE and WEEKLY MERCURY, quar-
tering troops in homes, confiscating wagons, horses, cattle, produce and
firewood without just compensation, impressing the citizenry into labor
gangs to support the British army, and desecrating churches and ceme-
teries; and
WHEREAS, On October 22, 1779, the legislature of the State of New York
passed "An Act, for the forfeiture and sale of estates of persons who
have adhered to the enemies of this State, and for declaring the sover-
eignty of the people of this State in respect to all property within the
same," whereby identifying those individuals who had failed in their
loyalty to the State of New York and the cause of American Independence
and empowered the State to confiscate the property of those who had
committed treason; and
WHEREAS, The State of New York regularly engaged in civilian exchanges
with the British military and codified this practice, most noticeably in
the 1781 law entitled, "An Act to enable the person administering the
government to exchange persons applying for that purpose, as prisoners
of war, for subjects of this State, prisoners of war with the enemy.";
and
WHEREAS, On June 28, 1781, the State of New York sought to come to the
defense of its citizens on Long Island by passing a resolution calling
on its neighboring states to stop their plundering of Long Island under
the guise that the citizens were British subjects, calling upon Governor
George Clinton to petition the Continental Congress for the citizens'
relief; and
WHEREAS, On August 7, 1781, and again on October 11, 1781, the Conti-
nental Congress came to the defense of Long Islanders by declaring them

citizens of the United States, reaffirming their rights in person and in
property against the unwarranted attacks from other states under the
pretext that they were subjects of Great Britain; and
WHEREAS, On November 25, 1783, the Southern District of the State of
New York was liberated from enemy occupation, emancipating its citizenry
and re-establishing the legitimate authority of the government of the
State of New York; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
recognize that the Southern District of this State was occupied by the
enemy from July 4, 1776, to November 25, 1783, and that its citizenry
was subjugated and in a condition of involuntary servitude to the enemy;
that those men and women who served or aided in the cause of American
Independence from April 19, 1775, to September 1, 1776, and who, by the
fate of war, found themselves living under enemy occupation, shall be
recognized as civilian prisoners of war and that only those individuals
convicted of adhering to the enemy by the State of New York, resulting
in the forfeiture of their property, shall be designated as "failing in
their loyalty" to this State or the cause of American Independence; and
be it further
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
further recognize that the citizens within the Southern District of the
State of New York were victims of British oppression; that their dignity
and civil rights were violated; that through the use of coercion, intim-
idation, and oppression, an atmosphere of duress pervaded the counties
of New York, Kings, Queens, Richmond, Westchester, and Suffolk; that the
alleged oaths of allegiances to the British Crown, whether printed in
THE NEW YORK GAZETTE and WEEKLY MERCURY or obtained by former Royal
Governor Tryon, have no legitimacy or credibility when determining the
service of New York's patriots; that the State of New York rejects the
use of those oaths and holds that those oaths are inadmissible and have
no force and effect; that the aforementioned British acts constitute
what Thomas Jefferson described in The Declaration of Independence as
part of the "Works of Death, Desolation and Tyranny".