Edmund Hewlett (born 1 September 1736) was a Major of the British Army during the American Revolutionary War. Hewlett served as the commander of the garrison at Setauket, New York until 1778. Notably, he commanded the British forces at the Battle of Setauket on 22 August 1777. Hewlett came from an aristocratic background and was a friend of astronomer William Herschel, and he was known to be a lover of the humanities and arts. He was known behind his back as the "Oyster Major".
Biography[]
Early Life and Background[]
Edmund Hewlett was born on 1 September 1736 into a wealthy mercantile family in Scotland. Raised with access to an elite education, Hewlett developed a lifelong passion for the arts, classics, and sciences, particularly astronomy. Despite his scholarly inclinations, Hewlett was compelled to pursue a military career when the Boston Port Act and related trade embargoes during the early stages of the American Revolutionary War nearly bankrupted his father’s shipping enterprise. Hewlett accepted a commission in the British Army and rose to the rank of Major.
British Army Service and the Setauket Command[]
Major Hewlett was assigned to command the British garrison at Setauket, Long Island. There, he repurposed the town’s church as a barracks and stables, both for its strategic elevation and to demonstrate British authority. Hewlett billeted at Whitehall, the estate of Judge Richard Woodhull, a Tory Magistrate with whom he formed a cordial relationship rooted in shared tastes for fine wine and classical art.
Hewlett's post was seen as relatively inactive compared to other fronts, garnering him the derisive moniker “Oyster Major”from some of his peers, as the leader of New York's "backwater bed." However, tensions escalated when Hewlett’s beloved horse, Bucephalus, was killed by a poisoned apple in a plot secretly devised by his subordinate, Captain John Graves Simcoe, to incite paranoia about local espionage.
On 22 August 1777, Setauket came under attack by Continental forces led by Major Benjamin Tallmadge and General Samuel Holden Parsons. Although the raid achieved its objective of rescuing several accused spies awaiting execution, Hewlett successfully repelled the assault, compelling the Continental troops to retreat. His refusal to bombard the town with cannon fire, despite Simcoe’s insistence, preserved both civilian lives and the physical integrity of Setauket.
Hewlett would go on to sanction Abraham Woodhull, Judge Woodhull’s son, to spy on the Sons of Liberty in New York City under the cover of his resumed legal studies. Woodhull would use this cover to aid his spying for the Patriots as a part of the Culper Ring.
On 29 November 1776, Major Hewlett was kidnapped from the Whitehall estate by members of the 5th Connecticut Regiment. The abductors had found a note signed in blood and accompanied by a severed tongue, falsely implicating Hewlett in the murder of Captain McCarrey. The forgery was orchestrated by Captain Simcoe, who harbored a vendetta after being dismissed for insubordination. Hewlett was accused of murder by Lieutenant John Chaffee and subjected to brutal captivity by the Continental forces. Held in a makeshift cage with little clothing and exposure to the winter elements, Hewlett developed severe frostbite, ultimately forcing him to amputate three toes on his right foot. Despite his suffering, he steadfastly refused to confess to crimes he did not commit.
On New Year’s Day 1778, Simcoe led a surprise raid on the rebel encampment, not to rescue Hewlett, but to kill him and frame the Continental Army. However, Hewlett survived the assault, stabbing Simcoe during the melee and escaping amid the chaos. Anticipating his death, Simcoe had a false grave erected in his name.
Against the odds, Hewlett survived and made his way back to Setauket in a stolen rebel uniform. He was transported across Long Island Sound by a smuggler whom he recognised from town. Upon returning to Whitehall, Hewlett resumed his duties and immediately intervened to secure the release of Abraham Woodhull, who had been arrested in New York on charges of espionage.
Tensions between Hewlett and Simcoe reached a breaking point when members of the Queen's Rangers, under Simcoe's command, and Hewlett's British regulars clashed at the Strong Tavern, following the mysterious deaths of two Rangers. Though Anna Strong had planted evidence to incite the conflict, Hewlett and Simcoe both publicly deescalated the standoff for her sake, though their enmity remained unresolved.
Eventually, Simcoe departed for New Jersey, participating in the Battle of Crooked Billet and the Battle of Monmouth under Henry Clinton, giving Hewlett some space from him. During this period, Hewlett spoke Judge Woodhull, who, after much deliberation, revealed that his son Abraham had been spying for the Patriots. Hewlett, deeply wounded by the betrayal from someone he had both mentored and protected, ordered Woodhull’s arrest for treason despite their prior bond and shared affections for Anna Strong. Hewlett's sense of justice and personal integrity left him conflicted, having once believed in Woodhull’s loyalty and having assisted Anna Strong in various personal matters, unaware of her covert involvement with the rebels.
The threat of Simcoe forced Hewlett to consider alternate solutions, as urged by both Anna Strong, whom he had developed romantic feelings toward, and Abraham Woodhull, Abraham's wife. Hewlett agreed to meet with Abraham to engineer a solution to Simcoe's regime. They worked to frame a former Setauket resident as the man behind the alias Samuel Culper, which Simcoe had learned of from Major John André. This would allow for Continentals under the command of Caleb Brewster to ambush Simcoe. Unbeknownst to Hewlett, Abraham had planned to kill him at the conclusion of the scheme in order to shield himself. This led to a proposal of marriage by Anna Strong, who forged divorce papers from her estranged husband, Selah Strong. Abraham revealed the forgery to his father, who would reveal the scheme at the service held at Whitehall. Anna implicated Hewlett. Heartbroken and disillusioned, he falsely admitting to forcing her into a marriage and to him resigning his post and attempt to return to Britain, where he anticipated being cashiered upon his arrival in England. Before leaving, Hewlett met with Major John André, revealing Abraham Woohdull to be Samuel Culper.
Upon his return to Britain, Hewlett attempted to sell his commission but was met with financial and professional ruin. Disillusioned, Hewlett returned to America, now commissioned as Head of British Intelligence. Hewlett exploited his position for personal gain, running a money-laundering scheme fuelled by manufactured intelligence. He professed a loss of belief in order, justice, and meaning. After Abraham Woodhull became embedded in Arnold's American Legion, Hewlett was reunited with him and, hoping to turn Woodhull into a double agent, kept his cover from Benedict Arnold. The two would resume plotting attacks against Simcoe's life, tired of the threat he posed to both of them and the attempts he would make on their lives. Hewlett's latent moral compass reemerged when Simcoe was later found gravely wounded aboard a transport vessel, Hewlett, when faced with the opportunity for revenge, chose mercy, recalling a rare moment of compassion Simcoe had once shown to his own men.
Later Years and Legacy[]
Hewlett eventually married the sister of his long-time acquaintance, astronomer William Herschel, Caroline, with whom he shared genuine affection and returned to a quieter life of intellectual pursuit. He resumed his study of astronomy and the sciences, fulfilling the scholarly ambitions he had deferred in his youth.
Gallery[]
