17. The Black Brigade
Tye led a racially integrated Loyalist guerrilla group in a daring raid on Shrewsbury, NJ, that captured dozens of cattle and horses, as well as two prominent local Patriots. The guerrillas established a base named Refugeetown in Sandy Hook, at the northern end of the Jersey Shore. From there, they conducted nighttime raids that targeted prominent local Patriots, particularly slaveholders. Tye proved himself a successful guerrilla leader in the summer of 1779, with a hit and run campaign that terrorized and enraged the local Patriots, seizing food and provisions, destroying property, and freeing numerous slaves.
It was during this period that Tye became known as Colonel Tye – an honorific bestowed upon him by the British, albeit not an actual rank. In the winter of 1779, Colonel Tye joined the Black Brigade – a unit of about two dozen black Loyalists. They fought alongside the Queen’s Rangers – a white Loyalist unit that was eventually integrated by incorporating into its ranks the Black Brigade, and other black Loyalists.
