The Killing of Cornelius Wynkoop
Cornelius Wynkoop was a Colonel in the American Revolution who was killed by one of his slaves.
Cornelius Wynkoop
The Patriots of Hurley, New York were led by the Wynkoop Family.
The Wynkoop’s dominated the Associators of Hurley, a group which acted as the area’s Committee of Correspondence.
One member of the Family, Cornelius Wynkoop, decided to join the fight.
Colonel
When the Continental Army began recruiting, Cornelius was commissioned as a Major in New York’s Third Regiment.
The following year he was promoted several times, eventually establishing himself a Colonel of the Fourth Regiment which consisted mainly of men from Albany.
At the end of 1776, Wynkoop resigned his commission, though he continued to work as a private citizen by recruiting men for the NY Militia.
Axed
As a wealthy family in Upstate New York, the Wynkoop’s essentially ran a feudal manor.
They owned large tracts of land which were rented out to tenants as well as controlling the lives of several slaves.
In 1792, one of these slaves, Charles, had an argument with one of Cornelius’ sons.
When Cornelius went into the back yard, Charles attacked him, catching Wynkoop in the head with an ax.
Mistaken Identity
Wynkoop’s son tried to revive him but Cornelius passed away later that night.
Charles was taken into custody the next morning but his fate is currently unknown.
Sadly, it has been speculated that the real target was not Cornelius but his son. Charles, in his anger, mistook who he was attacking in the dark.
If you’d like to learn about another tense killing during the Revolution, read this:
The Fratricide of Wyoming - John and Henry Pencil
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