Nathaniel Woodhull, Long Island Patriot

Retiring to farming and community affairs in Mastic after fighting in the French and Indian War, Nathaniel Woodhull answered the call for liberty becoming a leader of the New York Provincial Congress and a brigadier general of the New York Militia during the American Revolution. His injuries during the battle of Long Island in 1776 resulted in his death at the age of 53, and his legacy carries on as a hero in America’s struggle for independence.

On the eve of the Long Island battle, Woodhull’s Suffolk and Queen's County Militia was driving about 1,400 cattle onto the Hempstead Plains to prevent them from falling into British hands. A thunderstorm drove the general to take refuge in a tavern in what is now Hollis, where he was captured by the British. Captain James Baird of Fraser's Highlanders struck him several times with his sword, provoking him to say, “God save the king.” Woodhull refused, instead uttering, “God save us all.”

Alexander Erwin HMdb.org, the Historical Marker Database

Woodhull married Ruth Floyd, the sister of William Floyd, a New York signer of the Declaration of Independence, in 1761. As sentiment against King George’s taxation and poor treatment of the colonies festered, he was elected to represent Suffolk in the New York General Assembly. He rose to serve as president of the New York Provincial Congress and helped select William Floyd as a delegate to the First Continental Congress, which drafted a resolution to boycott English goods after the imposition of the “Intolerable Acts.”

Woodhull’s family had been prominent in New York affairs since the mid-seventeenth century, and in 1758, the thirty-six-year-old joined the New York provincial forces, where he held the rank of major. He fought in a number of battles during the French and Indian War, having served at the Battle of Carillon (Ticonderoga) under British General James Abercromby and the Battle of Fort Frontenac under General John Bradstreet. In 1760, as colonel of the 3rd Regiment of New York Provincials, he took part in the invasion of Canada under General Jeffery Amherst.

After his capture by the Red Coats, Woodhull was taken to the Old Stone Church in Jamaica, which the British had converted into a prison. He was then moved to a prison ship in Wallabout Bay, where his wounds became infected, and his health rapidly deteriorated. A sympathetic British officer had him transferred to the century-old house built by Nicasius di Sille, a Dutch official, in New Utrecht, where his arm was amputated in a bid to save his life. Woodhull was able to call for his wife, Ruth, who was at his side when he succumbed to his injuries. His grave is marked by a historical sign at the family cemetery on Neighborhood Road in Mastic Beach. The early American Patriot is remembered by children attending schools named for him, including the Nathaniel Woodhull Elementary School in Shirley, PS 35 Nathaniel Woodhull School in Hollis, and the Nathaniel Woodhull Intermediate School in Huntington.