The American Revolution began on April 19, 1775, with the Battles of Lexington and Concord.  Just two weeks later, at a general town meeting, Huntingtonians voted “that there should be eighty men chosen to Exercise and be ready to March.”

Townspeople followed up by adopting Articles of Association on May 8, indicating their support for any actions to be adopted by the Continental Congress.  The signed pledged “to adopt and endeavor to carry into Execution, whatever Measures may be recommended by the Continental Congress; or resolved upon by our Provincial Convention, for the Purpose of preserving our Constitution.”

Four hundred and three men signed, while 37 refused.  Despite this lopsided tally, some have questioned Huntington’s commitment to the Revolution, pointing to the later occupation of the town, and indeed all of Long Island, as well as the later signing by Huntington residents of the Oath of Loyalty to the crown. 

The extent of support, as indicated by the adoption of the Articles of Association, depends on how many households there were in Huntington at the time.  Did the 440 men listed, both signers and refusers, represent the total number of households in the town?  (It is to be remembered that in the late eighteenth century, only men would have been asked to sign.)

A 1764 town assessment lists 363 households.  The list of men who signed the 1778 Oath of Loyalty as recorded in the Town Records contains 549 names, while the list on file at the Public Records Office, Colonial Office in England, includes 560 names.  A 1783 list of inhabitants includes only 224 names.  By the 1790 census, there were 360 households.

What these widely divergent totals show is that during this tumultuous period, the population was in flux.  Young men came of age; old men died.  After the American loss at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, many fled Long Island to seek safety in Connecticut, while Loyalists from Connecticut and New Jersey moved here.  

Of the 403 men who signed the Articles of Association in 1775, 269 also signed the Oath of Loyalty to the Crown three years later; but 132 did not.  The percentage of men in 1775 who signed the Articles of Association compared to those who refused to sign was 91.5%.  If one takes an average of four of the late eighteenth-century lists, the population of the town would number 423 households, meaning that 95% of all households signed the Association.  Even if we take the total number of households from the 1778 Oath of Loyalty, Patriot support would be at least 72% (based on the total number of 560 from the list kept in London).

In other words, it is clear that support for the Patriot cause was very high in Huntington, at least seven out of ten, and perhaps as many as nine out of ten heads of household supported the Patriot cause.