Moody, James

  • DCB profile notes:
    • Army and militia officer, office holder, politician, and author; b. c. 1744 in New Jersey, son of John Moody; by his first marriage he had three children; m. secondly 21 March 1782 Jane Lynson, née Robinson; d. 6 April 1809 in Sissiboo (Weymouth), N.S.
    • James Moody occupies a special place among the thousands of loyalists who settled in Nova Scotia after the American revolution because he is widely held to have been one of the most effective British raiders in that conflict, and many of his exploits read like popular fiction. At the outbreak of the revolution he was living quietly on a farm belonging to his father in Sussex County, N.J. Like many loyalists, he was “a Lover of Peace & good Order, and loyal on Principle,” but initially he had no thoughts of taking part in the struggle. Early in 1777, however, the local committee of safety ordered him to abjure his British allegiance and pledge loyalty to the United States, and he refused. He was then harassed, and after being shot at in his fields he gathered more than 70 neighbours and fled to the British lines in April.
    • Soon after his arrival Moody became an unpaid volunteer in the New Jersey Volunteers, and because of his knowledge of northern New Jersey was sent back there to observe rebel troop movements, enlist men for the British forces, and generally annoy the inhabitants. On all the missions he undertook he led small bodies of men deep into enemy territory, and on several occasions he narrowly escaped death or capture.
  • United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=5954
  • Find a GRAVE: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/143387182/james-moody