{"chunks_used":3,"query":"The Lieutenant Was Being Shaved","report":"**The Lieutenant Was Being Shaved: A Revolutionary War Skirmish in Westchester County**  \n\nThe Revolutionary War skirmish involving Lieutenant William Mosier, a key figure in Westchester County\u2019s Patriot militia, is vividly documented through conflicting yet complementary accounts from the late 18th and 19th centuries. According to John Macdonald\u2019s 1848 interview with James Lyon (Lyon 1848), Mosier, a mason and the speaker\u2019s brother-in-law, was shaving when a group of Loyalist \u201cRefugees\u201d ambushed him in December 1781. The attackers taunted him with the quip, \u201cNow you are half shaved, Mosier, you had better give up,\u201d to which Mosier defiantly refused. This anecdote, relayed by Mosier himself to Macdonald, underscores the personal vulnerability of Patriot officers during the war\u2019s final years.  \n\nJohn MacLean Macdonald\u2019s 1926-27 publication, *The McDonald Papers*, provides a broader military context. It details Mosier\u2019s role as lieutenant under Captain Richard Sackett in a diverse company of 30 men, including former British soldiers, enslaved and free Black individuals, and Indigenous Long Island residents (Macdonald 1926-27). On December 2, 1781, while Sackett was shaving at Josiah Fowler\u2019s tavern, Refugees captured him and his brother. Mosier, encamped nearby, led his men in a tactical retreat, forming a defensive square on a hilltop with bayonets fixed. This account aligns with Lyon\u2019s narrative but adds precise military strategy and the date of the skirmish.  \n\nThe sources diverge in emphasis: Lyon\u2019s interview focuses on Mosier\u2019s personal resilience and the taunting exchange, while Macdonald\u2019s paper highlights the unit\u2019s multicultural composition and Mosier\u2019s leadership under fire. Both, however, confirm the significance of the shaving incident as a symbolic moment of vulnerability. Notably, Macdonald\u2019s account names John Patterson, a formerly enslaved participant who survived the battle and lived to 103, illustrating the diverse backgrounds of Patriot forces (Macdonald 1926-27).  \n\n**Sources consulted**  \n- Lyon, James. Interview with John M. McDonald, 1848-11-04. *John M. McDonald Interviews, 1844-1851*. WCHS item 1285.  \n- Macdonald, John MacLean. *Mosier\u2019s Fight with Refugees*. In *The McDonald Papers, Part II, Chapter 6*, Publications of the WCHS, Vol. V. 1926-27.  \n- *Westchester County Historical Society Archives*. Transcribed by history.croton.news, April 2026.","sources_consulted":["Macdonald, John MacLean. Mosier's Fight with Refugees. In The McDonald Papers, Part II, Chapter 6, Publications of the WCHS, Vol. V. 1926-27.","Macdonald, John. Interview with Lyon, James, 1761-1850; (1848-11-04). John M. McDonald Interviews, 1844-1851, WCHS item 1285. Westchester County Historical Society. Transcribed by history.croton.news April 2026."]}