James Rivington (1724 – July 4, 1802) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-born American

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

who published a Loyalist newspaper in the American colonies called ''Rivington's Gazette''. He was driven out of New York by the

Sons of Liberty The Sons of Liberty was a loosely organized, clandestine, sometimes violent, political organization active in the Thirteen American Colonies founded to advance the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. It pl ...

, but was very likely a member of the American

Culper Spy Ring The Culper Ring was a network of spies active during the American Revolutionary War, organized by Major Benjamin Tallmadge and General George Washington in 1778 during the British occupation of New York City. The name "Culper" was suggested by ...

, which provided the Continental Army with military intelligence from British-occupied New York. Title page, with no illus

Early life

James Rivington was born in London in 1724. One of the sons of the bookseller and publisher Charles Rivington, he inherited a share of his father's business, which he lost at the Newmarket races. In 1760, he sailed to North America. He resumed his occupation in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

and the next year opened a printshop at the foot of Wall Street, New York. In 1773, he began to publish a newspaper "at his ever open and uninfluenced press, Hanover Square." The first of a number of newspapers, ''The New York Gazetteer or the Connecticut, New Jersey, Hudson's River, and Quebec Weekly Advertiser'', was issued in April 1773. His initially-impartial stance shifted as a revolution loomed, and public opinion polarized, By late 1774, he was advocating the restrictive measures of the British government with such great zeal and attacking the Patriots so severely that in 1775, the Whigs of

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

, resolved to hold no further communication with him. The

hanged Rivington in effigy, and the Patriot poet

Philip Freneau Philip Morin Freneau (January 2, 1752 – December 18, 1832) was an American poet, nationalist, polemicist, sea captain and early American newspaper editor, sometimes called the "Poet of the American Revolution". Through his newspaper, th ...

published a mock speech of Rivington's supposed contrition at his execution, which Rivington reprinted. He infuriated Captain

Isaac Sears Isaac Sears (1 July 1730 – 28 October 1786) was an American merchant, sailor, Freemason, and political figure who played an important role in the American Revolution. He was born July 1, 1730 at West Brewster, Massachusetts, the son of Joshua ...

, the prominent patriot and Son of Liberty:

He would appear as a leading man amongst us, without perceiving that he is enlisted under a ''party'' as a ''tool'' of the lowest order; a ''political cracker'', sent abroad to ''alarm'' and ''terrify'', sure to do ''mischief'' to the cause he means to support, and generally finishing his career in an ''explosion'' that often bespatters his friends

Family

His son Jonx was a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in the 83rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Glasgow Volunteers) and died in England in 1809. His son James was born in 1771 and was commissioned an Ensign in the 42nd or Royal Highland Regiment in 1783. Rivington's great-nephew was Percy Rivington Pyne I, who emigrated from England in 1835 and became president of City National Bank in New York, a predecessor to Citigroup.

Revolutionary War

In 1775, immediately after the opening of hostilities, Rivington's shop was burned and looted by the Sons of Liberty. Rivington fled to the pearl harbor and boarded the British ship ''

Kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

''. Assistants continued to publish the ''Gazetteer'', with a public assurance of Rivington's personal safety from the Committee-Chamber of New York, but Isaac Sears and other New York radicals entered Rivington's office, destroyed his press, and converted his lead type into bullets. Another mob that day burned Rivington's house to the ground. Rivington and his family sailed for England, where he was appointed

King's printer The King's Printer (known as the Queen's Printer during the reign of a female monarch) is typically a bureau of the national, state, or provincial government responsible for producing official documents issued by the King-in-Council, Ministers o ...

for New York, at £100 per year. In 1777, after the secure British occupation of that city, he returned with a new press and resumed the publication of his paper under the title of ''Rivington's New York Loyal Gazette'', which he changed on 13 December 1777 to ''The Royal Gazette'' with the legend "Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty." On the day that Major John André was taken prisoner, his poem "Cow Chase" was published by Rivington.

Role in Culper Spy Ring

Rivington, who opened a drug shop, would have been the last New Yorker suspected of playing the part of a spy for the Continentals, but he furnished General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

with important information. Rivington's silent partner in the coffeehouse was Robert Townsend, alias "Samuel Culper, Jr.," one of the principal agents of the American

. Rivington was recruited by Townsend in late summer 1779 and was given the code name "726." Rivington's communications were written on book cover boards so that no one would see them since they were bound in the covers of books, and he conveyed to the American camp by agents who were ignorant of their service. The date of Rivington's secret change of heart is disputed, but when New York was evacuated in November 1783, Rivington remained in the city, much to the general surprise and anger of New Yorkers, who believed that "those who have been enriching themselves under the... government of George III shall never live peacably in New York." Removing the royal arms from his masthead, he changed the name of his business to ''Rivington's New York Gazette and Universal Advertiser''. However, his business rapidly declined, and he was beaten up by the

. His paper ceased to exist at the end of 1783, and he passed the remainder of his life in comparative poverty.

Later life

Rivington, like other Loyalists, was denounced by the first generation of American chroniclers of the revolution. Ashbel Green described Rivington as "the greatest sycophant imaginable; very little under the influence of any principle but self-interest, yet of the most courteous manners to all with whom he had intercourse."

Alexander Graydon Alexander Graydon Jr. (1752–1818) was an author and officer in the American Revolution. He was commissioned captain on January 5, 1776 and commanded a company of men in the Battle of Long Island and in the Battle of Harlem Heights. He was taken ...

, in his ''Memoirs,'' wrote of Rivington: "This gentleman's manners and appearance were sufficiently dignified; and he kept the best company, He was an everlasting dabbler in theatrical heroics. Othello was the character in which he liked best to appear." His portrait, painted by Gilbert Stuart, was formerly in the possession of William H. Appleton, New York.

Death and legacy

Rivington died in New York on July 4, 1802. Rivington's name is commemorated in Rivington Street,

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

."The Rabid Pen Wielded by James Rivington"
"Probably very few persons in New York know that in the name of Rivington Street is perpetuated the memory of the man who in his day published the most rabid Tory newspaper that was ever printed in the Colonies", ''The New York Times'', 1 March 1896. A complete set of his journal is conserved by the

New-York Historical Society The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum ...

In popular culture

* James Rivington is portrayed by actor

John Carroll Lynch John Carroll Lynch (born August 1, 1963) is an American character actor and film director. He first gained notice for his role as Norm Gunderson in '' Fargo'' (1996). He is also known for his television work on the ABC sitcom '' The Drew Carey ...

on the

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

period drama '' Turn: Washington's Spies''. In the series he is portrayed as a staunch loyalist whose newspaper mocks the Patriot cause and makes light of the Continental losses.

References

Sources

* Kilmeade, Brian and Don Yaeger. ''George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Save the American Revolution''. New York: Penguin Group, 2013. .

External links

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Rivington's ''The Royal Gazette'', July 19, 1783 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rivington, James 1724 births 1803 deaths American male journalists American newspaper editors American newspaper publishers (people) American printers English emigrants to British North America English male journalists English male non-fiction writers Loyalists in the American Revolution from New York (state) American spies during the American Revolution Rivington family