To the Hempstead Loyalists the Continental Congress was a bunch of "lawless upstarts", and they refused to participate in the Provincial Congress called by that body. For this they paid dearly; they were in effect outlawed by the Congress and their thereafter harassed by economic sanctions. Their boats were seized by committees of Minute Men, their arms were taken from them to prevent their assisting the British; shore and ship patrols were established along the coast; many Loyalists were arrested, and others hid in the woods, the cornfields, and the South Side swamps to hide from the Patriots, who pursued them relentlessly... After the defeat of the Americans in the Battle of Long Island, the tables were completely turned; the Rebel sympathizers were on the run. Among those who fled were John Smith Rock and William Tredwell.

The Battle of Long Island, Illustration from "A History of Long Island", 1905

"The entrance of the British into Hempstead was greeted with huzzahs by the Tory population, but it was not long before resentment toward the King's men was as strong as the hate of the Rebels. Tories and Whigs alike were subject to compulsory billeting and levies of grain, cattle, and other farm products; their homes became the scenes of brawls; even winter fuel was  stolen from their sheds. They suffered in common hardships of a military occupation... Perhaps the ravages of the Revolution were far less on the scattered farms and among the baymen of Hick's Neck than in the streets of Hempstead Village. But certainly the south side must have thrilled to the excitement of smuggling raids under cover of the night; the house-tops providing ring side seats for many a skirmish off the beach, and more than once a fleeing Tory or Whig must have been found hidden in a farmer's haystack." - "Hicks Neck, the Story of Baldwin, Long Island".

Perhaps another telling story can be derived from the contents of an old leather billfold that belonged to Joseph Carman, who was from what was called South Hempstead in that time, which constituted what we would recognize now as the south coast of Nassau County. Among the contents were to pieces of paper "money" (script).  One was a Fifty Shilling note issued in 1773 by the General Assembly of Pennsylvania in the 17th year of the Reign of his Majesty King George, the other a Two-thirds dollar note issued by "Congress" in February 1776, which on the back shows thirteen interwoven rings each one having a name of one of the 13 colonies (it appears the money came first, the Declaration of Independence later). Joseph was born after the Revolution but his father was in South Hempstead then. And it can be speculated that commerce of the time required the use of both issue of currency, depending whom you were dealing with that day.

"In Nov. 1775, [no less than] 5 [different] Samuel Carmans, distinguished as "Capt", "Jr", and "3rd" (this designation appears twice) and "O" (Oyster Bay), voted to send no deputies to the Provincial Congress (REV.PAP. 1:183 ff). The 'Capt' in this list must have been No. 73 [this Samuel]. He was probably one of the four who apologized in Jan. 1776 for having worried their fellow- countrymen unduly and swore that they had surrendered all their arms (REV.PAP. 1:215 ff). In Oct. 1776, after the British had secured control again, 3 Samuels declared their loyalty to King George III. One of these was very likely No. 125 [son of Silas-5], the other two are not easily identified. (Onkerdonk, Rev. Inc. in Queens Co., LI). It should be explained in regards to the four Samuels who changed their minds, that shortly before the mass apology, a few hundred Continental "storm troopers" were sent to Hempstead and vicinity. To those of us living in the country today and fearing nothing worse from the Government's ill temper than a visit from the income tax collector, the conduct of the Hempstead Tories does not sound very heroic. But it must be remembered that the opposition was organized, was able to secure further military supplies if necessary, and being far from home was not worried about the fate of the countryside during and after the battles. The Hempsteader's on the other hand were handicapped in these respects. But since they were doubtless aware that they could not count on help from the British for some time (in the usual manner of the British) they should have organized themselves and armed sufficiently and they would not have had to fear for their homes half so much as they had to, after they surrendered without a struggle (possibly some doughty souls resisted at their doorsteps but they were very few in number) and before the arrival of the British later in the year. They did not lack for a leader, for in Richard Hewlett, the Tories possessed a forceful man with military experience. He was instrumental in keeping Hempstead loyal but he evidently did not succeed in putting in condition to fight. In the writer's opinion, The Hempsteader's were forced to sign that humiliating apology in great numbers because of the great reluctance of the conservative mind to resort to force." - "John-1 Carman of Hempstead, Long Island and Some of his Descendants Thru His Son John-2", Henry Alanson Tredwell, Jr., August 1946, Collection of the NYGBS, New York City.