Enoch Crosby

Enoch Crosby (1750–1835) was an American spy and soldier during the American Revolution. His life may have been the basis for the character Harvey Birch in James Fenimore Cooper's novel The Spy. Early life Crosby was born in Harwich, Massachusetts, on January 4, 1750, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Crosby. His family moved to what is now Putnam County, New York, when Crosby was only an infant. The family was poor, and by 1766, Crosby set out from home to find a career. He became an apprentice shoemaker in Kent, New York, and continued in the apprenticeship until it was completed in 1771, on his 21st birthday. When the American Revolutionary War began, he was in Danbury, Connecticut, and immediately enlisted as a soldier. Revolutionary War Crosby enlisted with a Connecticut regiment in the first weeks of the war. His unit became part of the invasion of Canada by the Continental Army in 1775. After the capture of Montreal, his enlistment expired and he returned to Danbury to continue his career as a shoemaker.