Captain Caleb Bruen hailed from Newark, New Jersey and worked as a cabinet maker before the Revolutionary War. When that conflict began, he enlisted in Joseph Alling's Company of Essex County Minute Men in 1776. That same year he became captain of a company of artificers (skilled artisans and carpenters) who constructed numerous fortifications during the New York Campaign. In April 1777, he was captured by Loyalists and was released three months later on the condition that he serve as a spy for the British. Incredibly, Bruen became a double agent, funneling useful intelligence to General Nathanael Greene. In 1781 he was found out and imprisoned in a dungeon for ten months, where he nearly starved to death. After the war, General Henry Knox agreed to pay Bruen $300 for his “services and sufferings.” Bruen passed away at the age of 82 and was originally interred in the graveyard of Newark’s First Presbyterian Church. His remains were moved to Beverly National Cemetery on June 23, 1959.

CALEB BRUEN

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