[2] Joshua Mersereau (1728-1804) attended Kings College, practiced law in New York City, and operated a stage coach line with his brother John prior to the Revolutionary War.
[3] In addition to his political responsibilities, Joshua served as Deputy Commissary of prisoners under General Elias Boudinot for Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.
[5] Joshua and the Mersereau family, owning a tavern on Staten Island and a stagecoach line between New York and Philadelphia, had the covert means for transporting intelligence reports through their legitimate businesses.
[8] Once American forces retreated across the Delaware River in 1776, John LaGrange (1760-1841) moved from New Brunswick to Staten Island and later Manhattan where he gathered intelligence from behind British lines.
John LaGrange's brother Joshua used a skiff to go to Staten Island where he would pick up copies of the Register that Paul Mersereau would leave in the cellar of his house.
[11] The earliest intelligence success for the Mersereau Ring occurred in December 1776 when Joshua and John LaGrange discovered evidence that the British prepared to pursue the retreating Continental Army across the Delaware River.
[6] The Mersereau Ring played a role in the capture of British Major John André, ultimately exposing the betrayal of American General Benedict Arnold.