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The word Tory is borrowed from Gaelic: It literally means Horse Thief. So, it should come as no surprise that five brothers from Bucks County in Pennsylvania, all notorious horse thieves, would be loyal to the King during the Revolutionary War. These were the Doan Brothers — Moses, Joseph, Levi, Mahlon, and Aaron; and they would steal horses from residents of Bucks County and sell them to the Redcoats in Philadelphia and Baltimore during the war. It is estimated that they stole over 200 horses and supplied them to his Majesty’s Calvery.
Aside from stealing horses, the gang also robbed the Newtown Treasury and burgled homes in Philadelphia, stealing silverware and money. This earned them the ire of George Washington who referred to them as “greatest threat to the American cause;” and even prompted Benjamin Franklin, then governor of Pennsylvania, to personally sign warrants calling for their executions.

The Doan gang was most renowned for being British spies operating out of a secret cave somewhere in Bucks County. Nicknamed “Eagle Spy“, Moses and Levi Doan met with British General William Howe in July 1776, and became spies for the Crown. On August 27, 1776, Moses Doan informed General Howe of the unprotected Jamaica Pass, helping Howe defeat George Washington’s army at the Battle of Long Island. On December 25, 1776, Moses may have delivered this note to Colonel Johann Rahl’s headquarters: “Washington is coming on you down the river, he will be here afore long. Doan“. Fortunately for the Continental Army, Colonel Rahl never read the note.

These brothers also continued to carry out their criminal activities. On June 7, 1780, Abraham Doan killed a woman in her home with her nine fearful children huddled around her. On October 22, 1781, three days after Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, the Doan gang robbed the Bucks County Treasury in Newtown of 1,307 pounds sterling. On June 1783, Moses Doan and Abraham Doan and others robbed several Bucks County tax collectors in their homes. On July 26, 1783, they also robbed two Bucks County tax collectors and four citizens at night in their homes.

Three of the six Doan members met tragic ends. Moses, the oldest of the group and its leader, was shot in an attack led by Colonel William Hart. Several years later, Abraham and Levi were captured and hung for their crimes.

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