 When the Revolution started, he was initially on the Patriot side, as he had been elected to the Provisional Congress of New York in 1775.After the first year of the war, he switched sides and became a Loyalist, convinced the cause was hopeless.Accordingly, his house and property were confiscated by the New York State Legislature, and the following year, in September 1778, George Washington moved in when the Continental Army wintered in the area, where they could move on either New England or New York City at short notice.