chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution have restored
the old fort as far as possible to the form that it bore at the
time of the Revolution. It is additionally interesting as being
the sole survivor of that long line of forts with which the French
hoped to hold the Ohio River.
WEST POINT, ITS ENVIRONS AND STONY POINT
AT ENTRANCE TO HUDSON HIGHLANDS--NEW YORK
The long trough of land which runs 384 miles from New York to
Montreal, consisting of the Hudson River Valley, Lakes George and
Champlain and the Richelieu River Valley, is without doubt the
most vital of American natural highways and its importance has
been recognized from the earliest days of American history. The
French in the days when the lilies of France waved over half of
the American continent sent their war parties down this depression
to prey upon the English settlements, and hence came about the
building of Ticonderoga at the northern entrance to the long march.
The American colonists years afterward, when they had need to
defend the southern mouth of the valley, fortified West Point and
its neighboring points and crags, their first cover being taken at
Peekskill some three or four miles south of West Point. It will be
remembered that in 1777 came about that menacing campaign in the
Hudson in which the British from the south under Sir Henry Clinton
and in the north under General Burgoyne attempted a juncture of
forces at Albany, the intention being to divide the American
colonies along the line of the historic Hudson Valley and then to
reduce each half at leisure while the British fleet prevented any
efforts at union by way of the sea-coast. Burgoyne surrendered in
October of that year at Saratoga, which is roughly half way between
Lake George and Albany, but to Sir Henry Clinton, whose campaign
was one of disaster to the Americans, a few moments may be given in
profitable speculation.
The American forces opposed to Clinton on the lower Hudson
consisted of about 1200 Continentals under the command of the
choleric old General Israel Putnam and were concentrated several
miles south of West Point, where three forts had been built at
great expense earlier in the year. Fort Independence was on the
east side of the Hudson just north of Peekskill; Forts Clinton and
Montgomery were on the west side directly opposite, Montgomery
being the more northern of the two. South of the location of the
forts stood Dunderberg Mountain, outpost of the highlands of the
Hudson. The river was obstructed by a boom and chain opposite Fort
Montgomery and protected from British approach by two frigates on
the northern side of the chain.
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO FORT PUTNAM, WEST POINT, N. Y., IN WINTER
Showing Tower of New Academy Chapel in Middle Distance]
Forts Clinton and Montgomery were under the command of General
James Clinton, brother of the recently-elected Governor George
Clinton of New York, at this moment attending a session of the
legislature at Kingston. Hearing of the approach of the British
against the forts, he adjourned the legislature and hastened to
his brother’s assistance with such militia as he could gather.
This completes the convocation of the Clintons in this engagement;
Sir Henry Clinton, in command of the British forces, General James
Clinton, in command of the two western forts; and Governor George
Clinton, hastening to the aid of brother James at Fort Clinton.
The approach of the British caused General Putnam to place his
Continentals on the eastern shore behind Peekskill and to bring
over from the western shore a large force to reinforce his own.
The British galleys advanced far enough up the river to prevent
communication between the two American bodies, and it then became
plain that it had been the hope of the English commander to cause
the Americans to divide their forces by making a feint at the
eastern shore where Putnam supposed that the strength of the
British would be. The Americans had played into his hands. On the
morning of the 6th of October Sir Henry Clinton landed his main
forces on the western shore, and by sending a detachment around
Dunderberg Mountain managed to attack Forts Clinton and Montgomery
from the rear while another force engaged them from the south.
The result of this engagement was that while the Americans fought
pluckily they were overcome by the British, with a loss of 250
killed, wounded and missing, as opposed to the British casualty
list of 40 killed and 150 wounded, and that the two western forts
fell into the hands of the English. The boom and chain across the
river were destroyed, and the British fleet sailed up the river and
attacked Fort Constitution on Constitution Island opposite West
Point. Fort Constitution was hastily abandoned.
Such a signal success on Sir Henry Clinton’s part should have
caused him to push quickly on to effect a junction with Burgoyne,
who had written him of his desperate straits at the northern end of
the Hudson, but, having done this much, the English knight seemed
to think that nothing more was expected of him, for, beyond sending
a marauding expedition up the Hudson as far as Kingston, he made no
further northern advance and retired to New York with his entire
force. Had he joined Burgoyne in time to prevent the capitulation
of the latter, it is probable that the whole history of this
country would have been written in another fashion from that date.
Fort Constitution, which held so short an argument with the British
fleet opposite West Point, was the first fortification of the
series of works which lie in the vicinity of West Point. In August,
1775, a committee appointed by the State of New York and consisting
of Isaac Sears, John Berrien, Christopher Miller, Captain Samuel
Bayard and Captain William Bedlow, began the erection of forts and
batteries in the vicinity of West Point. As an adviser to this
committee Bernard Romans, an English engineer, was employed, and
under his direction Martelaer’s rock, now Constitution Island, was
chosen for the site of the principal fortification. The fort, which
was commenced under Romans’s supervision but finished by another
military architect, was named Constitution and cost altogether
about $25,000. The remains of the fort are still visible on the
island, the outlines of the walls being discernible, with the
location of the principal point.
After the retreat of Sir Henry Clinton from before West Point,--a
voluntary retreat, it should be observed,--the Americans saw that
they must strengthen their defences at this place. Anxious to
have the passes here strongly guarded, General Washington wrote
to General Putnam, asking that he would give his most particular
attention to the matter. Duty called Putnam to Connecticut and
little was done in the matter until the arrival of General
Macdougal, who took command on March 20, 1778, by whom West Point
was approved as the location of the principal defences.
There now comes upon the scene the Polish patriot Kosciuszko, who
had been appointed to succeed a French engineer, La Radierre,
in the Hudson Highlands and who had taken up his new duties
coincidentally with the arrival of General Macdougal. Kosciuszko
pushed forward the construction of the works with great vigor.
The principal redoubt was constructed of logs and earth, was 600
feet around within the walls, and its embankments were 14 feet high
with a base of 21 feet. The work was situated on a cliff which
rises 187 feet above the river, and upon its completion in May
was named Fort Clinton. The remains of Fort Clinton are carefully
preserved to-day and comprise that line of grass-covered mounds
which edge the eastern side of the plateau on which West Point
Academy is situated. In the midst of these quiet green mounds
stands a monument to Kosciuszko, erected by the corps of cadets
of 1828. From the ruins a beautiful view of the Hudson is to be
obtained, though the new buildings of the Academy cut off much
which formerly was contained in the view from this point.
To support Fort Clinton works were constructed and batteries placed
on the hills and mountains of West Point. On Mount Independence,
which overhangs the military school, a strong fort was built and
named, when completed, Fort Putnam, in honor of the sturdy patriot
of Connecticut.
[Illustration: Fort Putnam’s Rocky Interior
Kosciuszko Monument
The North Wall, “Old Put”
SKETCH SNAP-SHOTS OF WEST POINT’S HISTORIC MEMORIALS]
The remains of Fort Putnam, or “Old Put,” as it came to be known
in the neighborhood, were for many years the scene of picnickers’
journeys up the steep hill-side whose crest it crowns and for many
years were allowed to lie in a condition of disorder and decay. Of
recent years the United States Government has taken in hand the old
works and has restored them to as near their original condition
as can be learned. The walls have been rebuilt where necessary and
the brick casemates relaid. The result is that Fort Putnam to-day
is the best preserved and most interesting of the souvenirs of the
war-like days of West Point.
A rocky, inhospitable looking, irregular stone enclosure, Fort
Putnam to-day gives one a very good idea of the stern, rude
conditions with which our forefathers labored in the founding of
our republic. From the walls of the fort a most enchanting prospect
is to be gained from any direction, enchanting to either the lover
of beautiful natural scenery or to the lover of historic memorials;
for the Hudson Valley and its towering hills lie out before one
to any point of the compass. Upon the points of these high hills
were located batteries and strong works in the days when Putnam
was young, each battery and work with its quota of rough colonial
militia determined to fight to the last man against the trained
soldiers of Europe. South of Fort Putnam were two small works known
as Fort Wyllys and Fort Webb upon the eminences to be seen from
“Put.” On the crown of Sugar Loaf Mountain was a redoubt known as
South Battery.
In addition to the construction of Forts Clinton and Putnam and
their supporting batteries, Fort Constitution was strengthened
and re-garrisoned, and between West Point and Constitution Island
was stretched a huge iron chain, links of which are preserved in
the museum at West Point. The chain was manufactured by Peter
Townshend, of the Stirling Iron Works, Orange County, and was made
of links two feet in length and in weight over 140 pounds each.
At the close of 1779 West Point was considered the strongest
military post in America, and a large quantity of gunpowder,
provisions and munitions of war was collected there. These
considerations, in addition to the strategic value of the place,
made of it a great prize for the enemy, who tried in various ways
to seize it for his own. Yet the great menace to the place lay not
without, where the British soldiers were, but within, and the story
of that fact is one of the saddest things of American history.
The treason of Benedict Arnold had its setting at West Point,
though its foundations were laid months before he assumed command
of this important locale. Indeed, at the moment of Arnold’s
appointment to the command of West Point, the American general had
been in correspondence with Sir Henry Clinton for eighteen months.
It is supposed that the defection of Arnold and his plans for the
surrender of West Point began in Philadelphia during the winter of
1778, when he was appointed governor-general of that city after the
evacuation by the British. Fond of show and feeling the importance
of his station, he began to live in style far beyond his income,
and pecuniary embarrassments began to multiply around him. He
lived in the mansion that had once sheltered William Penn (and
which is still standing), kept a coach and four, and gave splendid
banquets. When impatient creditors began to press him for funds, he
resorted to devious ways of raising money. So open did the scandal
become of his indecent use of his position for private gain that
charges were laid against him before Congress implying abuse of
power, and the whole matter was handed over to Washington to have
tried before a military tribunal. The verdict in the trial was
rendered January 26, 1780, after a lengthy consideration of the
case, and two of the four charges against Arnold were sustained.
Washington was ordered to reprimand the officer, convicted by
a jury of his peers, and did so in as kind a fashion as ever a
reprimand was given. Indeed, at the time, Washington, himself, came
in for censure because his reprimand was so ambiguously worded
that it might be construed to praise the impetuous warrior who
had fought for the new republic rather than to reprove the errant
administrator. However, from this time it is supposed that Arnold
planned to benefit himself and to deal the American cause a vital
blow.
The military importance of West Point being plain, it was equally
plain that the British would be willing to pay handsomely for
its surrender. Arnold settled upon the place as the prize that
his treachery should hold out to the English, and by various
pieces of wire-pulling succeeded in having himself appointed
its commander-in-chief. The general opinion of this American
leader then was that he was headstrong and self-willed but not
characterless. His impetuosity and violence were esteemed good
qualities, which fitted him for the work of the soldier while they
unfitted him for administrative duties. His good will toward his
fellow-countrymen was not doubted. In August, 1780, Arnold took
command of West Point and made his headquarters in a rambling old
house which had belonged to Colonel Beverly Robinson, Colonel
Robinson having espoused the English side of the quarrel during the
Revolutionary War and having been obliged to take refuge in the
English lines in consequence.
The chief correspondent of Arnold in the English ranks was
Major André, and for a long time Sir Henry Clinton did not know
the identity of the American general with whom André was in
communication. To his missives Arnold affixed the signature of
Gustavus and wrote in the character of a commercial correspondent
of a business house. André on his part signed his letters John
Anderson.
The general plan by which Clinton was to take possession of West
Point through Arnold’s connivance had many ramifications, but its
chief text as concerns us was that Clinton should make a strong
demonstration against the post and that Arnold, after a weak
defence, should yield it to him. The final negotiations which
touched the amount of money which Arnold was to receive for his
treachery were concluded by Clinton through the intermediation
of André, who assumed the guise of a spy in order to carry out
his commander’s behests. It was while returning from this trip to
Arnold’s headquarters and but one day before the drama was to be
consummated that André fell into the hands of American forces and
the papers which he bore were brought to light.
The morning of the 24th, the day set by Arnold for his surrender
to Clinton, dawned bright and fine. Washington was expected at
Arnold’s headquarters from Hartford. As he sat at breakfast
Arnold received a message from Colonel Jameson, stationed to the
south, which contained the intelligence not that the British were
approaching, but that a Major André had been captured. Hastily
asking to be excused, Arnold made his way to the room of his young
wife, the beautiful Margaret Shippen, of Philadelphia, and bade
her a brief farewell; then he let himself out of the house by a
back way and took a short path to the water-shore where he summoned
a boatman and had himself rowed to the British fleet. Washington
arrived at Arnold’s headquarters in time to gather up the loose
ends of things and prevent the dreadful catastrophe that the loss
of the strongest of the American positions would have meant.
It has been claimed that the influence of Arnold’s wife, who was
of a Tory family and had been an ardent British sympathizer before
her marriage, had much to do with Arnold’s desertion from the
cause he had first embraced. There is no evidence to finally set
at rest this conjecture. Margaret Shippen had many friends amongst
the British officers and Major André was the chief amongst these
friends, but there is no reason to believe that she was base at
heart, that she was not devoted to her husband, or that she could
not realize how utter would be his undoing. After his downfall she
rejoined him in New York and shared with him patiently all of the
contempt and odium that were his portion for the rest of his life,
from American and English alike.
The military academy at West Point was established by Act of
Congress which became law March 16, 1802. The establishment of
such a place had been proposed to Congress by Washington in 1793,
and even before the close of the Revolution he had suggested such
an institution and had even fixed on West Point as the location.
Little was done in the matter even after the act of Congress of
1802, until in 1812, by a second enactment, a corps of engineers
and teachers was organized and the school actually started. The
beautiful buildings of the Academy are the fruit of the last
generation’s labor.
Stony Point lies south of West Point, separating Peekskill Bay on
the north from Haverstraw Bay on the south. Opposite is Verplanck’s
Point. The river here is very narrow. In 1779 Clinton had strongly
fortified Stony Point, thus cutting off West Point’s communications
from the south and establishing a strong base from which to proceed
against that place. Washington saw that Stony Point must be
captured.
To carry out his bold scheme--for the spot was deemed impregnable
to assault--he called upon General Anthony Wayne--“Mad”
Anthony--and asked him if he would undertake such a commission.
“General, I’ll storm hell if you’ll only plan it,” Wayne is said to
have replied.
The situation of Stony Point was a fortress in itself. At high tide
it was practically an island, the ravine on the shore side through
which the railroad passes now-a-days being then a marshy inlet of
the river. From the river the rock rose precipitously, and was at
its highest point 700 feet above tide.
The assault was made under cover of darkness, July 15, 1779, the
American forces advancing secretly under the guidance of an old
negro who had learned the watchword of the fort for that night.
This watchword was, “The Fort’s Our Own.” The phrase has been
carved above the doorway of the reservation, where it may be seen
by all visitors to-day. One by one the sentries were approached and
overpowered, and the Americans were almost within the walls before
their presence was discovered. By two o’clock on the morning of
July 16 the fort was the possession of the assailants.
The stores of the English were destroyed and the post was evacuated.
Stony Point is now a public reservation of the State of New York.
The battle-ground is in charge of the American Scenic and Historic
Preservation Society, which has marked the locality of the redoubts
and of interesting points.
FORT CONSTITUTION
(FORT WILLIAM AND MARY)
GREAT ISLAND NEAR PORTSMOUTH--NEW HAMPSHIRE
The records of the War Department at Washington say that Fort
Constitution reservation “contains twelve acres. It is situated on
a rocky projection in the Piscataqua River at the entrance to the
harbor of the City of Portsmouth. It is about three miles below
the city on the west side of the river, on the eastern end of
‘Great Island,’ being the most eastern end of New Hampshire. It was
formerly an English fort called ‘William and Mary’ and was occupied
by United States troops in 1806.”
The location of Fort Constitution may be fixed more exactly by
saying that it is very close to Newcastle, one of the outlying
dependencies of Portsmouth. A long low stone structure thrust
out on a wave-washed spit of rock, its picturesque appearance
stimulates the fancy of every visitor who approaches Portsmouth by
water.
Adjoining the fort is a light-house erected in 1771, and on a
rocky eminence overlooking the fort is a ruined martello tower of
striking aspect.
The history of Fort Constitution goes back to the early beginnings
of settlement on the New England coast. In 1665 the commissioners
of King Charles II began to erect a fortification on the point
here, but were halted by the prohibitions of the Massachusetts
fathers. In 1700 there existed a fort on Great Island and probably
on the site of the present structure. This fort was visited by the
Earl of Bellemont and declared by him incapable of defending the
river, notwithstanding the fact that it mounted thirty guns.
A new defensive structure was planned by Colonel Romer, who
recommended as additional works a strong tower on the point of
Fryer’s (Gerrish’s) Island and batteries on Wood and Clark’s
Islands. His main plans were carried out and with slight
alterations formed the fortification which was known at the time
of the Revolutionary ferment as Castle William and Mary, its name
sufficiently emphasizing the period of its conception. While Castle
William and Mary had an honorable career in a passive fashion
during the French wars by frightening off French descents upon the
flourishing little city which it guards, it does not spring into
the lime-light until 1774, when it becomes the scene of the first
capture of arms made by the Americans in the struggle against the
Mother Country.
[Illustration: FORT CONSTITUTION (CASTLE WILLIAM AND MARY), GREAT
ISLAND, NEAR PORTSMOUTH, N. H.]
In the year we have under consideration the Governor of New
Hampshire was the able and passionate Sir John Wentworth. An
account of the seizure of the supplies at Fort William and Mary may
be succinctly given by means of extracts from Sir John’s letters
of that period, a series of which was published in 1869, in
the “Historical and Genealogical Register” by the Honorable John
Wentworth, of Chicago.
In a letter to the Earl of Dartmouth, dated Portsmouth, December
20, 1774, Governor Wentworth says:
On Tuesday the 13th instant, in the afternoon, one Paul Revere
arrived with letters from some of the leaders in Boston to
Mr. Samuel Cutts, merchant, of this town. Reports were soon
circulated that the Fort at Rhode Island had been dismantled and
the Gunpowder and other military stores removed up to Providence
and ... it was also falsely given out that Troops were embarking
at Boston to come and take possession of William and Mary Castle
in this harbour. These rumors soon raised an alarm in the town;
and although I did not expect that the people would be so
audacious as to make any attack on the castle yet I sent orders
to the captain at the fort to be upon his guard.
On Wednesday news was brought to me that a drum was beating about
the town to collect the populace together in order to go and take
away the Gunpowder and dismantle the Fort. I immediately sent
the Chief Justice of the Province to warn them from engaging in
such an attempt. He went to them where they were collected in
the centre of the town near the townhouse, explained to them
the nature of the offence they proposed to commit, told them it
was not short of Rebellion and intreated them to desist from it
and to disperse. But all to no purpose. They went to the island
and, being joined by the inhabitants of the towns of Newcastle
and Rye, formed in a body of about four hundred men and the
Castle being in too weak a condition for defence (as I have in
former letters explained to your lordship) they forced their
entrance in spite of Captain Cochrane who defended it as long
as he could; but having only the assistance of five men their
numbers overpowered him. After they entered the Fort they seized
upon the captain and triumphantly gave three huzzas and hauled
down the King’s colours. They then put the captain and men under
confinement, broke open the Gunpowder magazine and carried off
about 100 barrels of Gunpowder but discharged the Captain and men
from their confinement before their departure.