Major Daniel Box, Greene's brigade-major (an office corresponding to
the present assistant adjutant-general), whose services were then
highly appreciated. Box first appears as an old British soldier, who
had been wounded in the French war, and afterwards as an organizer and
drill-master of Independent companies in Rhode Island, which
subsequently furnished many fine officers to the Continental army.[40]
In a letter to Colonel Pickering in 1779, Greene speaks of him in
flattering terms, as having been invaluable in the earlier years of
the war. That he was something of an engineer, as well as an
excellent brigade-major, is evident from the fact that he assisted in
marking out the lines around Boston in 1775, and later superintended
the construction of Fort Lee, on the Jersey side. No doubt he had much
to say about the building of the Brooklyn lines, and of the work in
particular which bore his name.
[Footnote 40: MS. letter of General Greene to Colonel Pickering,
August 24, 1779, in possession of Prof. Geo. Washington Greene, East
Greenwich, L.I.]
FORT GREENE.--About three hundred yards to the left of Fort Box, a
short distance above Bond Street, between State and Schermerhorn,
stood Fort Greene, star-shaped, mounting six guns, and provided with a
well and magazines. Colonel Little, its commander, describes it as the
largest of the works on Long Island; and this statement is
corroborated by the fact that its garrison consisted of an entire
regiment, which was not the case with the other forts, and that it was
provided with nearly double the number of pikes. It occupied an
important position on one of the small hills near the centre of that
part of the line lying south-west of Washington Park, and its guns
commanded the approach by the Jamaica highway. Being the principal
work on the line, the engineers, or possibly Little's regiment, named
it after their brigade commander.
OBLONG REDOUBT.--Still further to the left, and on the other side of
the road, a small circular redoubt, called the "Oblong Redoubt," was
thrown up on what was then a piece of rising ground at the corner of
De Kalb and Hudson avenues. The reason of its name is not apparent.
Greene's orders refer to it as the "Oblong Square" and the "Oblong
Redoubt." Major Richard Thorne, of Colonel Remsen's Long Island
militia, speaks of being on guard at "Fort Oblong" all night a short
time before the battle.[41] This redoubt had very nearly direct
command of the road, and in connection with Fort Greene was depended
upon to defend the centre of the line.
[Footnote 41: "_Force_," Fifth Series, vol. ii., p. 202.]
FORT PUTNAM.--From the Oblong Redoubt, the line ascended
north-easterly to the top of the hill included in Washington Park,
where the fourth in the chain of works was erected. This was Fort
Putnam. Star-shaped like Fort Greene, it was somewhat smaller than the
latter, and mounted four or five garrison guns. Its strong natural
position, however, made it the salient point of the line, and it
became, as will be seen, the main object of attack by the British
during and after the battle.[42] The fort may have taken its name, as
usually supposed, from Major-General Israel Putnam; but it is
altogether more probable that it was named after Colonel Rufus Putnam,
the chief engineer, who marked out many of the works on Long Island as
well as in New York, and who must have frequently crossed to give
directions in their construction.
[Footnote 42: Mr. Field states that the site of Fort Putnam was
unfortunately overlooked by the high ground east of it, Greene and his
engineers probably not noticing the fact until after the woods were
cut down. The official surveys of the ground, made before it was
levelled, show no such commanding elevation, the Fort Putnam Hill
being as high as any _within range_; nor can we credit Greene or his
officers with fortifying a point which was untenable, or with not
observing that it was untenable. As the engineers of 1812 occupied the
same site, it could be safely concluded, were no surveys preserved,
that it was entirely defensible.]
REDOUBT ON THE LEFT.--At the eastern termination of the hill, a short
distance from Fort Putnam, and on a lower grade, stood the last of the
works, which is identified in the orders and letters of the day as the
"redoubt on the left." It was a small affair, and occupied a point at
about the middle of the present Cumberland Street, nearly midway
between Willoughby and Myrtle avenues; but in 1776 the site was twenty
feet higher, and appeared as a well-defined spur extending out from
Fort Putnam. As it was commanded by the latter, its capture by the
enemy would bring them no advantage, while as an American defence it
could materially assist in protecting the left.
Between these five works a line of connecting intrenchments was laid
out, while on the right it was to be continued from Fort Box to the
marsh, and on the left from the Fort Putnam Hill, "in a straight
line," to the swamp at the edge of Wallabout Bay. Anticipating their
construction, we may say that each work became a complete
fortification in itself, being surrounded with a wide ditch, provided
with a sally-port, its sides lined with sharpened stakes, the garrison
armed with spears to repel storming parties, and the work supplied
with water and provisions to withstand a siege if necessary. The
greater part of the line was picketed with abattis, and the woods cut
down to give full sweep to the fire of the guns. As every thing
depended upon holding this front, the necessity of making it as strong
as possible was fully realized, and at the time of the engagement in
August it was considered a sufficient barrier to the enemy's
advance.[43]
[Footnote 43: Some important and interesting information relative to
the main line at Brooklyn was brought out in 1779 at the examination
of Captain John Montressor, before the Parliamentary Committee which
investigated Howe's conduct of the war. Montressor was a British army
engineer, acting as Howe's aid on Long Island. Being one of the
general's witnesses, he naturally made out the American position as
strong as possible, but the main facts of his testimony are to be
accepted. The examination was in part as follows:
"_Q._ Can you give a particular account of the state of those
[Brooklyn] lines?
_A._ Yes--the lines were constructed from Wallabout Bay, on one side
to a swamp that intersects the land between the main land and Read
Hook, which terminates the lines. The lines were about a mile and a
half in extent, including the angles, cannon proof, with a chain of
five redoubts, or rather fortresses, with ditches, as had also the
lines that formed the intervals, raised on the parapet and the
counterscarp, and the whole surrounded with the most formidable
abbaties.
_Q._ Were those lines finished on every part, from the swamp formed by
the Wallabout on the left, to the swamp on the right?
_A._ Yes.
_Q._ Do you know the particulars of the left part of the line towards
the Wallabout? Have you any reason for knowing that?
_A._ The line runs straight from the rising ground where Fort Putnam
was constructed, in a straight line to the swamp that terminates
itself at the bottom of Wallabout Bay.
_Q._ Was there a possibility of a single man's passing round the left
part of the line?
_A._ There was not. After entering the lines, Sir William Howe, on the
enemy's evacuating, followed the road to the point, to examine and see
if he could get out at that part, which he could not do, and we were
obliged to return and go out of a sally port of the lines....
_Q._ Can you say of your own knowledge, that the right redoubt of the
lines at Brooklyn had an abattis before it?
_A._ I have already said that the whole had an abattis before it.
[He produces an actual survey of the lines.]...
_Q._ If any one of these redoubts were taken, did not they flank the
line in such a manner to the right and left that the enemy could not
remain in the lines?
_A._ I have already said, that they could not be taken by assault, but
by approaches, as they were rather fortresses than redoubts."--_A View
of the Evidence Relative to the Conduct of the American War under Sir
William Howe_, etc.; second edition; London, 1779. _Manual of the
Corporation of the City of New York_, 1870, p. 884.
The maps in the early London editions of Gordon's and Stedman's
histories of the war, each put _five_ fortifications on the line from
the Wallabout to Gowanus Creek.]
FORT COBBLE HILL.--Passing to the remaining works on Long Island, we
find a redoubt on the crest of a cone-shaped hill, which stood alone
near the intersection of the present Court and Atlantic streets, and
which was known by the Dutch inhabitants as _Punkiesberg_. As it does
not appear to have been called Cobble Hill before this date, the
reasonable inference may be drawn that it was so named by Greene's
troops because of its close resemblance to the Cobble Hill which
formed one of the fortified points in the siege of Boston, but a short
distance from Winter Hill, where Greene's brigade was posted. In the
orders of the day, the redoubt is known as "Smith's barbette,"
Captain William Smith, the engineer whom Lee brought with him, having
it in charge. The work mounted four guns, and, from its central
interior position, could have prevented the enemy from securing a
foothold on the peninsula in the rear or flank of the main line in
case they effected a landing back of Red Hook or crossed Gowanus Creek
above. This hill was long since cut away.[44]
[Footnote 44: One of Greene's orders refers to this fort as follows:
"_Camp on Long Island, July 19, 1776._--The works on Cobble Hill being
greatly retarded for want of men to lay turf, few being acquainted
with that service, all those in Colonel Hitchcock's and Colonel
Little's regiments, that understand that business, are desired to
voluntarily turn out every day, and they shall be excused from all
other duty, and allowed one half a pint of rum a day." Two guns fired
from Cobble Hill were to be the signal that the enemy had landed on
Long Island.]
REDOUBT AT THE MILL.--Near the corner of the present Degraw and Bond
streets, a small battery or breastwork, in the form of a right angle,
mounting one gun, was thrown up to cover the narrow passage over a
mill-dam which here crossed Gowanus Creek. It stood at the extremity
of a long low sand-hill, and the dam connected this point with a
tongue of land on the opposite side, on which two mills were built,
known as the upper or yellow, and lower mills. The upper mill was
immediately opposite the redoubt, and it was here that the Port Road
came down to the edge of the creek.
RED HOOK--FORT DEFIANCE.--This work, already referred to, was
originally a single water battery, mounting four eighteen-pounders,
_en barbette_, to prevent the passage of ships east of Governor's
Island, as well as to keep the enemy from landing at the southern
extremity of the peninsula. Washington speaks of it in May as being "a
small, but exceedingly strong" fort. Lieutenant Samuel Shaw, of Knox's
artillery, who was stationed there most of the summer, states that it
was named "Fort Defiance," and subsequently strengthened by additional
works, which, from the Hessian map and the Stiles draft, appear to
have consisted of a second and larger redoubt connected with the first
by an intrenchment or inclosed way.[45] On the 5th of July, Greene
wrote to Washington that he regarded Red Hook as "a post of vast
importance," and proposed stationing a considerable force there
permanently, as in that case the commanding officer would be "more
industrious to have every thing in readiness, and obstinate in
defence" when the attack came; and on the 8th we find the order for
"Col. Varnum's regiment to remove their encampment to Red Hook, and do
the duty of that post."
[Footnote 45: "Our fort [Defiance] is much strengthened by new works
and more troops, and it is in so good a posture of defence, that it
would be almost impossible to take it either by attack or surprise. To
guard against the latter, each man is every other night on
duty."--_Memoir of Samuel Shaw_, p. 17.]
FORT STIRLING.--The first work laid out on Long Island, as we have
seen, was Fort Stirling, which, in connection with batteries on the
New York side, was designed to command the East River channel. Its
exact site has been a point of dispute. Several writers and old
inhabitants associate the name with the remains of a large
fortification which stood at the corner of Henry and Pierrepont
streets as late as 1836. It is clear, however, that this was a work
erected by the British during the latter part of the Revolution.
General Robertson, acting as Governor of New York in 1780, wrote to
Lord Germaine, May 18th, that, among other works thrown up to make New
York more secure against an attack by the Americans, "a large square
fort is built at Brooklyn Heights."[46] The traveller Smyth, writing
in the same year, says, "The town [New York] is entirely commanded by
a considerable eminence in Long Island, directly opposite to it, named
Brookland Heights, on which a strong regular fort with four bastions
has lately been erected by the British troops." This exactly describes
the work in question.[47] The corner of Henry and Pierrepont streets,
moreover, being a thousand feet back from the river's edge, could not
have been selected at that time as the site for a strictly water
battery intended for effective resistance. The fort must be looked for
nearer the edge of the bluff, and there we find it. Both the Stiles
and the Hessian maps place it directly on the bank of the river--the
latter, a little north of what was then known as the Bamper House, or
at about the intersection of Clark and Columbia streets.[48]
[Footnote 46: _Documents, Col. Hist. of New York_, vol. viii., p.
792.]
[Footnote 47: The recollections and incidents preserved by Stiles and
Furman go to show that this was not an American-built fort.--_Stiles'
Brooklyn_, vol. i., pp. 314, 315.]
[Footnote 48: A return of the batteries around New York, March 24th,
describes Fort Stirling as opposite the "Fly Market" in Maiden Lane
[_Force_, Fourth Series, vol. v., p. 480]. Clark, Pineapple, and
Orange streets, Brooklyn, can all be called "opposite" Maiden Lane in
New York. The Hessian map puts the fort nearest the line of Clark.]
The fort was a strong inclosed work, mounting eight guns. Ward's men
broke ground for it about the 1st of March, and continued digging, as
their major, Douglas, writes, through "cold, tedious weather," until
other troops took their place.[49]
[Footnote 49: The work, which was to be known as the _Citadel_, was in
all probability the "redoubte commencé," or unfinished fort, indicated
on the Hessian map in the rear and to the south of Fort Stirling. The
site corresponds with that of the British fort of 1780, corner of
Henry and Pierrepont streets, which was then, as it still is, the
highest point on Brooklyn Heights, and hence the natural position for
a citadel or commanding fortification. Stirling, in his letter to the
President of Congress of March 14, says: "The work [Fort Stirling]
first begun on Long Island opposite to this city is almost completed,
and the cannon carried over. The grand citadel there will be marked
out to-morrow, and will be begun by the inhabitants of King's County
and Colonel Ward's Regiment."
The list of batteries, March 24th, contains a note to the effect that
a citadel covering five acres, called the _Congress_, was to be built
in the rear of Fort Stirling. Major Fish writes, April 9th: "There are
_two_ fortifications on Long Island opposite this city, to command the
shipping." One of these was Fort Stirling--the other, undoubtedly, the
citadel then in process of construction. The latter, though not in as
favorable a position for the purpose as the former, could still fire
on ships entering the river.
The position of these two works, taken in connection with Lee's plan
of forming an intrenched camp on Long Island, fortified with a chain
of redoubts, which, according to one of his letters, were to be three
in number, indicates quite clearly that this general intended to hold
simply the heights along the river. The facts fail to bear out the
supposition that the lines, as finally adopted on Long Island, were of
Lee's planning. Work on the citadel was probably discontinued, because
his plan was so much enlarged as to make that fortification
unavailable.]
* * * * *
Greene's soldiers, whose experience around Boston had made them
veterans, at least in the use of the spade, now went to work to throw
up these lines. He reminded them early of the importance of the post,
and the necessity of preparation and vigilance. "As the security of
New York greatly dependeth on this _pass_," runs his order of May 5th,
"while these works are constructing, the general hopes the troops will
carefully forward the same as fast as possible;" and this he followed
up with the caution that if any soldier left his work without liberty,
he should do fatigue duty for a whole week. Orders from headquarters
in New York at the same time directed General Greene to report "all
extraordinaries" to the commander-in-chief; the officers at Red Hook
and Governor's Island to do the same; and the officer commanding the
riflemen on Long Island to "constantly report all extraordinaries to
General Greene." Although no enemy had yet appeared, every regiment in
the army was ordered to mount a picket every evening, to lie on their
arms, and be ready to turn out at a moment's notice.
It is possible to follow the troops on Long Island in their routine of
camp life all through the tedious summer they were to spend on this
ground. Digging was the main thing at first, and they had so much of
this that the officers complained of their inability to keep the men
in clothes, they wore them out so fast, and they made themselves so
begrimed with dirt at the trenches, that the allowance of soap would
not clean them; all which moved Greene to write to Washington that it
would be no more than "a piece of justice to the troops" to allow them
a double quantity of soap. Their encampment, in the rear of the lines,
appears to have been a pleasant one. The soldiers lived in bell-shaped
tents with board floors, and varied their regulation fare with the
produce of the Dutch farms; with the permission of their
field-officers they could occasionally cross on a visit to the city.
Their general, however, held them closely to duty, and we find in
these early orders the beginnings of that strictness which
subsequently made him known, with his other soldierly qualities, as a
thorough disciplinarian. No enemy being near them, the men, when put
on guard, perhaps relaxed even ordinary vigilance; but they were soon
brought up sharply by the general, with the direction that every part
of camp duty must be done with as much exactness as if the British
were in their front, for bad habits once contracted, they are told,
"are difficult to get over, and doing duty in a slovenly manner is
both disgraceful and dangerous to officers and men." They were sure of
being watched, too, by Lieutenant-Colonel Cornell, of Hitchcock's
regiment, whose habit of reprimanding the men for every neglect had
won for him the title of "Old Snarl" throughout the camp;[50] but his
subsequent promotion to offices of responsibility showed that in other
quarters his particular qualities were appreciated. As the warm
season came on, Greene cautioned his soldiers about their health. The
"colormen" were to keep the camps clean, and look after the hospitals.
Many soldiers being down with fever in July, the general recommends
"the strictest attention to the cookery, and that broiling and frying
meat, so destructive to health, be prohibited;" going into the water
in the heat of the day is also forbidden. A neglect of these matters
at this critical season, Greene continues, "may be attended with
dreadful consequences."
[Footnote 50: _Letter from General Greene written at Fort Lee. Mrs.
Williams' Life of Olney._]
Occasionally it was found necessary to give the soldiers a sharp
reproof for insulting the inhabitants or trespassing on their
property. When the complaint was brought to Greene that some of his
men had been stealing watermelons, he promptly issued an order that
such practices must be punished. "A few unprincipled rascals," he
said, "may ruin the reputation of a whole corps of virtuous men;" and
on another occasion he called upon the soldiers to behave themselves
"with that decency and respect that became the character of troops
fighting for the preservation of the rights and liberties of America."
Perhaps the offenders found an excuse for their conduct in the Tory
character of the complainants; but Greene, though no friend himself to
such people, could never accept this as a provocation to justify a
breach of military discipline.
The Tory element in the population required other and sterner
treatment.[51] It had developed to such an extent in Kings and Queens
counties as to require its suppression by the civil and military power
combined. The refusal of the majority of the voters in Queens to send
delegates to the New York Provincial Convention in 1775 indicated not
only a confidence on their part that the Home Government would succeed
in crushing the rebellion, but a secret intention as well to give the
British troops upon their arrival all the aid and comfort in their
power. As they provided themselves with arms and the British fleet
with provisions, the Continental Congress took up the matter, ordered
the arrest of the leaders, and dispatched Colonel Heard, of New
Jersey, with a regiment of militia to execute the business. Arrests
were made, but the complete suppression of the loyalists here was
never effected.
[Footnote 51: A history of the Tories on Long Island and in New
York--the trouble they gave in the present campaign, and the measures
taken for their suppression--properly forms a subject by itself. The
scope of the present work admits of but brief allusions to them.
However honest this class of the population may have been in taking
sides with the British, and whatever sympathy may be expressed for
them in their trials, losses, and enforced dispersion during and at
the end of the war, there was obviously no course left to the
Americans, then in the midst of a deadly struggle, but to treat them
as a dangerous and obstructive set. The New York Provincial Congress,
in the fall of the year and later, dealt with them unsparingly; and no
man wished to see the element rooted out more than John Jay--a fact to
be borne in mind by those who condemn Lee and other American officers
for attempting to banish the Long Island Tories, as a military
precaution, in the early part of the year.]
While Lee was in command he saw no solution of the problem other than
to remove the entire Tory population to some other quarter where they
could do less mischief in the event of active operations; but
Congress, to the regret of Washington, could not sanction so radical a
method. Greene did his best to root out this element, but we may
imagine that it was uncongenial work, and that he took far more
interest in the progress of his redoubts than in chasing suspected
persons on the island.[52]
[Footnote 52: What General Greene thought of the Tories, and what
treatment he proposed in certain cases, appears from a report on the
subject signed by Generals Heath, Spencer, Greene, and Stirling, and
submitted to Washington towards the close of June: "With regard to the
disaffected inhabitants who have lately been apprehended," say these
officers, "we think that the method at present adopted by the County
Committee, of discharging them on their giving bonds as a security for
their good behavior, is very improper and ineffectual, and therefore
recommend it to your Excellency to apply to the Congress of this
province to take some more effectual method of securing the good
behavior of those people, and in the mean time that your Excellency
will order the officers in whose custody they are to discharge no more
of them until the sense of the Congress be had thereon."--_Journals of
the N.Y. Prov. Congress_, vol. ii.
On this subject Colonel Huntington wrote to Governor Trumbull, June
6th, as follows: "Long Island has the greatest proportion of Tories,
both of its own growth and of adventitious ones, of any part of this
colony; from whence some conjecture that the attack is to be made by
that way. It is more likely to be so than not. Notwithstanding the
vigilance of our outposts, we are sure there is frequent intercourse
between the Asia and the shore, and that they have been supplied with
fresh meat. New guards have lately been set in suspected places, which
I hope will prevent any further communication."--_Force_, 4th Series,
vol. vi., p. 725.]
By the 1st of June the works around Brooklyn appear to have so far
progressed as to admit of the mounting of some of the cannon, and on
the evening of that date the troops were ordered to parade with arms
and man the lines. On the 17th the general assigned them to permanent
positions as follows:
"Colonel Varnum's regiment is to take Fort Box and the
Oblong Redoubt for their alarm-posts--Fort Box, six
companies; Oblong Redoubt, two companies. Captain
Wolverton's Independent Company[53] to join those in the
redoubt, and to receive orders from Colonel Varnum.
Colonel Hitchcock's regiment to take Fort Putnam and the
fort or redoubt on the left of it for their alarm-posts.
Colonel Little's regiment to take Fort Greene for their
alarm-posts."
[Footnote 53: This was a company of New Jersey Minute-men from Essex
County, which had been sent over to Long Island on May 17th.]
To impress his soldiers with his own sense of the great importance of
the Long Island front, Greene added the determined words: "In case of
an attack, _all these posts are to be defended to the last
extremity_." And Colonel Little, who had proved his fitness to command
the post assigned him by his cool and soldierly conduct at Bunker
Hill, quietly resolved that if the enemy assaulted Fort Greene it
should never be surrendered while he was alive.[54]
[Footnote 54: Colonel Little to his son. Doc. No. 9.]
Guards were now stationed at the forts and greater vigilance enjoined
about the camp. Even as early as May 25th, when the works were still
far from complete, the orders were strict that none but a general
officer should be admitted to them without special leave. The lines
were to be manned every morning "between day and sunrise," and the
troops exercised at parapet firing. The orders of July 1st directed
the commanding officers of the regiments "to make a line round each of
the forts and fortifications for the troops to begin a fire on the
enemy if they attempt to storm the works, and the troops are to be
told not to fire sooner than the enemy's arrival at these lines,
unless commanded. The line should be about eighty yards from the
parapet." The officers of the guards were to be accountable for every
thing in the forts, but particularly for the rum lodged there for the
use of the men in time of action. Provisions also were to be supplied
to each alarm-post "in case of siege," and the water-casks kept
constantly full of fresh water. To assure the effectiveness of the
means of defence, one hundred spears were to be placed in Fort Greene,
thirty in the works to the right, twenty in the Oblong Redoubt, fifty
in Fort Putnam, and twenty to the left of it.
And so the work went on under Greene's eye, and by the middle of
summer his troops[55] had inclosed themselves on the Brooklyn
peninsula, with lines which, though unfinished, were still of very
respectable strength.
[Footnote 55: It is a somewhat singular fact, indicating perhaps the
scantiness of our material heretofore, that none of the local accounts
of operations on Long Island mention either Hitchcock's, Varnum's, or
Little's regiments in any connection, whereas these, with Hand's,
formed the permanent garrison on that side and threw up the greater
part of the works.]
* * * * *
Recrossing the river to New York, we find the other brigades there at
work as uninterruptedly as Greene's on Long Island. The many
well-known "general orders" issued by the commander-in-chief during
this season testify to the great amount of fatigue duty performed by
the troops. Washington regretted that the necessity for it left so
little opportunity for drilling and he urged his officers to make the
most of what time they had for this purpose. But his chief anxiety was
to have the defences pushed on, and by the middle of June the
principal works were completed or well under way. The location and
names of these are indicated in the orders and maps of the day.[56]
Beginning on the North River side and continuing around the city, they
were as follows:
[Footnote 56: In locating the works in New York City, the writer
follows the list of batteries reported March 24th, 1776 (Force, 4th
Series, vol. v., p. 480); Putnam's order of May 22d, naming the
several works; Knox's artillery returns of June 10th, giving the
number of guns in each; and Hills' map of the fortifications, drawn at
the close of the war. The first list shows the works as they stood at
about the time the Boston troops came down, and which Lee had planned.
There are alterations and additions in Putnam's and Knox's lists,
which are to be followed where they differ from the list of March
24th. Although many other works were erected, no names appear to have
been attached to them, those only being designated which occupied the
most important points and were provided with guns and garrisons.
The Hills map is indispensable in this connection. John Hills,
formerly a British engineer, surveyed the city and island of New York
as far as Thirty-fourth Street in 1782, and in 1785 made a careful map
of the same, which John Lozier, Esq., presented to the Common Council
in 1847. This is still preserved, and is consulted at times for
official purposes. In addition to giving all the streets, blocks,
docks, and squares, Hills added all the works thrown up in and around
the city during the Revolution, giving their exact location and shape.
Part of the lines have a confused appearance, but they become clear on
referring to the following memorandum on the map: "All the works
colored yellow were erected by the Forces of the United States in
1776. Those works colored Orange were erected by Do and repaired by
the British Forces. Those works colored Green were erected by the
British Forces during the War." In the map of New York accompanying
the present work, Hills' "yellow" line has been followed, showing all
the American forts. Their location corresponds precisely with that
which Putnam gives, so far as he names them; and by projecting the
present streets over Hills' plan, it is possible to ascertain where
they stood in the plan of our modern city.]
GRENADIER BATTERY.--This was a "beautiful" circular battery, situated
on the bank of the North River where it ran out into a well-defined
bluff, at the corner of the present Washington and Harrison streets.
Captain Abraham Van Dyck's Grenadier Company of New York City
Independents built it while Lee and Stirling were in command, and
received the thanks of Washington in general orders for the skilful
manner in which they had executed their work. The fort mounted two
twelve-pounders and two mortars. The grenadier company was organized
by Stirling a few years before, when he lived in New York, and he
watched the construction of the battery with considerable pride. The
_Pennsylvania Gazette_ of May 8th, 1776, contains a letter from
Captain Van Dyck to Stirling, informing him of the completion of the
work, and desiring "the approbation of their former captain." Stirling
replied that he had frequently admired the battery, and reflected with
"real satisfaction" on the hour when he formed the company.
JERSEY BATTERY.--A short distance below, on the line of Reade Street,
just west of Greenwich, stood the Jersey Battery--a five-sided work,
mounting two twelve and three thirty-two pounders. A line of
intrenchments connected these two batteries, and, extending beyond on
either side, made the position a particularly strong one. Their guns
had the range of the bank up and down the river, and could enfilade an
enemy attempting to land in that vicinity.
McDOUGALL'S AND THE OYSTER BATTERY.--The works next below on the
Hudson consisted of two batteries situated on the high ground in the
rear and to the south of Trinity Church. The one on the bluff near the
church, or on the line of the present Rector Street, a little east of
Greenwich, was known under Stirling as McDougall's Battery; but this
name does not appear in the return of June 10th, and in its place in
the order of the works we have the "Oyster" Battery. It is possible
that this was the work a little south of McDougall's, at the
intersection of the present Morris and Greenwich streets. Its location
is described by Putnam in May as "behind General Washington's
head-quarters."[57] It mounted two thirty-two-pounders and three
twelve-pounders. In March, McDougall's Battery was provided with six
guns.
[Footnote 57: WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS IN NEW YORK.--This reference
creates some uncertainty as to the particular house occupied by
Washington in New York during the first part of the campaign. If the
site of the Oyster Battery were known exactly the house could be
identified. On the other hand, if headquarters, as generally supposed,
were at the Kennedy Mansion, No. 1 Broadway, then the battery should
have stood still lower down, at the corner of Battery Place and
Greenwich Street; but the Grand Battery terminated there, and Hills'
map shows no distinct battery at that point. Mr. Lossing states
("Field Book of the Rev.," vol. ii., p. 594, n.) that Washington, on
his first arrival in the city, took up his quarters at 180 Pearl,
opposite Cedar Street, his informant being a survivor of the
Revolution, and that, on his return from a visit to Philadelphia, June
6th, he went to the Kennedy House. That Washington, however, spent the
greater part of the summer at the "Mortier House," on Richmond Hill,
is well known. He was there on June 22d and probably much earlier, as
appears in _Force_, 4th Series, vol. vi., p. 1157, where one Corbie is
described as keeping a tavern "to the south-east of General
Washington's house, to the westward of Bayard's woods, and north of
Lispenard's meadows." The house referred to was the Mortier. From Mr.
Lossing's informant, and the reference in the orders of August 8th,
which speaks of the "old head-quarters on the Broadway," we may
conclude that Washington first put up at 180 Pearl Street; that if he
then went to the Kennedy House at all, it was but for a short time;
that it is more likely, from the position of the batteries, that the
house he did occupy was one of the two or three next above it; and
that in June he moved his quarters to the Mortier House, where he
remained until September 14th, when he went to the Morris Mansion at
Harlem Heights. The Kennedy House was Colonel Knox's artillery
headquarters during part if not all of the time, his wife being with
him there up to July 12th. (_Drake's Life of Knox._)]
FORT GEORGE AND THE GRAND BATTERY.--These works at the lower end of
the city had been pronounced almost useless by Lee, but as it was of
course necessary to include that point in the system of defence they
were repaired and greatly strengthened under Washington. In Fort
George were mounted two twelve-pounders and four thirty-two-pounders.
The walls of the Grand Battery were banked up from within, and mounted
thirteen thirty-two-pounders, one twenty-four-pounder, three
eighteen-pounders, two twelve-pounders, one thirteen-inch brass
mortar, two eight-inch and one ten-inch iron mortars.
WHITEHALL BATTERY.--A small work on the Whitehall dock on the East
River, and practically a continuation of the Grand Battery. It carried
two thirty-two-pounders.
WATERBURY'S BATTERY.--On the dock at the north-east angle of Catherine
and Cherry streets, mounting, in June, two twelve-pounders.
BADLAM'S REDOUBT.--On the hill above, south of Market and between
Madison and Monroe streets. It mounted seven guns in March, but
appears not to have been occupied later in the season.
SPENCER'S REDOUBT.--This was either the horseshoe redoubt at the
intersection of Monroe and Rutgers streets, or the larger star redoubt
between Clinton and Montgomery, east of Henry Street.[58] It mounted
two twelve-pounders and four field-pieces.
[Footnote 58: Spencer's Brigade probably built both works, as it was
stationed in the vicinity of both. Colonel John Trumbull, who was then
Spencer's brigade major, and afterwards in the Canada army, says in
the "Reminiscences" of his own time: "The brigade to which I was
attached was encamped on the (then) beautiful high ground which
surrounded Colonel Rutgers' seat near Corlear's Hook."]
JONES' HILL.--From Spencer's Redoubt a line of intrenchments extended
around along the crest of the high land above Corlear's Hook to a
circular battery on the northern slope of Jones' Hill, a little north
of the intersection of Broome and Pitt streets, and was pierced for
eight guns. During Stirling's command it was proposed to call this
fortification "Washington," but it was known subsequently simply as
Jones' Hill. From this battery the works continued along the line of
Grand Street to the Bowery, and included two more circular
batteries--one on Grand at the corner of Norfolk Street, and the other
near the corner of Grand and Eldridge streets.
BAYARD'S HILL REDOUBT.--Upon this commanding site, west of the Bowery,
where Grand and Mulberry streets intersect, was erected a powerful
irregular heptagonal redoubt, mounting eight nine-pounders, four three
pounders, and six royal and cohorn mortars. It had the range of the
city on one side and the approach by the Bowery on the other. Lasher's
New York Independent companies first broke ground for it about the 1st
of March, and continued digging there as well as on the redoubt around
the hospital until May 16th, when they were relieved, with
Washington's "thanks for their masterly manner of executing the work
on Bayard's Hill."[59] In the March return this battery is called the
"Independent Battery," and it also received the name of "Bunker Hill,"
which was retained by the British during their occupation; but its
proper name as an American fort was "Bayard's Hill Redoubt," this
having been given to it officially in general orders; and it was so
called in letters and orders repeatedly through the summer.
[Footnote 59: _Force_, 4th Series, vol. v., p. 492. Compare, also,
Documents 38 and 41.]
THOMPSON'S BATTERY.--This was the name given to the work thrown up at
Horn's Hook by Colonel Drake's Westchester minute-men soon after Lee's
arrival. It mounted eight pieces.[60]
[Footnote 60: This work stood at the foot of East Eighty-eighth
Street. See Document 41. Some ten years after the war, Archibald
Gracie occupied this site, and it became known as Gracie's Point. The
writer of a city guide-book in 1807, referring to Mr. Gracie, says:
"His superb house and gardens stand upon the very spot called
_Hornshook_, upon which a fort erected by the Americans in 1776 stood
till about the year 1794, when the present proprietor caused the
remains of the military works to be levelled, at great expense, and
erected on their rocky base his present elegant mansion and
appurtenances."--_The Picture of New York, etc., 1807, New York._]
GOVERNOR'S ISLAND.--The forts erected on this island were among the
strongest around New York. According to a letter from Colonel Prescott
of July 3d, they consisted of a citadel with outworks, and were
garrisoned during the latter part of the summer by Prescott's and
Nixon's regiments. The works mounted in June four thirty-two and four
eighteen pounders.
PAULUS OR POWLE'S HOOK.--The point of land on the New Jersey side,
opposite the city, and which is now the site in part of Jersey City.
Works were commenced here about May 20th, and in June they mounted
three thirty-two-pounders, three twelve-pounders, and two
three-pounder field-pieces.[61]
[Footnote 61: The fortifications erected at the upper part of the
island are noticed in Chapter V. Mr. Lossing, it should be said, gives
a very full list of the Revolutionary works in and around New York
("Field Book of the Rev.," vol. ii., p. 593), from which the list as
given here, based on Hills' map, differs in several particulars.]
In addition to these, several other redoubts were erected north of the
town, in which no cannon were mounted, and which had no names. They
were probably thrown up to be ready for occupation in case the enemy
succeeded in landing above the city. There was a circular battery at
the corner of Broome and Forsyth streets; another in the middle of
Broadway, opposite White Street; another, of octagonal shape, near the
corner of Spring and Mercer streets; a half-moon battery above this,
between Prince and Spring, on the line of Thompson Street; another on
the northwesterly continuation of Richmond Hill, at McDougall and
Houston streets; and still another on the river-bank, near the
junction of Christopher and Greenwich streets. The hospital on Duane
Street was strongly fortified, and breastworks were thrown up at
numerous points between and around the forts. On June 10th the entire
number of guns fit for service in and around New York was one hundred
and twenty-one, thirty-three of which were held as a reserve for field
service, "to be run where the enemy shall make their greatest
efforts." The mortars were nineteen in number.
As for barricades, the city was full of them. Some were built of
mahogany logs taken from West India cargoes. Not a street leading to
the water on either side that was not obstructed in this manner; so
that, had the enemy been able to gain a footing in the city under the
fire of their ships, they would still have found it, to use Lee's
expression, "a disputable field of battle." The City Hall Park was
almost entirely inclosed. There was a barrier across Broadway in front
of St. Paul's Church, another at the head of Vesey Street, and others
at the head of Barclay, Murray, and Warren. On the Park Row or Chatham
Street side a barricade stretched across Beekman Street; another, in
the shape of a right angle, stood in Printing House Square, one face
opposite Spruce Street, the other looking across the Presbyterian
churchyard and Nassau Street;[62] another ran across Frankfort
Street; another at the entrance of Centre Street; and still another
near it, facing Chatham Street.
[Footnote 62: One side of this barricade ran in front of the _Times_,
and the other in front of the _Tribune_ building.]
Another element in the defence was a motley little fleet, made up of
schooners, sloops, row-galleys, and whale-boats, and placed under the
command of Lieutenant-Colonel Benjamin Tupper,[63] who had
distinguished himself by a naval exploit or two in Boston Harbor
during the siege. Crews were drafted from the regiments and assigned
to the various craft, whose particular mission was to scour the waters
along the New Jersey and Long Island coast, to watch for the British
fleets, and prevent communication between the Tories and the enemy's
ships already lying in the harbor. Tupper, as commodore, appears first
in the sloop Hester as his flag-ship, and later in the season in the
Lady Washington, while among his fleet were to be found the Spitfire,
General Putnam, Shark, and Whiting. The gallant commodore's earliest
cruises were made within the Narrows, along the Staten Island shore,
and as far down as Sandy Hook, where he attempted the feat of
destroying the light-house. But he found this structure, which the
enemy had occupied since Major Malcom dismantled it in March, a hard
piece of masonry to reduce. He attacked it confidently, June 21st,
after demanding its surrender, but retired when he found that an
hour's bombardment made no impression upon its walls.[64] He kept a
good lookout along these waters, gathered information from deserters,
and when reporting on one occasion that the enemy's fleet were short
of provisions and the men reduced to half allowance, he added, with
unction, "May God increase their wants!" A little later we meet again
with the adventuresome Tupper and his flotilla.
[Footnote 63: This officer was Lieutenant-Colonel of Jonathan Ward's
Massachusetts Regiment, and subsequently became colonel in the
Massachusetts Continental Line.]
[Footnote 64: _Force_, 4th Series, vol. vi., p. 1011.]
As the soldiers went on with their exacting duties, the monotony of
the routine was now and then relieved by some diversion or excitement.
One day there is "Tory-riding"[65] in the city, in which citizens
appear to have figured principally. Then the whole camp is startled by
the report that a "most accursed scheme" had come to light, just "on
the verge of execution," by which Washington and all his generals were
to have been murdered, the magazines blown up, and the cannon spiked
by hired miscreants in the army at the moment the enemy made their
grand attack upon the city.[66] Again, on the 9th of July, the
brigades are all drawn up on their respective parade-grounds, listen
to the reading for the first time of the Declaration of Independence,
and receive it, as Heath tells us, "with loud huzzas;" and, finally,
to celebrate the event, a crowd of citizens, "Liberty Boys," and
soldiers collect that evening at Bowling Green and pull down the
gilded statue of King George, which is then trundled to Oliver
Wolcott's residence at Litchfield, Ct., for patriotic ladies to
convert into bullets for the American soldiers.[67]
[Footnote 65: "_Thursday, 13th June._--Here in town very unhappy and
shocking scenes were exhibited. On Munday night some men called Tories
were carried and hauled about through the streets, with candles forced
to be held by them, or pushed in their faces, and their heads burned;
but on Wednesday, in the open day, the scene was by far worse;
several, and among them gentlemen, were carried on rails; some
stripped naked and dreadfully abused. Some of the generals, and
especially Pudnam and their forces, had enough to do to quell the
riot, and make the mob disperse."--_Pastor Shewkirk's Diary, Doc.
37._]
[Footnote 66: The particulars of this plot need hardly be repeated;
indeed, they were never fully known. It was discovered that an attempt
had been made to enlist American soldiers into the king's service, who
at the proper time should assist the enemy in their plans. They were
to spike cannon, blow up magazines, and, as at first reported,
assassinate our generals; but the latter design seems not to have been
proved, though universally believed. Governor Tryon and Mayor
Matthews, of the city, were suspected of furthering the plot and
furnishing the funds. Matthews was arrested at Flatbush by a party of
officers under Colonel Varnum, but the evidence against him was
insufficient. Among the soldiers implicated was Thomas Hickey, of
Washington's guard, who was tried by court-martial, found guilty of
sedition, mutiny, and correspondence with the enemy, and executed in
the presence of the army on June 28th. Something of the feeling
excited by the discovery of the plot is exhibited in the letter from
Surgeon Eustis of Colonel Knox's regiment (_Document_ 39). This is
better known as the "Hickey Plot."]
[Footnote 67: The following memorandum, preserved among Governor
Wolcott's papers, is of interest in this connection:
"An Equestrian Statue of George the Third of Great Britain was erected
in the City of New York on the Bowling Green at the lower end of
Broadway. Most of the materials were _lead_ but richly _gilded_ to
resemble gold. At the beginning of the Revolution this statue was
overthrown. Lead being then scarce and dear, the statue was broken in
pieces and the metal transported to Litchfield a place of safety. The
ladies of this village converted the Lead into Cartridges for the
Army, of which the following is an account. O.W.
Mrs. Marvin, Cartridges 6,058
Ruth Marvin, " 11,592
Laura Wolcott, " 8,378
Mary Ann Wolcott, " 10,790
Frederick " " 936
Mrs. Beach, " 1,802
Made by sundry persons " 2,182
Gave Litchfield Militia on alarm, 50
Let the Regiment of Col. Wigglesworth have 300
------
42,088 Cartridges."]
* * * * *
But now occurred a much more stirring and important event to engage
the attention of the army, and this was the arrival of the enemy. It
was full time for them to make their appearance. Nearly three months
and a half had elapsed since the evacuation of Boston; the spring and
a whole month of summer had gone; the best season for active movements
was passing rapidly; and unless the British began operations soon,
all hope of conquering America "in one campaign" would have to be
abandoned. Rumors of their coming took definite shape in the last week
of June, when word reached camp that an American privateer had
captured a British transport with more than two hundred Highlanders as
prisoners. On the 25th and 26th three or four large ships arrived off
Sandy Hook, one of which proved to be the Greyhound, with Sir William
Howe on board; on the 29th a fleet of forty-five sail anchored off the
same point, and four days later the number had increased to one
hundred and thirty.[68] This was the fleet from Halifax with Howe's
Boston veterans. Preparations were made to land them on the Long
Island coast near the Narrows; but on being informed that the
Americans were posted on a ridge of hills not far distant, Howe
disembarked his troops opposite on Staten Island,[69] and there went
into camp to wait the arrival of the reinforcements from England under
Admiral Howe. The middle of July saw these also encamped on the
island, with the fleet increased to nearly three hundred transports
and ships of war. On the 1st of August there was an unexpected arrival
in the shape of the discomfited expedition under Generals Clinton and
Cornwallis, that was to gain a foothold in the South;[70] and last of
all, on the 12th of August came the British Guards and De Heister's
Hessians, after a tedious voyage of thirteen weeks from Spithead,
completing Howe's force, and swelling the fleet in the Narrows to more
than four hundred ships. England had never before this sent from her
shores a more powerful military and naval armament upon foreign
service.
[Footnote 68: "For two or three days past three or four ships have
been dropping in, and I just now received an express from an officer
appointed to keep a lookout on Staten Island, that forty-five arrived
at the Hook to-day--some say more; and I suppose the whole fleet will
be in within a day or two."--_Washington to Hancock, June 29th._]
[Footnote 69: Extract of a letter from an officer in the Thirty-fifth
Regiment at Staten Island, July 9th, 1776: "Our army consisted of 6155
effectives, on our embarkation at Halifax; they are now all safe
landed here, and our head-quarters are at your late old friend, Will
Hick's Mansion house."--_London Chronicle._]
[Footnote 70: The expedition sailed from Cork for the Cape River in
North Carolina, where Clinton joined it. It was expected that the
loyalists in the State would rise in sufficient numbers to give the
expeditionary corps substantial aid; but not over eighteen hundred
were mustered, and these under General McDonald were completely
defeated by the North Carolina Militia under Colonels Caswell and
Lillington at Moore's Creek Bridge on the 27th of February. The
expedition then moved against Charleston, S.C., and there met with the
famous repulse from Colonel Moultrie off Charleston Harbor on the 28th
of June. Clinton and Cornwallis after this could do nothing but join
Howe at New York.]
The arrival of the enemy hastened Washington's preparations. The
troops which Congress had called out to reinforce his army were coming
in too slowly, and expresses were sent to governors, assemblies, and
committees of safety, announcing the appearance of the enemy, and
urging in the most pressing terms the instant march of the
reinforcements to New York. To his soldiers with him the
commander-in-chief issued both warning and inspiring orders. On the 2d
of July, a few days after Howe arrived, he reminded them that the time
was at hand which would probably determine whether Americans were to
be freemen or slaves. "The fate of unborn millions," he said, "will
now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our
cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us no choice but a brave resistance
or the most abject submission. This is all we can expect. We have,
therefore, to resolve to conquer or die. Our country's honor calls
upon us for a vigorous and manly exertion, and if we now shamefully
fail we shall become infamous to the whole world. Let us, therefore,
rely upon the goodness of the cause and the aid of the Supreme Being,
in whose hands victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and
noble actions. The eyes of all our countrymen are now upon us, and we
shall have their blessings and praises, if happily we are the
instruments of saving them from the tyranny meditated against them....
Any officer or soldier, or any particular corps, distinguishing
themselves by any acts of bravery and courage, will assuredly meet
with notice and rewards; and, on the other hand, those who behave ill
will as certainly be exposed and punished: the general being resolved,
as well for the honor and safety of the country as of the army, to
show no favor to such as refuse or neglect their duty at so important
a crisis."
The digging still went on; the troops were ordered to keep their arms
in condition for immediate use; the officers cautioned to look after
the health of their men, as the season was excessively warm and
sickly; and every attention to necessary details enjoined.
* * * * *
In addition to their military and naval commands, the two Howes were
invested by their government with extraordinary powers as civil
commissioners. They were authorized to issue pardons, and to open up
the question of reconciliation and a peaceable settlement of the
troubles; but their first advances in a civil capacity completely
failed, though not without furnishing an entertaining episode. On the
14th of July they dispatched an officer in a barge with a
communication for General Washington. The barge was detained by one of
Commodore Tupper's boats in the harbor until Washington's pleasure in
regard to it could be known. Suspecting, by previous experience at
Boston, that Howe would not recognize his military title, Washington
consulted a few of his officers in the matter, and it was the
unanimous opinion that should the communication be addressed to him as
a private individual it could not, with propriety, be received.
Colonel Reed, the adjutant-general, and Colonel Knox immediately went
down the bay and met the British officer. The latter, with hat in
hand, bowed politely and said to Colonel Reed, "I have a letter from
Lord Howe to Mr. Washington." "Sir," replied Reed, "we have no person
in our army with that address." "But will you look at the address?"
continued the officer, at the same time taking out of his pocket a
letter marked
"GEORGE WASHINGTON, ESQ.,
NEW YORK.
HOWE."
"No, sir," said Reed, "I cannot receive that letter." "I am very
sorry," returned the officer, "and so will be Lord Howe, that any
error in the superscription should prevent the letter being received
by _General Washington_." "Why, sir," replied Reed, whose instructions
were positive not to accept such a communication, "I must obey
orders;" and the officer, finding it useless to press the matter,
could only repeat the sentiment, "Oh! yes, sir, you must obey orders,
to be sure." Then, after exchanging letters from prisoners, the
officers saluted and separated. The British barge had gone but a short
distance when it quickly put about, and the officer asked by what
particular title Washington chose to be addressed. Colonel Reed
replied, "You are sensible, sir, of the rank of General Washington in
our army." "Yes, sir, we are," said the officer; "I am sure my Lord
Howe will lament exceedingly this affair, as the letter is quite of a
civil nature, and not of a military one. He laments exceedingly that
he was not here a little sooner." Reed and Knox supposed this to be an
allusion to the Declaration of Independence, but making no reply, they
again bowed, and parted, as Knox says, "in the most genteel terms
imaginable."[71]
[Footnote 71: _Colonel Knox to his wife._--_Drake's Life of Gen.
Knox_, p. 131.]
But Howe was unwilling to have the matter dropped in this fashion, and
on the 20th he sent his adjutant-general, Lieutenant-Colonel
Patterson, to hold an interview with Washington in person, if
possible, and urge him to receive the letter and also to treat about
the exchange of prisoners. Patterson landed at the Battery, and was
conducted to Colonel Knox's quarters at the Kennedy House, without the
usual formality of having his eyes blindfolded. Washington, "very
handsomely dressed"[72] and making "a most elegant appearance,"
received him with his suite, and listened attentively while Patterson,
interspersing his words at every other breath with "May it please your
Excellency," explained the address on the letter by saying that the
etc. etc. appended meant every thing. "And, indeed, it might mean any
thing," replied Washington, as Patterson then proceeded to say, among
other things, that the benevolence of the king had induced him to
appoint General and Admiral Howe his commissioners to accommodate the
unhappy disputes; that it would give them great pleasure to effect
such an accommodation, and that he (Colonel Patterson) wished to have
that visit considered as preliminary to so desirable an object.
Washington replied that he himself was not vested with any authority
in the case; that it did not appear that Lord Howe could do more than
grant pardons, and that those who had committed no fault wanted no
pardons, as they were simply defending what they deemed their
indisputable rights.[73] Further conversation followed, when
Patterson, rising to leave, asked, "Has your Excellency no particular
commands with which you would please to honor me to Lord and General
Howe?" "Nothing," replied Washington, "but my particular compliments
to both;" and, declining to partake of a collation prepared for the
occasion, the British adjutant-general took his departure. Again the
king's "commissioners" had failed, and Washington had preserved the
dignity of the young nation and his own self-respect as the commander
of its armies.
[Footnote 72: "General Washington was very handsomely dressed, and
made a most elegant appearance. Colonel Patterson appeared awe-struck,
as if he was before something supernatural. Indeed, I don't wonder at
it. He was before a very great man, indeed."--_Ibid._ p. 132.]
[Footnote 73: Memorandum of an interview between General Washington
and Colonel Patterson.--_Sparks' Washington_, vol. iv., p. 510.]
An incident, of greater moment as a military affair, and which
disturbed Washington as much as the Patterson interview must have
diverted him, was the easy passage, on the 12th of July, of two of the
British men-of-war, the Rose and Phoenix, past all the batteries,
unharmed, up the North River. Taking advantage of a brisk breeze and
running tide, the ships with their tenders sailed rapidly up from the
Narrows, and to avoid the fire of the batteries as much as possible
kept near the Jersey shore. The American artillerists opened upon them
with all their guns along the river, but could do them no serious
damage, while by accident, in their haste to load the pieces, six of
their own gunners were killed. The ships sent many shots into the
city, some crashing through houses but doing no other injury, while
the roar of the cannon frightened the citizens who had not already
moved away, and caused more to go.[74] At the upper end of the
island, around Fort Washington, where the batteries and river
obstructions were as yet incomplete, the ships suffered still less
harm, and sailing by, anchored safely in the broad Tappan Bay above.
Their object was to cut off the supplies which came down the river to
Washington's army, and, as supposed, to encourage the loyalists in the
upper counties and supply them with arms. Washington acknowledged that
the event showed the weakness and inadequacy of the North River line
of defences, and reported to Congress that it developed a possible
plan of attack by the British upon his rear. Measures were taken to
annoy if not destroy the ships, and, on the 3d of August, Commodore
Tupper, with four of his sloops and schooners, boldly attacked the
enemy, but though, as Washington wrote, "our officers and men, during
the whole affair, behaved with great spirit and bravery," neither side
sustained serious damage. On the night of the 16th two fire-rafts were
directed against the ships, which were successful so far as to destroy
one of the tenders; and on the 18th the enemy weighed anchor and
returned to the Narrows as readily as they came up.
[Footnote 74: On August 17th Washington requested the New York
Convention to remove the women, children, and infirm persons, as the
city was likely soon to be "the scene of a bloody conflict." He stated
that when the Rose and Phoenix sailed past, "the shrieks and cries
of these poor creatures, running every way with their children, was
truly distressing." Pastor Shewkirk says: "This affair caused a great
fright in the city. Women and children, and some with their bundles,
came from the lower parts and walked to the Bowery, which was lined
with people."]
It was now apparent that the great struggle between the two armies
could be postponed no longer, and no day after the arrival of the
Hessians passed that the British attack was not looked for. The orders
of August 8th cautioned the men to be at their quarters, "especially
early in the morning or upon the tide of flood," when the enemy's
fleet might be expected, and every preparation was made to resist the
landing of the British at any point upon Manhattan Island.[75]
[Footnote 75: Captain Nathan Hale, the "Martyr-spy," says in a letter
of the 20th of August: "Our situation has been such this fortnight or
more as scarce to admit of writing. We have daily expected an
action--by which means, if any one was going, and we had letters
written, orders were so strict for our tarrying in camp, that we could
rarely get leave to go and deliver them. For about six or eight days
the enemy have been expected hourly, whenever the wind and tide in the
least favored."--_Document_ 40.]
Upon Long Island General Greene and his men were still at work on the
defences, and, since the arrival of the enemy, doubly vigilant. Hand's
riflemen kept close watch at the Narrows and reported every suspicious
movement of the fleet. Word was brought in on the 9th that a large
number of regulars were drawn up at the Staten Island ferry, and
Greene immediately sent around the order for "no officer or soldier to
stir from his quarters, that we may be ready to march at a moment's
warning, if necessary." Upon another alarm, when probably he himself
was indisposed, he directed Colonel Little, the senior regimental
officer present, to superintend the disposition of the troops. His
hastily written letter, penned apparently not long after midnight,
runs as follows:
THURSDAY MORNING [August 8 or 15?]
DEAR SIR--By Express from Col Hand and from Red Hook, and
from on board the Sloop at Governor's Island it is very
evident there was a General Imbarcation of the Troops last
evening from Statten Island--doubtless they'l make a dessent
this morning. Youl please to order all the troops fit for
duty to be at their Alarm posts near an hour sooner than is
common--let their flints arms and ammunition be examined and
everything held in readiness to defend the works or go upon
a detachment. A few minutes past received an Express from
Head Quarters. Youl acquaint the Commanding officers of Col
Hitchcock's Regiment and Col Forman's Regiment of this, and
direct them to observe the same orders, also the Artillery
officers.
I am ys,
N. GREENE.
[Addressed to Col. Little.][76]
[Footnote 76: Original in possession of Chas. J. Little, Esq.,
Cambridge, Mass.]
Greene had been promoted to the rank of major-general on the 9th, and
his old brigade on Long Island given to Brigadier-General John Nixon,
of Massachusetts, who was promoted from a colonelcy at the same time.
A new arrangement of the army was effected, and Brigadier-General
Heard's brigade of five New Jersey regiments was ordered to Long
Island to reinforce Greene. His division, now consisting of these two
brigades--Nixon's and Heard's--numbered, August 15th, two thousand
nine hundred men fit for duty. Parts of two Long Island militia
regiments under Colonels Smith and Remsen which joined him about this
date, and Colonel Gay's Connecticut levies, who had been on that side
since the 1st of August, increased this number to something over
thirty-five hundred.
But Greene was not to be a participator in the approaching scenes. The
prevailing fever which had prostrated so many officers and men seized
him with all but a fatal hold, and he was obliged to relinquish his
command. He clung to it, however, to the last moment in hopes of a
change for the better. "I am very sorry," he wrote to Washington on
the 15th, "that I am under the necessity of acquainting you that I am
confined to my bed with a raging fever. The critical situation of
affairs makes me the more anxious, but I hope, through the assistance
of Providence, to be able to ride before the presence of the enemy may
make it absolutely necessary;" and he assured the commander-in-chief
that his men appeared to be "in exceeding good spirits," and would no
doubt be able to render a very good account of the enemy should they
land on Long Island. On the 16th there was no change for the better in
his condition, but on the contrary Livingston, his aid, reported that
he had "a very bad night of it;" and in a day or two he was removed to
New York, to the house of John Inglis now the intersection of Ninth
Street and Broadway where with rest and care he slowly passed the
crisis of his illness.[77]
[Footnote 77: _Greene's Life of Greene_, vol. i.]
On the 20th Washington gave orders to General Sullivan, who had
recently returned from Canada, to take the command upon Long Island,
until General Greene's state of health should permit him to resume
it.[78]
[Footnote 78: _General Orders, August 20, 1776._--... "General
Sullivan is to take command upon Long Island till General Greene's
state of health will permit him to resume it, and Brigadier Lord
Stirling is to take charge of General Sullivan's division till he
returns to it again."]