Decimation of the Indians.--Strifes among them.--Philip a Fugitive.--His

Death.--His Son.--Captain Church.

663Warwick and Providence, in Rhode Island, were burned; and every where

the isolated dwellings of adventurous settlers were laid waste. But as

the season advanced, and more remote tribes came not to re-enforce them,

the Indians, wasted and dispirited, abandoned all hopes of success.

Strifes arose among them. The Connecticut Indians charged their

misfortunes upon Philip, and so did the Narragansets. The cords of

alliance were severed. Some surrendered to avoid starvation; other

tribes wandered off and joined those of Canada; while Captain Church,

the most famous of the English partisan warriors, went out to hunt and

destroy the fugitives. * During the year, between two and three thousand

Indians were killed or submitted. Philip was chased from one hiding-

place to another; and although he had vainly sought the aid of the

Mohawks, and knew that hope was at an end, his proud spirit would not

listen to words of peace; he cleft the head of a warrior who ventured to

propose it. At length, after an absence of a year, he resolved, as it

were, to meet his destiny. He returned to the beautiful land where his

forefathers slept, the cradle of August, 1676 his infancy, and the

nestling-place of his tribe. Once be escaped narrowly, leaving his wife

and only son prisoners. This bereavement crushed him. "My heart breaks,"

cried the chieftain, in the agony of his grief; "now I am ready to die."

His own followers now began to plot against him, to make better terms

for themselves. In a few days he was shot by a faithless Indian, and

Captain Church cut off his head with his own sword. The captive orphan

was transported to an island of the ocean. So perished the princes of

the Pokanokets. Sad to them had been their acquaintance with

civilization. The first ship that came on their coast kidnapped men of

their kindred; and now the harmless boy, who had been cherished as an

only child and the future sachem of their tribes--the last of the family

of Massasoit--was sold into bondage, to toil as a slave under the suns

of Bermuda. ** Of the once prosperous Narragansets of old, the chief

tribe of New England, hardly one hundred remained. The sword, famine,

fire, and sickness had swept them from the earth. "During the whole war

the Mohegans remained faithful to the English, and not a drop of blood

was shed on the happy soil of Connecticut. So much the greater was the

loss in the adjacent colonies. Twelve or thirteen towns were destroyed.

The disbursements and losses equaled in value half a million of dollars-

-an enormous sum for the few of that day. More than six hundred men,

chiefly young men, the flower of the country, of whom any mother might

have been proud, perished in the field. As many as six hundred houses

were burned. Of the able-bodied men in the colony, one in twenty had

fallen; and one family in twenty had been burned out. The loss of lives

and property was, in proportion

* Benjamin Church was born at Duxbury, in 1639. He was the first white

settler at Seaconnet, or Little Compton. He was the most active and

noted combatant of the Indians during King Philip's war, and when Philip

was slain, Church cut off his head with his own hands. The sword with

which he performed the act is in the cabinet of the Massachusetts

Historical Society (see page 562, ante). In 1689, Church was

commissioned by President Hinckley, of Plymouth, and the governors of

Maine and Massachusetts, commander-in-chief of a force sent against the

Eastern Indians. He continued making expeditions against them until

1704. In his old age he was corpulent. A fall from his horse was the

cause of his death, which occurred at Little Compton, January 17, 1718,

at the age of seventy-seven years. Under his direction his son prepared

a history of the Indian wars, which was published in 1716.

** The disposal of this child was a subject of much deliberation.

Several of the elders were urgent to put him to death. It was finally

resolved to be merciful, and send him to Bermuda, to be sold into

slavery. Such was the fate of many Indians, a fate to them worse than

death. During the war the government of Plymouth gave thirty shillings

for every head of an Indian killed in battle, and Philip's brought the

same price. Their living bodies brought a high price in Bermuda, and

probably more living Indian heads went thither than dead ones to the

market at Plymouth. Witamo, the squaw sachem of Pocasset, shared in the

disasters of Philip. She was drowned while crossing a river in her

flight. Her body was recovered, and the head cut off and stuck upon a

pole at Taunton, amid the jeers of the whites and the tears of the

captive Indians. The body of Philip was beheaded and quartered,

according to the sentence of the English law against traitors. One of

his hands was given to the Indian who had shot him, and on the day

appointed for a public thanksgiving, his head was carried in triumph

into Plymouth. What a mockery of Christianity! Men, guilty of gross

injustice to a race that had befriended them, lifting their hands toward

heaven reeking with the blood of those they had injured, and singing Te

Deum Laudamus, or praising God for his providential care! No Providence

for the poor Indian, because he had neither cunning, skill, nor

gunpowder!

Sufferings of the Colonists.--A Happy Change.--Capture of the Pigot by

Talbot

664to numbers, as distressing as in the Revolutionary war. There was

scarce a family from which Death had not selected a victim." * Thus

ended the first general Indian war in New England. Righteousness,

sitting upon the throne of judgment, has long since decided the question

of equity; and we, viewing the scene at a distance, can not fail to

discern the true verdict against the avaricious white man.

Those dark days of distress and crime are passed away forever. The

splendors of an October sun, which then shed a radiance over the forests

and the waters, beautiful as now, no longer light up the ambuscade of

the red men, or the hiding-places of the pale-faces lurking for blood.

From the bald eminence on which I stand, the land of Philip and

Canonchet, of Witamo and Miantonômoh, and the broad waters where they

sported in peace, are spread out to the eye beautiful as the "Happy

Valley," and upon the whole domain rest the beneficent influences of

love, harmony, righteousness, and peace. Let us, then, endeavor to

forget the gloomy past, and leave upon memory only the bright vision of

the present.

The vision was bright indeed, but it was the sheen of the glacier. The

unclouded sun and the uncurbed north wind wrestled for the mastery. The

latter was the victor, and, until I was warmed at the table of Mr.

Anthony, I could not fully comprehend the charms which I had beheld

while half frozen among the mounds of the old fortress on the hill.

I returned to Newport by the way of Vaucluse, on the eastern road, where

I sketched the great sycamore pictured on page 653, which is standing

upon the bank of the Seaconnet or Eastern Channel. Near the mouth of

this passage, a little below Vaucluse, occurred one of those events,

characterized by skill and personal bravery, which make up a large

portion of the history of our war for independence. In order to close up

this channel, when the French fleet appeared off Newport, the British

converted a strong vessel of two hundred tuns into a galley, and named

it _Pigot_, in honor of the commander on Rhode Island. Its upper deck

was removed, and on its lower deck were placed twelve eight-pounders,

which belonged to the Flora, that was sunk in Newport harbor, and also

ten swivels. Thus armed, she was a formidable floating battery. Major

Silas Talbot, whose exploits had already won the expressed approbation

of Congress, proposed an expedition to capture or destroy this vessel,

for it effectually broke up the local trade of that section. General

Sullivan regarded his scheme as impracticable, but finally consented to

give Talbot permission to make the attempt. A draft of men for the

purpose was allowed, and with sixty resolute, patriots, Talbot sailed

from Providence in a coasting sloop called the _Hawk_, which he had

fitted out for the purpose. Armed with only three three-pounders,

besides the small arms of his men, he sailed by the British forts at

Bristol Ferry, and anchored within a few miles of the _Pigot_. Procuring

a horse on shore, he rode down the east bank and reconnoitered. The

galley presented a formidable appearance, yet the major was not daunted.

At nine o'clock in the evening, favored with a fair wind, and

accompanied by Lieutenant Helm, of Rhode Island, and a small re-

enforcement, Talbot hoisted the anchor of the _Hawk_ and with a kedge-

anchor lashed to the jib-boom to tear the nettings of the _Pigot_, he

bore down upon 1778 that vessel. It was a very dark night in October.

Under bare poles he drifted past Fogland Ferry fort without being

discovered, when he hoisted sail and ran partly under the stem of the

galley. The sentinels hailed him, but, returning no answer, a volley of

musketry was discharged at the _Hawk_ without effect. The anchor tore

the nettings and grappled the fore-shrouds of the _Pigot,_ enabling the

assailants to make a free passage to her deck. With loud shouts, the

Americans poured from the _Hawk_, and drove every man of the _Pigot_

into the hold, except the commander, who fought desperately alone, with

no other mail than shirt and drawers, until he perceived that resistance

was useless. The _Pigot_ was surrendered, with the officers and crew.

Her cables were coiled over the hatchways, to secure the prisoners

below, and, weighing anchor, Talbot, with his prize, entered the harbor

of Stonington the next day. This bold adventure was greatly applauded,

and, on the 14th of November following, Congress complimented Talbot and

his men, and presented him with

* Bancroft, ii., 108, 109.

Promotion of Talbot.--Departure from Newport.--Adieu to New England.--

Halleck's "Connecticut."

665a commission of lieutenant colonel in the army of the United States.

* He was afterward transferred to the navy, in which service we shall

meet him again.

I reached Newport at four o'clock, and at sunset was on board the

_Empire State_, a noble Sound steam-boat (which was partially destroyed

by fire a few weeks afterward), bound for New York.

We passed old Fort Canonicut and Fort Adams, and out of the harbor at

twilight; and at dark, leaving the Beaver-tail light behind, we were

breasting the moon-lit waves of the ocean toward Point Judith. I now

bade a final adieu to New England, to visit other scenes hallowed by the

struggle of our fathers for liberty.

Often since has the recollection of my visit there come up in memory

like a pleasant dream; and never can I forget the universal kindness

which I received during my brief tarry among the people of the East.

"They love their land because it is their own,

And scorn to give aught other reason why;

Would shake hands with a king upon his throne,

And think it kindness to his majesty;

A stubborn race, fearing and flattering none.

Such are they nurtured, such they live and die,

All, but a few apostates, who are meddling

With merchandise, pounds, shillings, pence, and peddling;

"Or, wandering through the Southern countries, teaching

The ABC from Webster's spelling-book;

Gallant and godly, making love and preaching,

And gaining, by what they call 'hook and crook,'

And what the moralists call overreaching,

A decent living. The Virginians look

Upon them with as favorable eyes

As Gabriel on the Devil in Paradise.

"But these are but their outcasts. View them near,

At home, where all their worth and pride are placed;

And there their hospitable fires burn clear,

And there the lowliest farm-house hearth is graced

With manly hearts; in piety sincere;

Faithful in love, in honor stern and chaste,

In friendship warm and true, in danger brave,

Beloved in life, and sainted in the grave."

Halleck's "Connecticut."

* See Tuckerman's Life of Talbot; Journals of Congress, iv., 471.

The Hudson Highlands.--Newburgh.--The Indian Summer.--Its character

666

CHAPTER XXIX.

"By wooded bluff we steal, by leaning lawn,

By palace, village, cot, a sweet surprise

At every turn the vision breaks upon;

Till to our wondering and uplifted eyes

The Highland rocks and hills in solemn grandeur rise.

"Nor clouds in heaven, nor billows in the deep,

More graceful shapes did ever heave or roll;

Nor came such pictures to a painter's sleep,

Nor beam'd such visions on a poet's soul!

The pent-up flood, impatient of control,

In ages past here broke its granite bound,

Then to the sea in broad meanders stole,

While ponderous ruin strew'd the broken ground,

And these gigantic hills forever closed around."

Theodore S. Fay.

VERY place made memorable by Revolutionary events has an interest in the

mind and heart of the American, and claims the homage of regard from the

lover of freedom, wheresoever he may have inspired his first breath. But

there are a few localities so thickly clustered with associations of

deep interest, that they appear like fuglemen in the march of events

which attract the historian's notice. Prominent among these are the

Highlands, upon the Hudson, from Haverstraw to Newburgh, the scenes of

councils, battles, sieges, triumphs and treason, in all of which seemed

to be involved for the moment, the fate of American liberty. Thitherward

I journeyed at the commencement of our beautiful Indian summer, * the

season

"When first the frost

Turns into beauty all October's charms;

When the dread fever quits us; when the storms

Of the wild equinox, with all its wet,

Has left the land as the first deluge left it,

With a bright bow of many colors hung

Upon the forest tops,"

Brainerd.

and rambled for a week among those ancient hills and the historic

grounds adjacent. I arrived at Newburgh on the morning of the 25th of

October. The town is pleasantly situated upon the steep western bank of

the Hudson, sixty miles from New York, and in the midst of some of the

finest scenery in the world, enhanced in interest to the student of

history by the associations which hallow it. In the southern suburbs of

the village, on the brow of the hill, stands the gray old fabric called

"The Hasbrouck House," memorable

* The week or ten days of warm, balmy weather in autumn, immediately

preceding the advent of winter storms, when, as Irving says of Sleepy

Hollow, a "drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land and

pervade the very atmosphere," appears to be peculiar to the United

States, and has attracted the attention of travelers and philosophers.

It is called Indian summer, because it occurs at a season when the

natives gathered in their crops of maize or Indian corn. The atmosphere

is smoky, and so mellows the sunlight that every object wears the livery

of repose, like the landscapes of Southern Italy. The cause of the

warmth and other peculiarities of this season is an unexplained

question. It is the season when the fallen leaves of our vast forests

begin to decay. As decadence is slow combustion, may not the heat

evolved in the process produce the effects noticed?

The "Hasbrouck House" and Vicinity.--Its interior construction.--

Purchased hy the State.--Ceremonies at its Dedication.

as the head-quarters of Washington at the close of the Revolution.

667From the rickety piazza or _stoop_ on the river front may be seen the

historic grounds of Fish-kill, New Windsor, Plumb Point, Pollopel's

Island, and the Beacon Hills; and through the mighty gateway in the

Highlands, whose posts are Breakneck and Butter Hills, in altitude

fifteen hundred feet, appear glimpses of distant West Point and the

amphitheater of mountains which surround it. Let us take a peep within

the venerable mansion; and as the morning sun is shining pleasantly upon

the porch, we will there sit down, and glance over the pages of the old

clasped volume, the _vade mecum_ and Mentor of our journey.

The front door opens into a large square room, which was used by

Washington for his public audiences, and as a dining hall. It is

remarkable for the fact that it has seven doors, and only one window. Of

the two doors on the left in the picture, the nearest one to the

spectator was the entrance to the chief's sitting-room; the other, to

his bed-room. There is no plaster ceiling above; the heavy beams, nine

inches wide and fourteen deep, completely exposed, give it a strong as

well as antique appearance. Properly taken care of,

* This view is from the northeast, comprising the north gable and east

or river front. The house is substantially built of stone, and is now

(1850) just one hundred years old. This remark applies only to the

portion containing the large room with seven doors, and the two bed-

rooms on the north of it. This portion was built in 1750. Afterward a

kitchen was built on the south end, and in 1770 an addition was made to

it, on the west side, of the same length and height of the old part. The

dates of the first and last additions are cut in the stones of the

building. The fire-place in the large room is very spacious, "in which,"

says Mr. Eager, "a small bullock might have been turned upon a spit." *

The house has been in the possession of the Hasbrouck family (one of the

oldest of the Huguenot families in the county) from the time of its

erection until recently, when it was purchased by the State of New York

for the purpose of preserving it as a relic of the Revolution. It is

placed in charge of the trustees of the village of Newburgh, who are

required to expend a certain amount in repairs, ornamenting the grounds,

&e. The family residing in the house is employed for the purpose of

receiving and attending visitors. The house has been thoroughly repaired

since the above sketch was made, under the direction of an advisory

committee for its restoration and the embellishment of the grounds. Some

of the modern alterations within have been changed, and the whole

appearance of the edifice is now as much like that of the era of the

Revolution as it is possible to make it. Interesting ceremonies were had

upon the occasion of its dedication, on the 4th of July, 1850. There was

a civic and military procession. The ceremonies on the green before the

house were opened with prayer by Reverend Doctor Johnson, and an address

by J. J. Monell, Esq., of Newburgh. While a choir was singing the

following last stanza of a beautiful ode, written by Mrs. Monell,

"With a prayer your faith expressing, Raise our country's flag on high;

Here, where rests a nation's blessing, Stars and stripes shall float for

aye! Mutely telling Stirring tales of days gone hy,"

major-general Scott, who was present, hoisted the American flag upon a

lofty staff" erected near. The Declaration of Independence was read by

Honorable F. J. Betts, after which Honorable J. W. Edmonds pronounced an

oration, marked by evidences of much historic research. Henceforth this

venerated relic belongs to the people of New York; and doubtless its

cabinet of Revolutionary remains, already begun, will be augmented by

frequent donations, until a museum of rare interest shall be collected

there.

* History of Orange County.

Washington's Dining-hall.--Anecdote concerning it.--Lady Washington's

Gardening.--Settlement of Newburgh.

668this relic of the Revolution may remain another century. The timbers

are sound, the walls massive, and the roof and weather-boards were well

preserved.

Lady Washington was a resident of the "Hasbrouck House" during the

summer of 1783, and, in gratification of her taste for gardening, a

large space in front of the house was cultivated by her. Mr. Eager, the

historian of Orange county, informed me that within his remembrance the

brick borders of her flower-beds remained. Washington, with his lady,

left there about the middle of August, to attend upon Congress, then in

session at Princeton, New Jersey, leaving the portion of the Continental

army then in service under the command of General Knox. The commander-

in-chief did not return to Newburgh, but made his head-quarters, for a

few days in November, at West Point, from whence he re-November 25, 1783

paired to New York and took possession of that city on its evacuation by

the British troops.

Orange county was among the first settled portions of the State of New

York. It was organized in 1683; its name was given in honor of William,

prince of Orange, afterward King of England. The first permanent

settlers in the county were Germans, and their original location was in

the present town of Newburgh, at a place called by the Indians Quassaic,

on a creek of that name, a little below the village. They obtained a

patent from Queen Anne, in 1719, for twenty-one hundred and ninety

acres, extending north from the Quassaic Creek, and proceeded to lay out

a village which they called New Burgh or New

* In the December number of the New York Mirror for 1834, is an

interesting account of this old building, by Gulian C. Verplanck, Esq.

He relates the following anecdote connected with this room, which he

received from Colonel Nicholas Fish, father of the late governor of the

State of New York. Just before La Fayette's death, himself and the

American minister, with several of his countrymen, were invited to dine

at the house of that distinguished Frenchman, Marbois, who was the

French secretary of legation here during the Revolution. At the supper

hour the company were shown into a room which contrasted quite oddly

with the Parisian elegance of the other apartments where they had spent

the evening. A low boarded, painted ceiling, with large beams, a single

small, uncurtained window, with numerous small doors, as well as the

general style of the whole, gave, at first, the idea of the kitchen, or

largest room of a Dutch or Belgian farm-house. On a long rough table was

a repast, just as little in keeping with the refined kitchens of Paris

as the room was with its architecture. It consisted of a large dish of

meat, uncouth-looking pastry, and wine in decanters and bottles,

accompanied by glasses and silver mugs, such as indicated other habits

and tastes than those of modern Paris. "Do you know where we now are?"

said the host to La Fayette and his companions. They paused for a few

minutes in surprise. They had seen something like this before, but when

and where? "Ah! the seven doors and one window," said La Fayette, "and

the silver camp-goblets, such as the marshals of France used in my

youth! We are at Washington's head-quarters on the Hudson, fifty years

ago!" The view here given is from the west door of the dining-hall,

looking out of the east door upon the Hudson, the green fields of

Fishkill, and the North Beacon of the Highlands, whereon the Americans

lighted watch-fires when occasion demanded it. The fire-place on the

right is within the area of the room, having a heavy hewn stone for a

back-log. The visitor may stand there, and look up the broad-mouthed

chimney to the sky above.

First Settlements in Orange County.--Indian Wars.--Sufferings of the

People.--Attack on Minisink.

669Town. Five hundred acres were reserved as glebe land, and under

favorable auspices the village of Newburgh was founded. The Germans in

time became dissatisfied, sold out their patent and dispersed, some

going to Pennsylvania, and others to the Mohawk country. Some English,

Irish, New Englanders, and a few Huguenots from Ulster filled their

places, and flourishing settlements were soon planted along the river,

or upon the rich bottoms of the water-courses. They also spread

interiorly, and Goshen, Minisink, Wawarsing, and other thriving towns

started up in the midst of the red men. The ante-revolutionary history

of this section of the state is full of stirring incidents, for the wily

Indian, properly suspicious of the pale faces, was ever on the alert to

do them damage; and the privations, alarms, and sufferings of those who

opened the fertile bosom of the country to the sun and rain, and spread

broad acres of cultivation where the deer grazed in shady solitudes,

compose a web of romance wonderful indeed. And when the Revolution broke

out, and the savages of the Mohawk Valley and of Western New York were

let loose upon the remote settlements, the people of Orange county were

intense sufferers, particularly those upon its frontier settlements, in

the direction of the wilderness. The Tories and their savage associates

spread terror in every direction, and in Wawarsing and vicinity many

patriots and their families were the victims of ambuscade or open

attack. But I will not repeat a tale of horror such as we have already

considered in viewing the history of the Mohawk Valley. The atrocities

committed in Orange county were but a counterpart in character and

horror of the former. * Strong houses were barricaded and used as forts;

the people went armed by day, and slept armed at night; and almost

hourly murder and rapine stalked boldly abroad. It was a time of darkest

misery; and not until the Indian power of the West was "broken, and the

Tories failed to receive their aid, was the district blessed with quiet.

The invasion of Minisink, * alluded to in a former chapter, was one of

those prominent links in the chain of Indian and Tory depredations, that

I may not pass it over with only brief mention. Here let us consider it.

There were very few engaged in the battle that ensued, yet that few

fought with wonderful valor, and suffered a terrible slaughter.

Count Pulaski and his legion of cavalry were stationed, during a part of

the winter of 1778--9, at Minisink. In February, he was ordered to South

Carolina, to join the army under Lincoln. The settlement was thus left

wholly unprotected, which being perceived by Brant, the accomplished

Mohawk warrior, he resolved to make a descent upon it. During the night

of the 19th of July, at the head of sixty Indians, and twenty-seven

Tories, disguised as savages, he stole upon the little town, and before

the people were aroused 1779 from their slumbers he had fired several

dwellings. With no means for defense, the inhabitants sought safety in

flight to the mountains, leaving their pretty village and all their

worldly goods a spoil to the invaders. Their small stockade fort, a

mill, and twelve houses and barns were burned, several persons were

killed, some taken prisoners, the orchards and plantations were laid

waste, cattle were driven away, and booty of every kind was carried to

Grassy Brook, on the Delaware, a few miles above the mouth of the

Lackawaxen, where the chief had left the main body of his warriors. When

intelligence of this invasion reached Goshen, Doctor Tusten, colonel of

the local militia, issued orders to the officers of his regiment to meet

him at Minisink the next day, with as many volunteers as they could

muster. The call was promptly responded to, and one hundred and forty-

nine hardy men were gathered around Tusten the following morning. Many

of these were principal gentlemen of the vicinity. A council was held,

and it was unanimously determined to pursue the invaders.

* For details of the trials of the settlers, and the atrocities

committed by the Indians and Tories in this section, see a pamphlet

published at Rondout, entitled "The Indians; or, Narratives of

Massacres, &c., in Wawarsing and its Vicinity during the American

Revolution."

** Minisink was one of the most ancient settlements in Orange county. It

was in existence as a white settlement as early as 1669, when a severe

battle was fought with the Indians on the 22d of July, ninety years, to

a day, previous to the conflict in question. From that time until the

Revolution it was often the scene of strife with the red men, and almost

every dell, and rock, and ancient tree has its local tradition. The

place of the ancient settlement is situated about ten miles northwest of

Goshen, among the Shawangunk Mountains, between the Wallkill and the

Navasink Valleys.

Intemperate zeal of the Volunteers.--Unwise Decision.--Battle of

Minisink.--Its Location.--The Massacre

670Colonel Tusten, who well knew the skill, prowess, caution, and

craftiness of Brant, opposed the measure, as a hazardous undertaking

with so small a force. He was overruled, and the debates of the council

were cut short by Major Meeker, who mounted his horse, flourished his

sword, and shouted, "Let the _brave_ men follow me; the _cowards_ may

stay behind!" These words ignited the assembly, and the line of march

was immediately formed. They traveled seventeen miles, and then encamped

for the night. The next morning, Colonel Hathorn, of the Warwick

militia, with a small re-enforcement, joined them. He was Tusten's

senior officer, and took the command. They resumed their march at

sunrise, and at Half-way Brook came upon the Indian encampment of the

previous night; the smoldering watch-fires were still smoking. The

number of these fires indicated a large savage force, and the two

colonels, with the more prudent of the company, advocated, in council, a

return, rather than further pursuit. But excited bravado overcame

prudence, and a large majority determined to pursue the Indians; the

minority yielded, and the march was resumed.

A scouting party, under Captain Tyler, was sent forward upon the Indian

trail. The pursuers were discovered, and a bullet from an unseen foe

slew the captain. There was momentary alarm; but the volunteers pressed

eagerly onward, and at nine in the morning they hovered upon the high

hills overlooking the Delaware near the mouth of the Lackawaxen.

The enemy were in full view below, marching in the direction of a

fording-place. Hathorn determined to intercept them there, and disposed

his men accordingly. The intervening hills hid the belligerents from

each other. Brant had watched the movements of his pursuers, and

comprehending Hathorn's design, he wheeled his column, and threading a

deep and narrow ravine which the whites had crossed, brought his whole

force in the rear of the Americans. Here he formed an ambuscade, and

deliberately selected his battle ground.

The volunteers were surprised and disappointed at not finding the enemy

where they expected to, and were marching back when they discovered some

of the Indians. One of them, mounted on a horse stolen at Minisink, was

shot by a militia-man. This was a signal for action, and the firing soon

became general. It was a long and bloody conflict. The Indians were

greatly superior in numbers, and a detachment of Hathorn's troops,

consisting of one third of the whole, became separated from the rest at

the commencement of the engagement. Closer and closer the savages

pressed upon the whites, until they were hemmed within the circumference

of an acre of ground, upon a rocky hill that sloped on all sides. The

ammunition of the militia was stinted, and they were careful not to fire

at random and without aim. Their shots were deadly, and many a red man

was slain. The conflict began July 22, 1779 at eleven o'clock, and

continued until the going down of the sun, on that long July day. At

twilight the battle was yet undecided, but the ammunition of the whites

being exhausted, a party of the enemy attacked and broke their hollow

square at one corner. The survivors of the conflict attempted to

retreat. Behind a ledge of rocks, Doctor Tusten had been dressing the

wounds of the injured during the day. There were seventeen men under his

care when the retreat commenced. The Indians fell upon them furiously,

and all, with the Doctor, were slain. Several who attempted to escape by

swimming across the Delaware were shot by the Indians; and of the whole

number that went forth, only about thirty returned to relate the

dreadful scenes of the day. * This massacre of the wounded is one of the

darkest stains upon the memory of Brant, whose honor and humanity were

often more conspicuous than that of his Tory allies. He made a weak

defense of his conduct by asserting that he offered the Americans good

treatment if they would surrender;

* The place of conflict is about two miles from the northern bank of the

Delaware, and the same distance below the Lechauachsin or Lackawaxen

River. It is about three miles from the Barryville station, on the New

York and Erie rail-road. The battle ground and the adjacent region

continue in the same wild state as of old, and over the rocky knolls and

tangled ravines where the Indians and the Goshen militia fought, wild

deer roam in abundance, and a panther occasionally leaps upon its prey.

The place is too rocky for cultivation, and must ever remain a

wilderness. At the Mohackamack Fork (now Port Jervis, on the Delaware)

was a small settlement, and a block-house, called Jersey Fort.

Brant's Defense.--Effect of the Massacre.--Salvation of Major Wood.--

Interment of the Remains of the Slain.--Monument

671that he warned them of the fierceness of the thirst for blood that

actuated his warriors, and that he could not answer for their conduct

after the first shot should be fired; and that his humane proposition

was answered by a bullet from an American musket, which pierced his

belt. *

Goshen and the surrounding country was filled with the voice of

mourning, for the flower of the youth and mature manhood of that region

was slain. The massacre made thirty-three widows in the Presbyterian

congregation at Goshen. At the recital, a shudder ran throughout the

land, and gave keenness to the blade and fierceness to the torch which,

a few weeks afterward, desolated the Indian paradise in the country of

the Senecas and Cayngas.

Orange county labored much and suffered much in the cause of freedom.

Newburgh and New Windsor, within it, having been the chosen quarters of

Washington at different times, from December, 1780, until the conclusion

of peace in 1783, and a portion of that time the chief cantonment of the

American army, the county is a conspicuous point in the history of the

war. At the close of 1780, the army was cantoned at three points: at

Morristown, and at Pompton, in New Jersey, and at Phillipstown, in the

Hudson Highlands. Washington established his head-quarters at

* During the battle, Major Wood, of Goshen, made a masonic sign, by

accident, which Brant, who was a Free-mason, perceived and heeded.

Wood's life was spared, and as a prisoner he was treated kindly, until

the Mohawk chief perceived that he was not a Mason. Then, with withering

scorn, Brant looked upon Wood, believing that he had obtained the

masonic sign which he used, by deception. It was purely an accident on

the part of Wood. When released, he hastened to become a member of the

fraternity by whose instrumentality his life had been spared. The house

in which Major Wood lived is yet standing (though much altered), at the

foot of the hill north of the rail-way station at Goshen. The house of

Roger Townsend, who was among the slain, is also standing, and well

preserved. It is in the southern part of the village. The Farmers' Hall

Academy, an old brick building, two stories high, and now used for a

district school-house, is an object of some interest to the visitor at

Goshen, from the circumstance that there Noah Webster, our great

lexicographer, once taught school. An old gentleman of the village

informed me that he had often seen him at twilight on a summer's evening

in the grove on the hill northward of the rail-way station, gathering up

the manuscripts which he had been preparing in a retired spot, after

school hours.

** In 1822, the citizens of Orange county collected the bones of those

slain in the battle of Minisink, which had been left forty-three years

upon the field of strife, and caused them to be buried near the center

of the green at the foot of the main street of the village. On that

occasion there was a great gathering of people, estimated at fifteen

thousand in number. The cadets from West Point were there, under the

command of the late General Worth, then a major. The corner-stone was

laid by General Hathorn, one of the survivors of the battle, then eighty

years of age. He accompanied the act with a short and feeling address. A

funeral oration was pronounced by the Reverend James R. Wilson, now of

Newburgh. Over these remains a marble monument was erected. It stands

upon three courses of brown freestone, and a stone pavement a few feet

square, designed to be surrounded by an iron railing. In consequence of

neglecting to erect the railing, the monument has suffered much from the

prevailing spirit of vandalism which I have already noticed. Its corners

are broken, the inscriptions are mutilated, and the people of Goshen are

made to feel many regrets for useless delay in giving that interesting

memorial a protection. On the east side of the pedestal is the following

inscription:

* "Erected by the inhabitants of Orange county, 22d July, 1822. Sacred

to the memory of their fellow-citizens who fell at the battle of

Minisink, 22d July, 1779." Upon the other three sides of the pedestal

are the following names of the slain: "Benjamin Tusten, colonel;

Bezaleel Tyler, Samuel Jones, John Little, John Duncan, Benjamin Vail,

captains; John Wood, lieutenant; Nathaniel Finch, adju'ant; Ephraim

Mastin, Ephraim Middaugh, ensigns; Gabriel Wisner, Esq., Stephen Mead,

Mathias Terwilliger, Joshua Lockwood, Ephraim Fergerson, Roger Townsend,

Samuel Knapp, James Knapp, Benjamin Bennet, William Barker, Jonathan

Pierce, James Little, Joseph Norris, Gilbert Vail, Abraham Shepperd,

Joel Decker, Nathan Wade, Simon Wait,------Tallmadge, Jacob Dunning,

John Carpenter, David Barney, Jonathan Haskell, Abraham Williams, James

Mosher. Isaac Ward, Baltus Nierpos, Gamaliel Bailey, Moses Thomas,

Eleazer Owens, Adam Emitter, Samuel Little, Benjamin Dunning, Samuel

Reed."

Cantonment of the Army near Newburgh.--Head-quarters of the Officers.--

Nicola's Proposition to Washington.

1782.

672New Windsor in December, 1780, where he remained until June, 1781,

when the French, who had quartered during the winter at Newport and

Lebanon, formed a junction with the Americans on the Hudson. In April,

1782, he established his head-quarters at Newburgh, two miles above the

village of New Windsor, where he continued most of the time until

November, 1783, when the Continental army was disbanded.

For a short time in the autumn of 1782, while the head-quarters of

Washington were at Newburgh, the main portion of the army was encamped

at Verplanck's Point, in pursuance of an engagement with Rochambeau to

form a junction of the American and French forces at that place, on the

return of the latter from Virginia. The allies marched eastward late in

autumn, when the American army crossed the Hudson at West Point,

traversed the mountains, and arrived in the township of New Windsor on

the 28th of November, where it was hutted for the winter. The main

portion of the army was encamped in the neighborhood of Snake Hill; of

this we will write presently. Washington continued his head-quarters at

the stone house at Newburgh; Generals Knox and Greene, who had the

immediate command of the chief forces and of the artillery, were

quartered at the house of John Ellison (now Captain Charles Morton's),

in the vicinity of the main camp near Snake Hill; Gates and St. Clair,

with the hospital stores, were at Edmonston's, at The Square; La Fayette

was at William Ellison's, near by; and the Baron Steuben was at the

house of Samuel Verplanck, on the Fishkill side of the river.

At Newburgh occurred one of the most painful events in the military life

of Washington. For a long time the discontents among the officers and

soldiers in the army respecting the arrearages of their pay and their

future prospects, had been increasing, and in the spring of 1783 became

alarmingly manifest. Complaints were frequently made to the commander-

in-chief. Feeling the justice of these complaints, his sympathy was

fully alive to the interests of his companions in arms. Colonel Nicola,

an experienced officer, and a gentleman possessed of much weight of

character, was usually the medium for communicating to him, verbally,

their complaints, wishes, and fears. In May, Colonel Nicola addressed a

letter to Washington, the tenor of which struck harshly upon the

tenderest chord in that great man's feelings. After some general remarks

on the deplorable condition of the army, and the little hope they could

have of being properly rewarded by Congress, the colonel entered into a

political disquisition on the different forms of government, and came to

the conclusion that republics are, of all others, the least susceptible

of stability, and the least capable of securing the rights, freedom, and

power of individuals. He therefore inferred that America could never

become prosperous under such a form of government, and that the English

government was nearer perfection than any other. He then proceeded to

express his opinion that such a government would be the choice of the

people, after due consideration, and added, "In this case it will, I

believe, be uncontroverted, that the same abilities which have led us

through difficulties apparently insurmountable by human power to victory

and glory--those qualities, that have merited and obtained the universal

esteem and veneration of an army--would be most likely to conduct and

direct us in the smoother paths of peace. Some people have so connected

the idea of tyranny and monarchy as to find it very difficult to

separate them. It may, therefore, be requisite to give the head of such

a constitution as I propose some title apparently more moderate; but, if

all other things were once adjusted, I believe strong arguments might be

produced for admitting the title of king, which I conceive would be

attended with some national advantage." How amazingly Colonel Nicola,

and those officers and civilians (and they, doubtless, were not a few)

whom he represented, misapprehended the true character of Washington,

may be readily inferred from the prompt and severe rebuke which they

received from his hand. The commander-in-chief replied as follows:

Washington's Letter of Rebuke to Nicola.--Patriotism of the Chief.--

Discontents in the Army.--Memorial to Congress.

673"Sir,--With a mixture of great surprise and astonishment, I have read

with attention the sentiments you have submitted to my perusal. Be

assured, sir, no occurrence in the course of this war has given me more

painful sensations than your information of there being such ideas

existing in the army as you have expressed, and which I must view with

abhorrence and reprehend with severity. For the present, the

communication of them will rest in my own bosom, unless some further

agitation of the matter shall make a disclosure necessary.

I am much at a loss to conceive what part of my conduct could have given

encouragement to an address which to me seems big with the greatest

mischiefs that can befall my country. If I am not deceived in the

knowledge of myself, you could not have found a person to whom your

schemes are more disagreeable. At the same time, in justice to my own

feelings, I must add, that no man possesses a more serious wish to see

ample justice done to the army than I do; and, as far as my power and

influence, in a constitutional way, extend, they shall be employed to

the utmost of my abilities to effect it, should there be any occasion.

Let me conjure you, then, if you have any regard for your country,

concern for yourself or posterity, or respect for me, to banish these

thoughts from your mind, and never communicate, as from yourself or any

one else, a sentiment of the like nature. I am, &c." .

In this affair the disinterested patriotism of Washington shone with its

brightest luster. At the head of a victorious army; beloved and

venerated by it and by the people; with personal influence unbounded,

and with power in possession for consummating almost any political

scheme not apparently derogatory to good government, he receives from an

officer whom he greatly esteems, and who speaks for himself and others,

an offer of the scepter of supreme rule and the crown of royalty! What a

bribe! Yet he does not hesitate for a moment; he does not stop to

revolve in his mind any ideas of advantage in the proposed scheme, but

at once rebukes the author sternly but kindly, and impresses his signet

of strongest disapprobation upon the proposal. History can not present a

parallel.

The apprehensions which this event produced in the mind of Washington,

though allayed for a while, were painfully revived a few months later.

The same circumstances of present hardship and gloomy prospects that

disturbed the army when Nicola addressed Washington, not only continued

to exist, but reasons for discontent daily increased. After the return

of the army from Verplanck's Point, and their settlement in winter

quarters in the neighborhood of Newburgh and New Windsor, the officers

and soldiers had leisure to reflect upon their situation and prospects.

Expecting a dissolution of the Revolutionary government when peace

should be established, and a thorough reorganization of civil and

military affairs, they apprehended great difficulties and losses in the

adjustment of their claims, particularly those appertaining to the long

arrearages of their pay. They were aware of the poverty of the treasury

and the inefficiency of the existing government in commanding resources

for its replenishment; a condition arising from the disposition of

individual states to deny the right of Congress to ask for pecuniary aid

from their respective treasuries in satisfying public creditors. This

actual state of things, and no apparent security for a future adjustment

of their claims, caused great excitement and uneasiness among the

officers and soldiers, and in December they addressed a memorial to

Congress on the subject of 1782 their grievances. ** A committee,

composed of General M'Dougal, Colonel Ogden, and Colonel Brooks, were

appointed to carry the memorial to Philadelphia, lay it before Congress,

and explain its import. Congress appointed a committee, consisting of a

delegate from each state, to consider the memorial. The committee

reported, and, on the 25th of January, Congress passed a series of

resolutions, which were not very satisfactory. In

* Sparks's Life and Writings of Washington, viii., 300, 302.

Washington's letter to Colonel Nicola is dated at Newburgh, 22d May,

1782.

** This memorial comprehended five different articles: 1. Present pay;

2. A settlement of the accounts of the arrearages of pay, and security

for what was due; 3. A commutation of the half-pay authorized by

different resolutions of Congress, for an equivalent in gross; 4. A

settlement of the accounts of deficiencies of rations and compensation;

5. A settlement of the accounts of deficiencies of clothing and

compensation

Resolutions of Congress respecting Claims.--The Army still

dissatisfied.--Action of the Officers.--Major Armstrong.

674regard to present pay, the superintendent of finance was directed to

make "such payment and in such measure as he shall think proper," as

soon as the state of public finances would permit. In relation to

arrearages and the settlement of accounts, it was resolved "that the

several states be called upon to complete, without delay, the

settlements with their respective lines of the army, up to the 1st day

of August, 1783, and that the superintendent of finance be directed to

take such measures as shall appear to him most proper for effecting the

settlement from that period."

Concerning security for what should be found due on such settlement,

Congress declared, by resolution, that they would "make every effort in

their power to obtain from the respective states substantial funds,

adequate to the object of funding the whole debt of the United States,

and will enter upon an immediate and full consideration of the nature of

such funds, and the most likely mode of obtaining them." * In these

resolutions, Congress, feeble in actual power and resources, made no

definite promises of present relief or future justice; and when General

Knox, who had been appointed by the army to correspond with their

committee, reported the facts, the discontent February 8, 1783 tent and

dissatisfaction was quite as great as before the action of Congress.

Some thought it necessary to further make known their sentiments and

enforce their claims, and to this end it was deemed advisable to act

with energy. A plan was arranged among a few "for assembling the

officers, not in mass, but by representation; and for passing a series

of resolutions, which, in the hands of their committee, and of their

auxiliaries in Congress, would furnish a new and powerful lever" of

operation. Major John Armstrong, ** General Gates's aid-de-camp, a young

officer of six-and-

* Journals of Congress, viii., 82. The remainder of the report was

referred to a committee consisting of Messrs. Mann, Osgood, Fitzsimmons,

Gervais, Hamilton, and Wilson.

** John Armstrong was born at Carlisle, in Pennsylvania, on the 25th of

November, 1758. He was the youngest of two sons of General John

Armstrong, of Carlisle, distinguished by his services in the French and

Indian war in 1756. In 1775, at the most critical period of the American

Revolution, young Armstrong, then a student of Princeton College, joined

the army as a volunteer in Potter's Pennsylvania regiment. He was soon

after appointed aid-de-camp by General Hugh Mercer, and remained with

him till the connection was severed on the bloody field of Princeton by

the death of his chief. He subsequently occupied the same position in

the family of Major-general Gates, and served through the campaign which

ended in the capture of Burgoyne. In 1780 he was made adjutant general

of the Southern army, but falling sick of fever on the Pedee, was

succeeded by Colonel Otho Williams, a short time previous to the defeat

at Camden. Resuming his place as aid, he remained with General Gates

till the close of the war. He was the author of the celebrated Newburgh

Addresses, the object of which has been greatly misrepresented, and very

generally misunderstood. They were intended to awaken in Congress and

the States a sense of justice toward its creditors, particularly toward

the army, then about to be disbanded without requital for its services,

toils, and sufferings. General Washington, in 1797, bore testimony to

the patriotic motives of the author. Armstrong's first civil

appointments were those of Secretary of the State of Pennsylvania, and

adjutant general, under Dickenson's and Franklin's administrations;

posts which he continued to occupy till 1787, when he was chosen a

member of the old Congress. In the autumn of the same year, he was

appointed by Congress one of the three judges for the Western Territory;

this appointment he declined, and having married, in 1789, a sister of

Chancellor Livingston, of New York, removed to that state. Here he

purchased a farm, and devoted himself to agricultural pursuits; and,

though offered by President Washington, in 1793, the place of United

States supervisor of the collection of internal revenue in the State of

New York, he declined this and other invitations to public office,

until, in the year 1800, he was elected United States senator by an

almost unanimous vote of both houses of the Legislature. Having resigned

in 1802, he was again elected in 1803, and, the year following,

appointed by Mr. Jefferson minister plenipotentiary to France; which

post, at a very critical period of our relations with that country, he

filled with distinguished ability for more than six years, discharging

incidentally the functions of a separate mission to Spain with which he

was invested. In 1812 he was appointed a brigadier general in the United

States army, and commanded in the city of New York until called by Mr.

Madison, in 1813, to the War Department. This office he accepted with

reluctance, and with little anticipation of success to our arms. In

effecting salutary changes in the army, by substituting young and able

officers for the old ones who had held subordinate stations in the army

of the Revolution, he made many enemies. The capture of the city of

Washington in 1814 led to his retirement from office. Public opinion

held him responsible for this misfortune, but, as documentary history

has shown, without justice. No man took office with purer motives, or

retired from it with a better claim to have faithfully discharged its

duties. General Armstrong died at his residence at Red Hook, N. Y., on

the 1st of April, 1843, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. He was

among the remarkable men of a remarkable generation. The productions of

his pen entitle him to rank with the ablest writers of his time and

country. These consist of a voluminous correspondence, diplomatic and

military; a valuable treatise on agriculture, the result of some

experience and much reading; and "Notices of the War of 1812," a work

written with great vigor of style. The portrait of General Armstrong,

printed on the preceding page, is from a painting in possession of his

daughter, Mrs. William B. Astor, drawn from life by John Wesley Jarvis.

Meeting of Officers privately called.--Anonymous Address to the Army.--

Dangerous Tendency of its Recommendations.

675twenty, and possessing much ability, was chosen to write an address

to the army suited to the subject; and this, with an anonymous

notification of a meeting of the officers, was circulated privately. *

The address exhibits superior talents, and was calculated to make a deep

impression upon the minds of the malcontents. Referring to his personal

feelings, and his sacrifices for his country, the writer plays upon the

sensibilities of his readers, and prepares their minds for a

relinquishment of their faith in the justice of their country, already

weakened by circumstances. "Faith," he says, "has its limits as well as

temper, and there are points beyond which neither can be stretched

without sinking into cowardice or plunging into credulity. This, my

friends, I conceive to be your situation; hurried to the verge of both,

another step would ruin you forever. To be tame and unprovoked, when

injuries press hard upon you, is more than weakness; but to look up for

kinder usage, without one manly effort of your own, would fix your

character, and show the world how richly you deserved the chains you

broke." He then takes a review of the past and present--their wrongs and

their complaints--their petitions and the denials of redress--and then

says, "If this, then, be your treatment while the swords you wear are

necessary for the defense of America, what have you to expect from

peace, when your voice shall sink, and your strength dissipate by

division; when those very swords, the instruments and companions of your

glory, shall be taken from your sides, and no remaining mark of military

distinction left but your wants, infirmities, and scars? Can you, then,

consent to be the only sufferers by the Revolution, and, retiring from

the field, grow old in poverty, wretchedness, and contempt? Can you

consent to wade through the vile mire of dependency, and owe the

miserable remnant of that life to charity, which has hitherto been spent

in honor? If you can, go, and carry with you the jest of Tories and the

scorn of Whigs; the ridicule, and, what is worse, the pity of the world!

Go, starve, and be forgotten."

The writer now changes from appeal to advice. "I would advise you,

therefore," he says, "to come to some final opinion upon what you can

bear and what you will suffer. If your determination be in proportion to

your wrongs, carry your appeal from the justice to the fears of

government. Change the milk-and-water style of your last memorial;

assume

* This notice was circulated on the 10th of March, 1783. It was in

manuscript, as well as the anonymous address that followed. The

originals were carried by a major, who was a deputy inspector under

Baron Steuben, to the office of Barber, the adjutant general, where,

every morning, aids-de-camp, majors of brigades, and adjutants of

regiments were assembled, all of whom, who chose to do so, took copies

and circulated them. Among the transcribers was the adjutant of the

commander-in-chief's guard, who probably furnished him with the copies

that were transmitted to Congress. The following is a copy of the

anonymous notification:

"A meeting of the field officers is requested at the Public Building on

Tuesday next at eleven o'clock. A commissioned officer from each company

is expected, and a delegate from the medical staff. The object of this

convention is to consider the late letter of our representatives in

Philadelphia, and what measures (if any) should be adopted to obtain

that redress of grievances which they seem to have solicited in vain."

Bold Tone of the Address.--Similar Opinions held by Hamilton.--

Washington's Counteraction.--Second anonymous Address

676a bolder tone, decent, but lively, spirited, and determined; and

suspect the man who would advise to more moderation and longer

forbearance. * Let two or three men who can feel as well as write, be

appointed to draw up _your last remonstrance_--for I would no longer

give it the suing, soft, unsuccessful epithet of _memorial_." He advises

them to talk boldly to Congress, and to warn that body that the

slightest mark of indignity from them now would operate like the grave,

to part them and the army forever; "that in any political event, the

army has its alternative. If peace, that nothing shall separate you from

your arms but death; if war, that, courting the auspices and inviting

the direction of your illustrious leader you will retire to some

unsettled country, smile in your turn, 'and mock when their fear cometh

on.' Let it represent, also, that should they comply with the request of

your late memorial, it would make you more happy, and them more

respectable."

A copy of these papers was put into the hands of the commander-in-chief

on the day of their circulation, and he wisely determined to guide and

control the proceedings thus begun, rather than to check and discourage

them by any act of severity. In general orders the March 11, 1783 next

morning, he referred to the anonymous papers and the meeting. He

expressed his disapprobation of the whole proceeding as disorderly; at

the same time, he requested that the general and field officers, with

one officer from each company, and a proper representation of the staff

of the army, should assemble at twelve o'clock on Saturday the 15th, at

the New Building (at which the other meeting was called), for the

purpose of hearing the report of the committee of the army to Congress.

He requested the senior officer in rank (General Gates) to preside at

the meeting. On the appearance of this order, the writer of the

anonymous address put forth another, rather more subdued in its tone, in

which he sought to convince the officers that Washington approved of the

scheme, the time of meeting only being changed. The design of this

interpretation the commander-in-chief took care to frustrate, by

conversing personally and individually with those officers in whose good

sense and integrity he had confidence. He impressed their minds with a

sense of the danger that must attend any rash act at such a crisis,

inculcated moderation, and exerted all

* This sentence, particularly alluded to by Washington in his address to

the officers, was the one which drew down upon the head of the writer

the fiercest anathemas of public opinion, and he alone has been held

responsible for the suggestion that the army should use its power to

intimidate Congress. Such a conclusion is unwarrantable. It is not

likely that a young man of twenty-six, acting in the capacity of aid,

should, without the promptings of men of greater experience who

surrounded him, propose so bold a measure. It is well known, too, that

many officers, whose patriotism was never suspected, were privy to the

preparation of the address, and suggested many of its sentiments; and

there ean be no reasonable doubt that General Gates was a prominent

actor. Nor was the idea confined to that particular time and place.

General Hamilton, one of the purest patriots of the Revolution, wrote to

Washington from Philadelphia, a month before (February 7, 1783), on the

subject of the grievances of the army, in which he held similar

language. After referring to the deplorable condition of the finances,

the prevailing opinion in the army "that the disposition to recompense

their services will cease with the necessity for them," and lamenting

"that appearances afford too much ground for their distrust," he held

the following language: "It becomes a serious inquiry, What is the true

line of policy? The claims of the army, urged with moderation but with

firmness, may operate on those weak minds which are influenced by their

apprehensions more than by their judgments, so as to produce a

concurrence in the measures which the exigencies of affairs demand. They

may add weight to the applications of Congress to the several states. So

far, a useful turn may be given to them."* What was this but "carrying

their appeal from the justice to the fears of government?" Hamilton

further remarked, that the difficulty would be "to keep a complaining

and suffering army within the bounds of moderation;" and advised

Washington not to discountenance their endeavors to procure redress,

but, "by the intervention of confidential and prudent persons, to take

the direction of them." Hamilton was at that time a member of Congress.

In a letter to him, written on the 12th of March, Washington remarked

that all was tranquillity in the camp until after the arrival from

Philadelphia of "a certain gentleman" (General Walter Stewart), and

intimated that the discontents in the army were made active by members

of Congress, who wished to see the delinquent states thus forced to do

justice. Hamilton, in reply, admitted that he had urged the propriety

"of uniting the influence of the public creditors" (of whom the soldiers

were the most meritorious) "and the army, to prevail upon the states to

enter into their views." ** But, while Hamilton held these views, he

deprecated the idea of the army turning its power against the civil

government. "There would be no chance of success," he said, "without

having recourse to means that would reverse our Revolution." ***

* See the Life of Hamilton, by his son, John C. Hamilton, ii., 47.

** Ibid., it.. 71.

*** Ibid., ii., 158.

Meeting called by Washington.--Major Burnet's Recollections.--

Washington's Address to the Officers.

677his powers of argument to appease their discontents. They were thus

prepared to deliberate in the proposed convention without passion, and

under a deep sense of the responsibilities which rested upon them as

patriots and leaders.

The meeting was held pursuant to "Washington's orders. There was a full

attendance of officers, and deep solemnity pervaded the assembly when

the commander-in-chief stepped forward upon the platform to read an

address which he had prepared for the occasion. * This address, so

compact in construction of language; so dignified and patriotic; so

mild, yet so severe, and, withal, so vitally important in its relation

to the well-being of the unfolding republic and the best interests of

human freedom, I here give entire, in a foot-note, for a mere synopsis

can not do it justice. **

* Major Robert Burnet, of Little Britain, Orange county, who was one of

the officers present, informed me that the most profound silence

pervaded the assembly when Washington arose to read his address. As he

put on his spectacles, * he said, "You see, gentlemen, that I have not

only grown gray but blind in your service." This simple remark, under

such circumstances, had a powerful effect upon the assemblage.

Humphreys, in his Life of Putnam, mentions this circumstance; so, also,

does Mr. Hamilton, in the Life of his father.

** "Gentlemen,--By an anonymous summons, an attempt has been made to

convene you together; how inconsistent with the rules of propriety, how

unmilitary, and how subversive of all order and discipline, let the good

sense of the army decide. In the moment of this summons, another

anonymous production was sent into circulation, addressed more to the

feelings and passions than to the reason and judgment of the army. The

author of the piece is entitled to much credit for the goodness of his

pen, and I could wish he had as much credit for the rectitude of his

heart; for, as men see through different optics, and are induced by the

reflecting faculties of the mind to use different means to attain the

same end, the author of the address should have had more charity than to

mark for suspicion the man who should recommend moderation and longer

forbearance; or, in other words, who should not think as he thinks, and

act as he advises. "But he had another plan in view, in which candor and

liberality of sentiment, regard to justice, and love of country have no

part; and he was right to insinuate the darkest suspicion to effect the

blackest design. That the address is drawn with great art, and is

designed to answer the most insidious purposes, that it is calculated to

impress the mind with an idea of premeditated injustice in the sovereign

power of the United States, and rouse all those resentments which must

unavoidably flow from such a belief; that the secret mover of this

scheme, whoever he may be, intended to take advantage of the passions

while they were warmed by the recollection of past distresses, without

giving time for cool, deliberate thinking, and that composure of mind

which is so necessary to give dignity and stability to measures, is

rendered too obvious, by the mode of conducting the business, to need

other proofs than a reference to the proceedings. "Thus much, gentlemen,

I have thought it incumbent on me to observe to you, to show upon what

principles I opposed the irregular and hasty meeting which was proposed

to have been held on Tuesday last, and not because I wanted a

disposition to give you every opportunity, consistent with your own

honor and the dignity of the army, to make known your grievances. If my

conduct heretofore has not evinced to you that I have been a faithful

friend to the army, my declaration of it at this time would be equally

unavailing and improper. But, as I was among the first who embarked in

the cause of our common country; as I have never left your side one

moment, but when called from you on public duty; as I have been the

constant companion and witness of your distresses, and not among the

last to feel and acknowledge your merits; as I have ever considered my

own military reputation as inseparably connected with that of the army;

as my heart has ever expanded with joy when I have heard its praises,

and my indignation has arisen when the mouth of detraction has been

opened against it, it can scarcely be supposed, at this last stage of

the war, that I am indifferent to its interests. But how are they to be

promoted? The way is plain, says the anonymous addresser. "If war

continues, remove into the unsettled country; there establish

yourselves, and leave an ungrateful country to defend itself." But who

are they to defend? Our wives, our children, our farms, and other

property which we leave behind us? or, in this state of hostile

separation, are we to take the two first (the latter can not be

removed), to perish in a wilderness, with hunger, cold, and nakedness?

"If peace takes place, never sheathe your swords," says he, "until you

have obtained full and ample justice. This dreadful alternative of

either deserting our country in the extremest hour of her distress, or

turning our arms against it--which is the apparent object--unless

Congress can be compelled into instant compliance, has something so

shocking in it, that humanity revolts at the idea. My God! what can this

writer have in view by recommending such measures? Can he be a friend to

the army? Can he be a friend to this country? Rather, is he not an

insidious foe? some emissary, perhaps, from New York, plotting the ruin

of both, by sowing the seeds of discord and separation between the civil

and military powers of the Continent? And what a compliment does he pay

to our understandings, when he recommends measures, in either

alternative, impracticable in their nature? "But, here, gentlemen, I

will drop the curtain, because it would be as imprudent in me to assign

my reasons for this opinion, as it would be insulting to your conception

to suppose you stood in need of them. A moment's reflection will

convince every dispassionate mind of the physical impossibility of

carrying either proposal into execution. There might, gentlemen, be an

impropriety in my taking notice, in this address to you, of an anonymous

production; but the manner in which that performance has been introduced

to the army, the effect it was intended to have, together with some

other circumstances, will amply justify my observations on the tendency

of that writing. "With respect to the advice given by the author, to

suspect the man who shall recommend moderate measures and longer

forbearance, I spurn it, as every man, who regards that liberty and

reveres that justice for which we contend, undoubtedly must; for, if men

are to be precluded from offering their sentiments on a matter which may

involve the most serious and alarming consequences that can invite the

consideration of mankind, reason is of no use to us. The freedom of

speech may be taken away, and dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep,

to the slaughter. I can not, injustice to my own belief, and what I have

great reason to conceive is the intention of Congress, conclude this

address, without giving it as my decided opinion that that honorable

body entertains exalted sentiments of the services of the army, and,

from a full conviction of its merits and sufferings, will do it complete

justice; that their endeavors to discover and establish funds for this

purpose have been unwearied, and will not cease till they have

succeeded, I have not a doubt. But, like all other large bodies, where

there is a variety of different interests to reconcile, their

determinations are slow. Why, then, should we distrust them, and, in

consequence of that distrust, adopt measures which may cast a shade over

that glory which has been so justly acquired, and tarnish the reputation

of an army which is celebrated through all Europe for its fortitude and

patriotism? And for what is this done? To bring the object we seek

nearer? No; most certainly, in my opinion, it will cast it at a greater

distance. For myself (and I take no merit in giving the assurance, being

induced to it from principles of gratitude, veracity, and justice, a

grateful sense of the confidence you have ever placed in me), a

recollection of the cheerful assistance and prompt obedience I have

experienced from you under every vicissitude of fortune, and the sincere

affection I feel for an army I have so long had the honor to command,

will oblige me to declare, in this public and solemn manner, that in the

attainment of complete justice for all your toils and dangers, and in

the gratification of every wish, so far as may be done consistently with

the great duty I owe my country, and those powers we are bound to

respect, you may freely command my services to the utmost extent of my

abilities. "While I give you these assurances, and pledge myself in the

most unequivocal manner to exert whatever ability I am possessed of in

your favor, let me entreat you, gentlemen, on your part, not to take any

measures, which, viewed in the calm light of reason, will lessen the

dignity and sully the glory you have hitherto maintained. Let me request

you to rely on the plighted faith of your country, and place a full

confidence in the purity of the intentions of Congress, that, previous

to your dissolution as an army, they will cause all your accounts to be

fairly liquidated, as directed in the resolutions which were published

to you two days ago, and that they will adopt the most effectual

measures in their power to render ample justice to you for your faithful

and meritorious services. And let me conjure you, in the name of our

common country, as you value your own sacred honor, as you respect the

rights of humanity, and as you regard the military and national

character of America, to express your utmost horror and detestation of

the man who wishes, under any specious pretenses, to overturn the

liberties of our country, and who wickedly attempts to open the flood-

gates of civil discord, and deluge our rising empire in blood. "By thus

determining and thus acting, you will pursue the plain and direct road

to the attainment of your wishes; you will defeat the insidious designs

of our enemies, who are compelled to resort from open force to secret

artifice; you will give one more distinguished proof of unexampled

patriotism and patient virtue rising superior to the pressure of the

most complicated sufferings; and you will, by the dignity of your

conduct, afford occasion for posterity to say, when speaking of the

glorious example you have exhibited to mankind, 'Had this day been

wanting, the world had never seen the last stage of perfection to which

human nature is capable of attaining.'--Journals of Congress, viii.,

180-183.

* It is said that the identical spectacles used by Washington during the

Revolution are now (1850) in the possession of an aged lady, named

Marsh, who resides in Detroit, Michigan. They came to her from a

deceased relative, who exchanged spectacles with the general. "They are

of a heavy silver frame," says the Detroit Advertiser, "with very large,

round glasses, and apparently constructed after the style we have been

accustomed to see, in the books, upon the nose of Red Riding Hood's

grandmother.'

Washington's Address.--Action of the Meeting of Officers.--A strong

Resolution

678After reading the address, Washington retired without uttering a

word, leaving the officers to deliberate without restraint. Their

conference was brief; their deliberations short. They passed

resolutions, by unanimous vote, thanking their chief for the course he

had pursued; expressing their unabated attachment to his person and

their country; declaring their unshaken confidence in the good faith of

Congress, and their determination to bear with patience their

grievances, until in due time they should be redressed.

One of the resolutions is expressed in the following strong language:

"Resolved unanimously, That the officers of the American army view with

abhorrence and reject with disdain the infamous propositions contained

in a late anonymous address to the officers of the army, and resent with

indignation the secret attempts of some unknown persons to collect the

officers together in a manner totally subversive of all discipline and

good order." At that time the author of the anonymous addresses was

unknown except to a few; and for forty years there was no certainty in

the publie mind that Major Armstrong was the writer. That he was

generally suspected of being the author, among those who were acquainted

with his abilities, is evident from a letter to him written by Colonel

Timothy Pickering, in after years, in which he says, that so certain was

he, at the time, of the identity of the author, that he endorsed the

copy of the address which he received, "Written by Major John Armstrong,

Jr." An article appeared in the January number of the United States

Magazine for 1823, in which the author, understood to be General

Armstrong, avowed himself the writer of the Newburgh Addresses. The

article in question contains a history of the event we have been just

considering, and defends the course of the writer on that occasion with

the plea that apparent urgent necessity justified the act. Subsequent

events proved the writer to be mistaken in his views, and his

proposition to be highly dangerous to the common good. General Armstrong

has, consequently, been greatly censured, and his patriotism has been

questioned by writers and speakers who have judged him by results

instead of by the circumstances in which he was placed. I can see no

reason to doubt the purity of his motives and the sincerity of his

patriotism. Other men, as we have noticed in a preceding note, who were

far above suspicion, held similar views. Unfortunately for his

reputation, in this particular, he was the aid-de-camp and confident of

Gates, whose ambition had made him a plotter against Washington. In

faet, the commander-in-chief plainly alluded to Gates, when, writing to

Hamilton concerning the scheme, he said that some believed it to be "the

illegitimate offspring of a person in the army."

It appears that the first president was made acquainted with the

authorship of these addresses toward the close of his seeond

administration, some fourteen years after they were penned. His estimate

of the motives of the writer may be understood by the following letter,

addressed to Armstrong:

"Philadelphia, February 23d, 1797.

"Sir,--Believing that there may be times and occasions on whieh my

opinion of the anonymous letters and the author, as delivered to the

army in the year 1783, may be turned to some personal and malignant

purpose, I do hereby declare, that I did not, at the time of writing my

address, regard you as the author of said letters; and further, that I

have since had sufficient reason for believing that the object of the

author was just, honorable, and friendly to the eountry, though the

means suggested by him were certainly liable to much misunderstanding

and abuse.

"I am, sir, with great regard, your most obedient servant, George

Washington."

Record of Proceedings sent to Congress.--Washington's Opinion of

Armstrong's Motives.--His farewell Address

679signed by General Gates, as president of the meeting; and on the

18th, WashingtonMarch, 1783ton, in general orders, expressed his entire

satisfaction. All the papers relating to the affair were transmitted to

Congress, and entered at length upon their Journals. *

It was in this old building at Newburgh, on the porch of which we are

sitting, that Washington wrote his address to the officers, on the

occasion just considered; and here, also, he penned his admirable

circular letter addressed to the governors of all the states, on

disbanding the army. This was his last official communication with these

functionaries. June 8. 1783 "This letter," says Sparks, "is remarkable

for its ability, the deep interest it manifests for the officers and

soldiers who had fought the battles of their country, the soundness of

its principles, and the wisdom of its counsels. Four great points he

aims to enforce, as essential in guiding the deliberations of every

public body, and as claiming the serious attention of every citizen,

namely, an indissoluble union of the states; a sacred regard to public

justice; the adoption of a proper military peace establishment; ** and a

pacific and friendly disposition among the people of the states which

should induce them to forget local prejudices, and incline them to

mutual concessions for the advantage of the community. These he calls

the pillars by which alone independence and national character can be

supported. On each of these topics he remarks at considerable length,

with a felicity of style and cogency of reasoning in all respects worthy

of the subject. No public address could have been better adapted to the

state of the times; and coming from such a source, its influence on the

minds of the people must have been effectual and most salutary." *** The

Legislatures that were then in session passed resolves highly

commendatory of the public acts of the commander-in-ehief; and he

received letters from several of the governors, expressing their thanks

and gratitude for his long and successful services in the cause of his

country.

Many of the troops now went home on furlough, and Washington, having

leisure, pro-

* Journals of Congress, vol. viii.

** Washington proposed the establishment of a military academy at West

Point as early as April, 1783 His proposition will be hereafter noticed.

*** Sparks's Life and Writings of Washington, i., 395.

Washington's Tour to the Northern Battle Fields.--Called to Princeton.--

A Statue ordered by Congress.--General Clinton

680ceeded up the Hudson with Governor Clinton to visit the principal

fields of military operations at the north. He passed over the battle

ground at Stillwater, with Generals Schuyler and Gansevoort, and

extended his journey as far northward as Ticonderoga and Crown Point,

and westward to Fort Schuyler (now Rome), on the Mohawk. He returned to

Newburgh after an absence of nineteen days, where he found a letter from

the President of Congress requesting his attendance upon that body, then

in session at Princeton, in New Jersey. While he was awaiting the

convalescence of Mrs. Washington, and preparing to go, Congress

conferred upon the chief the distinguished honor of voting, unanimously,

that an equestrian statue of him should be executed by the best artist

in Europe, under the direction of the minister of the United States at

the court of Versailles, and erected at the place where the residence of

Congress should be established. * Like other similar memorials

authorized by Congress to be made in honor of their servants, this

statue has never been constructed.

Upon the lawn before us, now covered with the matted and dull-green

grass of autumn, Washington parted with many of his subalterns and

soldiers forever, on the day he left the August 18, 1783 army to attend

upon Congress at Princeton. It was an affecting prelude to the final

parting with his official companions in arms at Fraunce's tavern, in New

York, a few months subsequently, and furnishes a noble subject for the

pencil of art. The scenery is beautiful and grand, and here I would fain

loiter all the day, musing upon the events which hallow the spot; but

the sun has climbed high toward meridian, and I must hasten away to

adjacent localities, all of which are full of interest.

I left Newburgh toward noon, and rode down to New Windsor, two miles

below, along a fine sandy road upon the beach. The little village, once

the rival of Newburgh, is nestled in a pleasant nook near the confluence

of Chambers's Creek with the Hudson, on the western rim of the bay. Its

sheltered position and fertile acres wooed the exploring emigrants from

Ireland, who were seeking a place whereon to pitch their tents on the

banks of the Hudson, and here some of them sat down. Among them was

Charles Clinton; and at a place called Little Britain, a few miles

interior, were born his four sons; two of whom, James and George, were

distinguished men of the Revolution. The former was a major general in

the army, and the latter a brigadier, and Governor of New York during

the contest.

New Windsor claims the distinction of being the birth-place of Governor

Dewitt Clinton, a son of General James Clinton;

* The following is a description of the proposed statue, as given in the

resolution of Congress adopted on the 7th of August, 1783: "Resolved,

That the statue be of bronze: the general to be represented in a Roman

dress, holding a truncheon in his right hand, and his head encircled

with a laurel wreath. The statue to be supported by a marble pedestal,

on which are to be represented, in basso relievo, the following

principal events of the war, in which General Washington commanded in

person, viz., the evacuation of Boston; the capture of the Hessians at

Trenton; the battle of Princeton; the action of Monmouth; and the

surrender of York. On the upper part of the front of the pedestal to be

engraved as follows: The United States in Congress assembled, ordered

this statue to be erected in the year of our Lord 1783, in honor of

George Washington, the illustrious commander-in-chief of the armies of

the United States of America, during the war which vindicated and

secured their liberty, sovereignty, and independence."

** A biographical sketch of General Clinton may be found on page 272,

ante, and also a brief notice of his father on page 255

A very little Maiden.--Her Dignity.--Plum Point--Fortifications there.--

An Acrostic.

681but evidence is adduced to prove that a violent snow storm, which

detained his mother at "the Fort," in Deerpark, the residence of her

brother, deprived the village of the intended honor. * Although denied

the distinction of the paternity of a great man, it can boast the

residence, for a time, of one of the smallest of women, beautiful,

witty, and good. The name of this "pretty, charming little creature" was

Anna Brewster; her height, in womanhood, three feet; her symmetry of

form perfect; her face sweet and intelligent; her mind active and pure;

her extraction truly noble, for her ancestor was Elder Brewster, of the

May Flower. Too little to be wooed, too wise to be won, she was loved

and admired by every body. She lived a charming maiden until she was

seventy-five years old, when she died. Fifty years before, a rustic

poet, inspired by her charms during an evening passed in her company,

portrayed her character in verse. **

Mrs. Washington, pleased with the sprightly little maiden, invited her,

on one occasion, to visit her at head-quarters while the chief was at

New Windsor, *** but she declined, believing it to be curiosity rather

than respect that prompted the invitation. It was a mistake; but she had

through life such a dignified self-respect, that it repelled undue

familiarity, and closed all opportunities for the indulgence of prying

curiosity.

From New Windsor I rode to Plum Island, or Plum Point, the fine estate

of Philip A. Verplanek, Esq. At high tide, this alluvial height, which

rises about one hundred and twenty feet above the Hudson, is an island,

approached by a narrow causeway from the main, which bridges a rivulet,

with a heavy stone arch. Murderer's Creek washes its southwestern

border, and a marsh and rivulet inclose it upon the land side. Upon a

broad, level table-land of some thirty-five acres in extent, stands the

mansion of Mr. Verplanck, noted for the beauty and grandeur of the

scenery which encompasses it. Accompanied by the proprietor, I strolled

down the winding pathway to the base of the steep river bank, where,

overgrown by a new forest, are well-preserved remains of a

fortification, erected there

* See Eager's History of Orange County, page 630.

** His poetic effort produced the following ACROSTIC

A pretty, charming little creature, N eat and complete in every feature,

N ow at New Windsor may be acen, A ll beauteous in her air and mien. B

irth and power, wealth and fame, R ise not to view when her we name: E

very virtue in her shine, W isely nice, but not o'er fine. S he has a

soul that's great, 'tie said, T hough small's the body of this maid: E

'en though the casket is but small, R eason proclaims the jewel's all.

October 8, 1791.

*** Washington established his head-quarters at New Windsor village,

first on the 23d of June, 1779, and again toward the close of 1780,

where he remained till the summer of 1781. He lived at a plain Dutch

house, long since decayed and demolished. In that humble tenement Lady

Washington entertained the most distinguished officers and their ladies,

as well as the more obscure who sought her friendship. On leaving New

Windsor in June, 1781, Washington established his quarters, for a short

time, at Peekskill.

**** This view is from the interior of the redoubt looking eastward upon

the river. In the distance is seen Pollopel's Island, near the upper

entrance to the Highlands, beyond which rise the lofty Beacon Hills,

whereon alarm-fires often gleamed during the war.

Redoubt on Plum Point.--Chevaux-de-frise.--Anecdote.--Head-quarters of

Greene and Knox

682partly at an early period of the war, and partly when the American

army was in the vicinity. It was a redoubt, with a battery of fourteen

guns, and was designed to cover strong _chevaux-de-frise_ and other

obstructions placed in the river, and extending from the flat below

Murderer's Creek to Pollopel's Island. * It would also rake the river

channel at the opening in the Highlands. The _chevaux-de-frise_ were

constructed under the superintendence of Captain Thomas Machin, in the

summer of 1778. Had they and the strong redoubt on Plum Point been in

existence a year sooner, the marauding expedition of Vaughan and

Wallace, up the Hudson, could not have occurred. The remains of this

battery, the old Continental road, and the cinders of the forges, extend

along the river bank several hundred feet. The embrasures are also very

prominent.

Mr. Verplanck pointed out the remains of the cellar of a log-house,

which stood a little above the battery, and belonged to a man named

M'Evers, long before the Revolution. M'Evers was a Scotchman, and when

about to emigrate to America, he asked his servant, Mike, if he would

accompany him. Mike, who was faithful, and much attached to his master,

at once consented to go, saying, in illustration of the force of his

love, "Indeed, gude mon, I'll follow ye to the gates o' hell, if ye gang

there yersel'." The voyage was long and tempestuous, and instead of

entering New York harbor by the Narrows, the vessel sailed through Long

Island Sound and the East River. At the whirlpool called _Hellgate_, the

ship struck upon the _Hog's Back_ with a terrible crash. The passengers,

in affright, rushed upon deck, and none was more appalled than Mike. The

vessel arrived safely in New York, gardener on Plum Point.

A pleasant ride of about three miles westward from Plum Point placed me

at the residence of Charles E. Morton, Esq., a picturesque old mansion

on the south side of the New Windsor road. It was built about 1735 ** by

John Ellison, one of the first settlers in New Windsor. The material is

stone, and its dormer windows and spacious and irregular roof give it

the appearance of a large cottage in rural England. A living stream

passes through a rocky glen within a few yards of it. Just below is the

old mill, erected more than a hundred years ago by the first proprietor;

nor has the monotonous music of its stones and hopper yet ceased.

This old mansion was the head-quarters of Generals Greene and Knox while

Washington was domiciled at the Hasbrouck House in Newburgh, and it was

from hence that the com-

* According to a survey made by Henry Wisner and Gilbert Livingston in

the autumn of 1776, the channel of the river, wherein these chevaux-de-

frise were placed, was about fifty feet deep, and eighty chains, or

about five thousand two hundred and eighty feet broad. The channel east

of Pollopel's Island was not deep enough for the passage of ships of

war.

** One of the fire-places has a cast-iron back, on which, in raised

letters, is the date 1734.

*** This view is from the turnpike road, looking southeast. The water in

front is a mill-pond, over the dam of which passes a foot-bridge. The

mill is hidden by the trees in the ravine below. This side was

originally the rear of the house, the old Goshen road passing upon the

other side. The old front is a story and a half high. Captain Morton,

the proprietor, is a son of the late General Jacob Morton, of New York

city.

Ball at the Quarters of Greene and Knox.--Signatures of young Ladies.--

Washington on Dancing.--The Square.

683mander-in-chief, accompanied by those generals, after taking some

refreshments, rode to the "New Building," to attend the meeting of

officers convened by Washington on account of the anonymous addresses

just considered. Here the accomplished Lucy Knox gave her choice

_soirées_, graced by the presence of Mrs. Washington, and other ladies

of taste and refinement with which that region abounded; and here, if

tradition is truthful, Washington opened a ball on one occasion, having

for his partner Maria Colden, then one of the pretty belles of Orange

county. *

I dined with Mr. Morton in the old drawing-room, which, with the other

apartments, is preserved by him, with scrupulous care, in the original

style. The ceilings are high, and the wainscoting displays architectural

taste. The heavy window-sashes, with their small squares of glass,

remain; very few of the panes have been broken and replaced since the

Revolution. On one of them, inscribed by a diamond, are the names of

three young ladies of the "olden time" (Sally Janson, Gitty Winkoop, and

Maria Colden), one of whom was the reputed partner of Washington at the

ball. May not these names have been written on that occasion?

Believing it probable, I copied the signatures, and present them here

for the gratification of the curious and the sentimental.

In October, 1777, the vicinage we are now considering was the scene of

much commotion.

Forts Clinton and Montgomery, amoung the Hudson Highlands, fell beneath

one heavy blow, suddenly and artfully dealt by a British force from New

York, and the smitten October 6, 1777 garrisons were scattered like

frightened sheep upon the mountains; not, however, until they had

disputed the possession of the fortresses with the besiegers long and

desperately. General James Clinton and his brother George were in

command of the fortresses, and escaped up the river. At a place

afterward called _Washington Square_, ** about four

* I was informed by the venerable Mrs. Hamilton that Washington never

danced. He often attended balls by invitation, and sometimes walked the

figures, but she never saw him attempt to dance. Probably no lady of

that day, if we except Mrs. Knox, was more often at parties and social

gatherings with Washington than Mrs. Hamilton. It may not be

inappropriate here to give a copy of a letter on the subject of dancing,

written by Washington a short time before his death. It was in reply to

an invitation from a committee of gentlemen of Alexandria to attend the

dancing assemblies at that place. I copied it from the original in the

Alexandria Museum.

* "To Messrs. Jonathan Swift, George Doncale, William Newton, Robert

Young, Charles Alexander, Jr., James H. Hoole, Managers..

* "Mount Vernon, 12th November, 1799.

* "Gentlemen,--Mrs. Washington and myself have been honored with your

polite invitation to the assemblies of Alexandria this winter, and thank

you for this mark of your attention. But, alas! our dancing days are no

more. We wish, however, all those who have a relish for so agreeable and

innocent an amusement all the pleasure the season will afford them; and

I am, gentlemen,

* "Your most obedient and obliged humble servant,

* "Geo. Washington."

* "The Square" is a small district of country, and so called from the

fact that the public roads ran in such a direction as to form a diamond-

shaped inclosure, as seen in the diagram, in which a is the road to

Newburgh; b, to Goshen; c, to Little Britain; and d, to New Windsor. 1

denotes the house of Mrs Falls; 2, the quarters of St. Clair and Gates;*

and, 3, the quarters of La Fayette.

* There are two ancient houses at this angle of "The Square," but I

could not ascertain which was occupied by those officers. It is

probable, however, that the one on the northwest aide of the road, which

is supposed to have been Edmonston's, was the one.

A Spy in the American Camp.--Dispatch in a silver Bullet.--Name and Fate

of the Spy

684miles west of the village of New "Windsor, Governor Clinton

established his head-quarters at the house of a Mrs. Falls, and there

the dispersed troops were collected, preparatory to their marching for

the defense of Kingston.

At about noon on the 10th of October,1777 a horseman, apparently in

great haste, approached the disordered camp. The sentinel on duty

challenged him, when he replied, I am a friend, and wish to see General

Clinton." The horseman was a messenger, bearing a secret dispatch from

Sir Henry Clinton to Burgoyne, the latter being then hedged round by the

Americans at Saratoga. The messenger supposed the American forces in the

Highlands to be utterly broken and destroyed, and having never heard of

a general Clinton ** in the patriot army, he believed himself to be

among his friends. He was conducted to Clinton's quarters, and, when

ushered into his presence, he perceived his mistake. "I am lost!" he

exclaimed, in a half subdued voice, and immediately cast something into

his mouth and swallowed it. Suspicion was aroused, and he was arrested.

Dr. Moses Higby, who was then residing near Mrs. Falls's, was summoned.

He administered to the prisoner a powerful dose of tartar emetic, which

soon brought from his stomach a silver bullet of an oval form. Though

closely watched, the prisoner succeeded in swallowing it a second time.

He now refused the emetic, but yielded when Governor Clinton threatened

to hang him upon a tree and search his stomach by the aid of the

surgeon's knife. The bullet again appeared. It was a curiously-wrought

hollow sphere, fastened together in the center by a compound screw.

Within it was found a piece of thin paper, on which was written the

following note: ***

"Fort Montgomery, October 8,1777.

"_Nous y voici,_ **** and nothing now between us and Gates. I sincerely

hope this little success of ours may facilitate your operations. In

answer to your letter of the 28th of September, by C. C., (v) I shall

only say, I can not presume to order, or even advise, for reasons

obvious. I heartily wish you success.

"Faithfully yours, H. Clinton.

"Gen. Burgoyne."

The prisoner's guilt was clear; _out of his own mouth_ he was condemned.

Governor Clinton soon afterward marched to Esopus, or Kingston, taking

the spy with him. At Hurley, a few miles from Kingston, he was tried,

condemned, and hanged upon an apple-tree near the old church, while the

village of Esopus was in flames, lighted by the marauding enemy. (vi)

* This house, now (1850) owned by Mr. Samuel Moore, is a frame

building*, and stands on the right side of the New Windsor road, at the

southeastern angle of "The Square." It is surrounded by locust and large

balm-of-Gilead trees. There Major Armstrong wrote the famous Newburgh

Addresses, and there those in the secret held their private conferences.

** The British officers in this country adhered pertinaciously to the

resolution of not dignifying the rebel officers with their assumed

titles. They were called Mr. Washington, Mr. Clinton, Mr. Greene, &c. It

is amusing to look over the Tory newspapers of the day, particularly

Rivington's Gazette, and observe the flippant and attempted witty manner

in which the American generalissimo was styled Mister Washington.

*** Letter of Governor Clinton to the Council of Safety, dated "Head-

quarters, Mrs. Falls's, 11th October, 1777."

**** "Here we are." I copied this note from a transcript in the

handwriting of Governor Clinton, which is among the manuscripts of

General Gates in the library of the New York Historical Society. It is

endorsed "Sir Henry Clinton to J. Burgoyne, 8th of October, 1777, found

in a silver bullet." That identical bullet was, a few years ago, in the

possession of the late General James Tallmadge, executor of the will of

Governor George Clinton. It is now the property of one of Clinton's

descendants.

* (v) Captain Campbell. See page 79, vol. i.

* (vi) The name of the spy was Daniel Taylor. He was a sergeant in the

British service. The father of the late Judge Woodward, of the Supreme

Court of the State of New York, acted as judge-advocate on the occasion.

On page 389, ante, I have alluded to this occurrence, and remarked that

Kingston was the place of the execution of the spy. Hurley was then

included in the township of Kingston.

Site and probable Form of the Temple.--View from it.--The Camp Ground

and Vicinity.

685Leaving Mr. Morton's, I proceeded to visit the site of the "New

Building," or Temple, as it was called, where the meeting of officers

was held.

It is in a field now belonging to Mr. William M'Gill (formerly to the

late Jabez Atwood), upon a commanding eminence about one hundred rods

east of the road to Newburgh, and two miles northward of Morton's. The

day was foggy and drizzly, and the distant scenery was entirely hidden

from view; but, on a second visit, upon a bright summer day, with some

Newburgh friends, I enjoyed the magnificent prospect to be obtained from

that observatory.

On the southeast loomed the lofty Highlands, cleft by the Hudson; North

and South Beacons, and Butter Hill, rising above their hundred lesser

companions, were grouped in a picture of magnificence and beauty.

Glittering in meridian sunlight were the white houses of Cornwall and

Canterbury; and far up the slopes of the mountains, stretching westward

to Woodcock Hill, yellow grain-fields and acres of green maize

variegated the landscape. In the far distance, on the northwest, was the

upper Shawan-gunk range, and an occasional glimpse was caught of the

blue high peaks of the Catskills, sixty miles northward. Across the

meadows westward we could distinctly trace the line of the old causeway,

constructed while the army was encamped there; and in the groves which

skirt the slopes (whither we soon afterward went) we found the remains

of several huts that were built for the use of the soldiers.

The _Temple_ was a large, temporary structure, erected by command of

Washington for the several purposes of a chapel for the army, a lodge-

room for the fraternity of Free-masons which existed

* This view is from the site of the Temple, looking southeast. In the

distance is seen the opening of the Highlands into Newburgh Bay. On the

right is Butter Hill, and near it is the village of Cornwall. The form

and appearance of the Temple was drawn from the description given by

Major Burnet, and doubtless has a general resemblance to the original.

** This is from a painting by Tice, in my possession. The land on which

the encampment on the west side of the meadow was, is now owned chiefly

by Gilbert Tompkins and Nathaniel Moore. This view is from the land of

Mr. Tompkins, looking east-southeast. On the slopes seen in the

foreground, and on the margin of the meadow beyond, Van Cortlandt's New

York regiment, and the Maryland and Virginia troops were encamped. On

the east side of the meadow, upon the most distant elevation in the

middle ground, the New England troops were stationed. On the slope

toward the right of that elevation stood the Temple. In the distance is

seen the upper entrance of the Hudson into the Highlands. The meadow was

formerly ealled Beaver Dam Swamp, from the circumstance that beavers

constructed dams at the lower extremity, causing the waters to overflow

the low grounds. The Americans built a causeway across, and a stone

dike, or levee, on the west side, to protect their parade. I saw the

remains of this causeway; its site is marked by the light lino across

the flat. About a quarter of a mile north of the site of the Temple is

an ancient stone house, seen in the picture, the only dwelling near in

the time of the war. It was built by Samuel P. Brewster in 1768, as

appears from an inscribed stone in the front wall. It was owned by a Mr.

Moore. Its present occupant is Francis Weyant.

The Temple as described by Major Burnet.--Two living Patriots.--Visit to

Major Burnet.

686among the officers, and for public meetings of various kinds. When

erected, it was called _The Temple of Virtue_; when dedicated, the

suffix was properly omitted, and it was named simply _The Temple_. The

orgies held on the occasion of its dedication disrobed it of its mantle

of purity. It was described to me by Major Burnet, who is still living

(1851) in the neighborhood, as a structure of rough-hewn logs, oblong

square in form, one story in height, a door in the middle, many windows,

and a broad roof. The windows were square, unglazed, and about the size

of ordinary port-holes in a man-of-war. There was a small gallery, or

raised platform, at one end, for speakers and presiding officers. We

traced, near an old apple-tree in Mr. M'Gill's field, evident lines of

the foundation of the building. It must have been some eighty feet long

and forty wide. On the crown of the hill northward are traces of fire-

places, and there, at the beginning of the present century, a long

building was standing. Some have supposed this to have been the Temple;

it was only the barracks for the New England troops stationed there. In

a few years those faint land-marks and that old apple-tree will be no

more seen.

The spot is consecrated by one of the loftiest exhibitions of true

patriotism with which our Revolutionary history abounds. There love of

country, and devotion to exalted principles, achieved a wonderful

triumph over the seductive power of self-love and individual interest,

goaded into rebellion against higher motives by the lash of apparent

injustice and personal suffering. It is, indeed, a hallowed spot; and if

the old stone house at Newburgh is worthy of the fostering regard of the

state because it was the head-quarters of the beloved Washington, surely

the site of the Temple, where he achieved his most glorious victory,

deserves some monument to perpetuate the memory of its place and

associations.

At Little Britain, a few miles from the _Temple_, and within a quarter

of a mile of each other, reside two of the sons of Orange county, who

loved and served Washington and their country in the war for

independence. These are Robert Burnet and Usual Knapp. Of the once long

list of Revolutionary pensioners in Orange county, these only remain,

honored living witnesses of the prowess of those who wrestled

successfully for freedom. I left the Temple field on the occasion of my

first visit with the intention of seeing these patriot fathers, but

missing the proper road, and the night shadows coming thickly with the

fog and rain, I made my way back to Newburgh.

Kind friends afterward procured likenesses and autographs of both for

me. * Better than this, I subsequently enjoyed the pleasure of a

personal interview with Major Burnet at his residence. It was on the

occasion of my second visit to the camp ground. At dark, on that August

i, sultry day, we made our way up a green lane, flanked by venerable

willows--a few 1850-cast down by a recent tornado--and sat down in the

spacious hall of the old soldier's man-

* I am indebted to Mr. Charles U. Cushman, of Newburgh, for a

daguerreotype, from life, of Major Burnet, from which the picture above

was copied. The likeness of Mr. Knapp is from an excellent painting of

the almost centenarian's head, by Mr. Charles W. Tice, an accomplished

self-taught artist of Newburgh, who kindly furnished me with a copy for

my use.

Public Life of Major Burnet and Sergeant Knapp.--Washington's Letter to

Greene.

687sion. He had just retired to his bed-room, but soon appeared,

standing before us as erect and manly as if in the prime of his life,

although then in his ninetieth year.

The father of Major Burnet was a Scotchman, his mother a native of

Ireland. He was a lieutenant in Captain Stevens's company, and commanded

Redoubt No. 3, at West Point, at the time of Arnold's defection. He

afterward attained to the rank of major in the service, and was one of

the delegates who attended the meeting of officers at the Temple. * He

continued in the army, under the immediate command of the chief, until

the disbanding of the forces in 1783. When the Americans marched into

the city of New York as the British evacuated it, he commanded the rear

guard. He told me that he remembered November 25, 1783 distinctly the

dignified appearance of Washington, when, with Governor Clinton and

other civil and military officers, he stood in front of an old stone

house, ** about two miles below Kingsbridge, while the troops, with

uncovered heads, passed by. He saw Cunningham, the wicked provost-

marshal at New York, strongly guarded by his friends, in the march to

the place of embarkation, while the exasperated populace were eager to

seize and punish him according to his deservings.

Major Burnet was also present when Washington finally parted with his

officers at Fraunce's *** tavern, in New York. How could the heart do

otherwise than beat quick and strong with deep feeling, while conversing

face to face with one who grasped the hand of the chief on that

occasion, so pathetically described by Marshall and others! The lips of

the patriot quivered with emotion while speaking of that scene, and I

perceived my own eye dimmed with the rheum of sympathetic sentiment.

Major Burnet has seen, what few men in modern times have beheld, the

living representatives of seven generations of his kindred: his great-

grandfather, grandfather, father, himself, his chilerward he served

under General Wooster in the skirmish at Ridgefield. (v) When La Fayette

* Washington, in a letter to General Greene, dated "Newburgh, 6th

February, 1782," refers to Mr. Burnet as follows: "I intended to write

you a long letter on sundry matters; but Major Burnet came unexpectedly

at a time when I was preparing for the celebration of the day, and was

just going to a review of the troops previous to the feu de joie. * As

he is impatient, from an apprehension that the sleighing may fail, and

as he can give you the occurrences of this quarter more in detail than I

have time to do, I will refer you to him."

** This stone house is yet standing. A drawing of it may bo found in

another part of this work. It has other interesting reminiscences.

*** This tavern, now (1850) the Broad Street Hotel, is well preserved.

It stands on the corner of Broad and Pearl Streets. A drawing of it may

be found on page 633, vol. ii.

**** Died Dec. 1, 1854, aged 92 years and 9 months. See page 408.

* The anniversary of the signing of the treaty of alliance between the

United States and France is here alluded to. It was late when we said

farewell to Major Burnet--too late to visit his neighbor, Mr. Knapp, who

was ninety-one years of age, and quite feeble. From another I learned

the principal events of his public life, and obtained his autograph, a

facsimile of which is here given, with his portrait. Mr. Knapp was born

in Connecticut, in 1759. He joined the army when about eighteen years of

age. His first experience in warfare was in the battle at White Plains;

aft-

The Commander-in-chief's Guard.--Its Organization, Character, and

Uniform.--Its Officers

688enrolled his corps of-light infantry, Mr. Knapp became a member, and

with them fought in the battle at Monmouth, in June, 1778. * He was soon

afterward chosen a member of the _Commander-in-chief's Guard_, and

served faithfully as a sergeant therein for more than two years.

He left the service in 1782, bearing the approbation of Washington. He

is believed to be the only surviving member of that well-disciplined

corps of the Revolution, Washington's Life Guard. **

Although feeble in body, I was informed that his mind was

* Many of the muskets which belonged to that corps are now preserved in

the Relic Room of the Headquarters at Newburgh. La Fayette purchased

them with his own money in France, and presented them to his favorite

corps.

** The Commander-in-chiefs Guard, commonly called The Life Guard, was a

distinct corps of superior men, attached to the person of the commander-

in-chief, but never spared in battle. It was organized in 1776, soon

after the siege of Boston, while the American army was encamped upon

York or Manhattan Island, near the city of New York., r It consisted of

a major's command--one hundred and eighty men. Caleb Gibbs, of Rhode

Island, was its first chief, and bore the title of captain commandant.

He held that office until the close of 1779, when he was succeeded by

William Colfax, one of his lieutenants. Gibbs's lieutenants were Henry

P. Livingston, of New York, William Colfax, of New Jersey, and Benjamin

Goymes, of Virginia. Colonel Nicholas, of Virginia, was a lieutenant

under Colfax. The latter officer remained in command of the corps until

the disbanding of the army in 1783. The terms of enlistment into the

Guard were the same as those into any other corps of the regular army,

except in the matter of qualification. They were selected with special

reference to their physical, moral, and intellectual character; and it

was considered a mark of peculiar distinction to belong to the

Commander-in-chief's Guard. From George W. P. Custis, Esq., of Arlington

House, Virginia, I learned many particulars respecting this corps. Mr.

Custis is a grandson of Lady Washington, and the adopted son of the

general. He was acquainted with several of the officers and privates of

the Guard, distinctly remembers their uniform, and is familiar with

their history. He owns a flag which once belonged to the Guard. It is

now in the museum at Alexandria, on the Potomac, where I sketched the

annexed representation of it. The flag is white silk, on which the

device is neatly painted. One of the Guard is seen holding a horse, and

is in the act of receiving a flag from the Genius of Liberty, who is

personified as a woman leaning upon the Union shield, near which is the

American eagle. The motto of the corps, "Conquer or Die," is upon a

ribbon. The uniform of the Guard consisted of a blue coat with white

facings, white waistcoat and breeches, black half gaiters, a cocked hat

with a blue and white feather. They carried muskets, and occasionally

side arms.

* The corps varied in numbers at different periods. At first it

consisted of one hundred and eighty men. During the winter of 1779-80,

when the American army under Washington was cantoned at Morristown, in

close proximity to the enemy, it was increased to two hundred and fifty.

In the spring it was reduced to its original number; and in 1783, the

last year of service, it consisted of only sixty-four non-commissioned

officers and privates. Care was always taken to have all the states,

from which the Continental army was supplied with troops, represented in

this corps. Peter Force, Esq., of Washington City, kindly allowed me to

copy the names of the Guard, contained in an original Return in his

possession, bearing the date of March 2, 1783. It is signed by Colfax,

and on the back is an endorsement in the handwriting of Washington, a

fac simile of which is given on the next page. I found in the archives

of the State Department another Return, dated June 4th, 1783. ** It is

one of the last Returns made to the commander-in-chief, for the army was

disbanded soon afterward. The roll is precisely the same as that in

possession of Mr. Foree, with the exception of the omission of the names

of John Dent, corporal, and Samuel Wortman, private, in the June Return.

Dennis Moriarty, who was a corporal in March, appears as a private in

June. The latter Return is signed by Colfax, with his certification that

"The above list includes the whole of the Guard." It is endorsed,

"Return of the non-commissioned officers and privates in the Commander-

in-chiefs Guard, who are engaged to serve during the war."

I have been thus particular respecting this corps, because history is

almost silent upon the subject, and because the living witnesses, now

almost extinct, will take with them the unwritten records of the Guard

into the oblivion of the grave.

* Massachusetts.--John Phillips, sergeant; John Derrick, corporal; Isaac

Manning, fifer; Joseph Vinci, John Barton, Joel Crosby, privates.

* Rhode Island.--Davia Brown, sergeant; Randall Smith, Reuben Thompson,

William Tanner, Solomon Daley, privates. Connecticut.--Elihu Hancock,

corporal; Dinn Manning [see notice of him on page 607], drum major;

Jared Goodrich and Frederic Park Jifers; Peter Holt, Jedediah Brown,

Leri Dean, James Dady, Henry Wallace, Elijah Lawrence, privates.

* New York.--John Robinson, Jacob Schriver, Edward Wiley, John Cole,

privates.

* New Jersey.--Jonathan Moore, Benjamin Eaton, Stephen Hatfield, Lewis

Campbell, Samuel Bailey, William Martin, Laban Landor, Robert Blair,

Benjamin Bunuel, privates; John Fenton, drummer.

* Pennsylvania.--William Hunter and John Arnold, sergeants; Enoch Wills,

corporal; Cornelius Wilson, drummer; Charles Dougherty, William

Karnahan, Robert Findley, John Dowlhar, John Pallon, Hugh Cull, James

Hughes, John Finch, Donu Moriarty, John Montgomery, Daniel Hymer, Thomas

Forrest, William Kennesaey, Adam Foulz, George Fisher, privates.

Maryland.--Edward Weed, Jeremiah Driskel, Thomas Gillen, privates.

* Virginia.--Reaps Mitchell, sergeant; Lewis Flemister, William Coram,

William Pace, Joseph Timberlake, privates.

* I copied these signatures from the original oaths of allegiance,

signed at Valley Forge, in the spring of 1778, by each officer of the

Continental army, and of the militia then in service there. These oaths

are carefully preserved in the archives of the State Department at

Washington City.

Sergeant Knapp.--Return to Newburgh.--Departure for Fishkill.-- Return

of the Commander-in-chief's Guard

689quite active and clear respecting the war-scenes of his youth. He

delights "to fight his battles o'er again," and is pleased when,

"With cherub smile, the prattling boy,

Who on the vet'ran's breast reclines.

Has thrown aside the favorite toy,

And round his tender finger twines

Those scattered locks, that, with the flight

Of ninety years are snowy white;

And, as a tear arrests his view,

He cries, 'Grandpa, what wounded you?' "

Hannah F. Gould.

Broad flashes of sheet lightning, and rumbling thunder, on the van of an

approaching shower, made us use the whip freely when we left the dark

lane of the patriot. We reached Newburgh at eleven o'clock, wearied and

supperless, the tempest close upon us, but in time to escape a

drenching. This, be it remembered, was on the occasion of my second

visit to the camp ground in New Windsor, in the fervid summer time. Let

us resume our narrative of the autumnal tour.

The mist and clouds were gone the next morning. At six o'clock I crossed

October 26, 1848 the Hudson to Fishkill landing, and at half past seven

breakfasted at the village, five miles eastward. The air was a little

frosty, but as soon as the sun appeared above the hills, the warm breath

and soft light of the Indian summer spread their genial influence over

the face of nature, and awakened corresponding delight in the heart and

mind of the traveler. The country through which the highway passes is

exceedingly picturesque. It skirts the deep, rich valleys of Matteawan

and Glenham, where flows a clear stream from a distant mountain lake and

bubbling spring,1 turning, in its course, many mill-wheels and thousands

of spindles set up along its banks. On the south the lofty range of the

eastern Highlands, rocky and abrupt near their summits, come down with

gentle declivities, and mingle their rugged forms with the green

undulations of the valley. Up their steep slopes, cultivated

* The chief sources of this beautiful stream are "Whaley's Pond,

situated high among the broken hills of the eastern Highlands, on the

borders of Pawlings, and a spring at the loot of the mountains in the

Clove in Beekman.

Fishkill Village.--The "Wharton House."--Enoch Crosby.--The "Spy

Unmasked."

690fields have crept like ivy upon some gray old tower; and there,

tinted with all the glories of autumn, they seemed to hang in the soft

morning sunlight like rich gobelins in the chamber of royalty.