Fishkill village lies pleasantly in the lap of a plain near the foot of

the mountains, and is a place of much interest to the student of our

history. Securely sheltered by high mountains from invasion from below,

and surrounded by a fertile country, it was chosen as a place of safe

depository for military stores; for the confinement of Tory prisoners

and others captured by strategy or in partisan skirmishes upon the

Neutral Ground, in West Chester;

and, for a while, as the place of encampment of a portion of the

Continental army, and the quiet deliberations of the state Legislature.

* The barracks were about half a mile south of the village, extending

along the line of the road, to the foot of the mountains. The

headquarters of the officers were at Mr. Van Wyck's, then the property

of a Mr. Wharton. From this circumstance it is known as "The Wharton

House." The burial-place of the soldiers is at the foot of the

mountains, where a road of Isaac Van Wyck, branches eastward from the

turnpike. This vicinity is the scene of many of the most thrilling

events portrayed by Cooper in his "Spy; a _Tale of the Neutral Ground_."

In the Wharton House, Enoch Crosby, the alleged reality of the

novelist's fictitious Harvey Birch, was subjected to a mock trial by the

Committee of Safety, and then confined in irons in the old Dutch church

in the village Crosby engaged in the "secret service" of his country in

the autumn of 1776, and eminent were his personal achievements in making

revelations to his Whig friends of the movements and plans of the

Tories. At that period, secret enemies were more to be feared than open

foes among these, in West Chester and the southern portions of Dutchess,

Crosby mingled freely, for a long time, without incurring their

distrust. While on one of his excursions, he solicited lodgings for the

night at the house of a woman who proved to be a Tory. From her he

learned that a company of Loyalists were forming in the neighborhood to

march to

* The Marquis de Chastellux, who visited Fishkill in the autumn of 1780,

says, in his interesting narrative, "This town, in which there are not

more than fifty houses in the space of two miles, has been long the

principal depot of the American army. It is there they have placed their

magazines, their hospitals, their work-shops, &c.; but all these form a

town of themselves, composed of handsome large barracks, built in the

wood at the foot of the mountains; for the Americans, like the Romans in

many respects, have hardly any other winter quarters than wooden towns

or barricaded camps, which may be compared to the hiemalia of the

Romans."--Travels in North America, i., 54. The war-sword of Washington,

carefully preserved in a glass case in the National Museum at Washington

City, was manufactured by J. Bailey, in Fishkill, and bears his name.

His shop was yet in existence when I was there, but used as a stable. It

was demolished in 1849. A drawing of the sword, and of the stall which

Franklin bequeathed to Washington, may be found in another part of this

work.

** This picture is from a sketch from life by Captain H. L. Barnum, the

author of a small, thin volume, entitled The Spy Unmasked, dedicated to

James Fennimore Cooper, Esq. It contains the memoirs of Enoch Crosby,

who, the author asserts, was the original of Mr. Cooper's "Harvey

Birch." The narratives were taken from Crosby's own lips, in short-hand,

by Captain Barnum. Attempts have been made to cast discredit upon the

work; but Doctor White, of Fishkill, who kindly accompanied me to the

localities in that vicinity, assured me that his father, an aged man

still living, was well acquainted with Crosby, and says the narrative of

Barnum is substantially correct. Enoch Crosby was a native of Harwich,

Barnstable county, in Massachusetts, where he was born on the 4th of

January, 1750. During his infancy his parents went to the State of New

York, and settled in Southeast, in Dutchess (now Putnam) county. In the

midst of the noble and picturesque scenery of that region his childhood

was passed. He learned the trade of a shoemaker. When the Revolution

broke out, he laid aside his lapstone and last, and shouldered a musket.

He was then residing at Danbury, and was one of the hundred men before

mentioned, who, in 1775, marched to Lake Champlain, and were engaged in

the battles in that quarter until Quebec was stormed. After his return,

Crosby remained quiet for a while, and then became engaged in the

"secret service." He caused many Tory companies to fall into the hands

of the Whigs, and on such occasions he was usually captured, suffered

imprisonment, but was generally allowed to escape. At length his

successful exits from durance excited the suspicion of the Tories, and

Crosby, deeming it unsafe to mingle with them longer, joined the

detachment of the Continental army under Heath, then stationed in the

Highlands. When his term of service expired, he returned to Southeast,

where he cultivated a small farm, until his death in 1834. Captain

Barnum asserts that the plan of Cooper's Spy was conceived at the house

of John Jay, at Bedford, in West Chester county. Mr. Jay was one of the

Committee of Safety who employed Crosby, and was necessarily acquainted

with his exploits. Crosby was a witness at a court in New York city in

1827, and was recognized by an old gentleman, who introduced him to the

audience as the original of "Harvey Birch."* The fact became noised

abroad. The Spy, dramatized, was then in course of performance at one of

the theaters; Crosby was invited to attend; his acceptance was

announced; and that evening a crowded audience greeted the old soldier.

Our gifted countrywoman, Miss Anne C. Lynch, has written thus

doubtingly,

"On a Picture of Harvey Birch. "I know not if thy noble worth My

country's annals enliven, For in her brief, bright history, I have not

read thy name. "I know not if thou e'er didst live, Save in the vivid

thought Of him who chronicled thy life, With silent suffering fraught.

"Yet in thy history I see Full many a great soul's lot. Who joins the

martyr-army's ranks. That the world knoweth not."

Exploits of Enoch Crosby.--Incidents of his Life.--Ancient Dutch Church.

Fishkill Village.

691New York and join the British army. He became excessively loyal, and,

agreeing to enlist with them, he obtained the unbounded confidence of

the captain, who revealed to him all his plans. That night, when all was

quiet, Crosby left his bed stealthily, hastened to "White Plains, where

the Committee of Safety resided, * communicated the secrets of the

expedition to them, and was back to his lodgings, unobserved, before

daylight.

At Crosby's suggestion, a meeting of the company was held the following

evening, and while in session, the house was surrounded by a band of

Whigs, sent for the purpose by the Committee of Safety, and the inmates

were all made prisoners. They were conveyed to Fishkill, and confined in

manacles in the old stone church, one of the relies of the Revolution

yet remaining. The Committee of Safety, who had come up to try them,

were at the Wharton House. After an examination, the prisoners were all

remanded to prison, Crosby among the

* The Committee of Safety then consisted of Messrs. Jay, Platt, Duer,

and Sackett, distinguished patriots during the Revolution.

** This is from a pencil sketch by Miss Newlin, taken from the yard,

looking southwest, the same point of view from whence I made a drawing,

less pleasing to myself than the one kindly furnished me by the fail

artist. The church is built of rough-hewn stone, stuccoed on three

sides.

* In a monthly historical work, published at Concord, New Hampshire, in

1823, by Jacob B. Moore, Esq., late librarian of the Mew York Historical

Society, is a brief biographical sketch of David Gray, who was a "spy"

of the "Neutral Ground." The writer says, "The incidents of his life

correspond in many particulars with the character of Harvey Birch, in

the popular novel of the 'Spy.'" This was written six years before the

publication of "The Spy Unmasked."

Escape of Crosby.--His Exploits at Teller's Point.--A very old Man and

rejected Lover.--Trinity Church.

692rest. By apparent accident he was left alone with the committee a few

minutes, and a plan of escape was devised. He effected it through a

window at the northwest corner of the church, which was hidden by a

willow. On reaching the ground, he divested himself of his loose

manacles; and with the speed of a deer he rushed by the sentinels, and

escaped unhurt to a swamp, followed by three or four bullets, fired at

random in the gloom. He was made a prisoner, with Tories, twice

afterward, but managed to escape.

Several British and Hessian soldiers were at one time prisoners in the

old stone church. The former were captured by stratagem at Teller's

Point, near the mouth of the Croton River; the latter were stragglers,

who fell in with a party of Loyalists near Yonkers, on the Neutral

Ground. The British soldiers were captured by Crosby and a few men who

composed part of a detachment under Colonel Van Cortlandt, then

stationed on the east side of the Hudson to watch operations upon the

Neutral Ground. While they were near Teller's Point, a British sloop of

war sailed up the river and cast anchor in the channel opposite. Crosby

and six others proceeded to the Point, five of whom, with himself,

concealed themselves in the bushes; the other, dressed in infantry

uniform, paraded the beach. The officers on the vessel observed him, and

eleven men were dispatched in a boat to capture him. When the Englishmen

landed, the American took to his heels. Unsuspicious of danger, they

followed, when Crosby and his five men, making a noise in the bushes as

if half a regiment was there, rushed out and bade the enemy surrender.

Deceived and alarmed, they complied without firing a shot. The next day

they were prisoners in the stone church in Fishkill.

Before visiting the Wharton House, I called upon the Reverend Mr. Kip,

the pastor of the old church. He kindly allowed me to examine the

records of the society, which, until a late period, were made in the

Dutch language. They extend back to 1730, at whieh time, and for many

years afterward, the church at Fishkill and another at Poughkeepsie were

united, with the title of "The Parish Church at Fishkill and

Poughkeepsie." I could find no account of the building of the church,

but there is reason to believe that it was erected about the year 1725.

Mr. Kip showed me a silver tankard, belonging to the communion-service

of the church, which was presented to the society by Samuel Verplanek,

Esq., chiefly for the purpose of commemorating, by an inscription upon

it, a resident Norwegian, who died at the extraordinary age of six score

and eight years. *

I passed half an hour at the Wharton House, and, returning to the

village, sketched the old English church (now called Trinity) by the

way. It stands upon the west side of the road, in the suburbs of the

village, and in form is about the same as it was when it was used as an

hospital for the

* The following is a copy of the inscription: "Presented by Samuel

Verplanek, Esq., to the First Reformed Dutch Church in the town of

Fishkill, to commemorate Mr. Englebert Huff, by birth a Norwegian, in

his lifetime attached to the life guards of the Prince of Orange,

afterward King William III. of England. He resided for a number of years

in this country, and died, with unblemished reputation, at Fishkill,

21st of March, 1765, aged 128 years." It is related of Huff, that when

he was a hundred and twenty years old he made love to a pretty girl of

twenty. She already had an accepted lover of her own age, and of course

rejected the suit of the Nestor. The old suitor was indignant at the

refusal. He thought he had the best right to claim the heart and hand of

the maiden, for he had a hundred years more experience than "the foolish

boy," and knew better how to treat a wife than the interfering

stripling.

** This picture is also from a pencil sketch by Miss Newlin.

Printing of the first Constitution of the State of New York.--Head

quarters of Baron Steuben.--Anecdote of the Baron.

693sick, and as a meeting-place of the flying Legislature of New York,

when it adjourned from White Plains to Fishkill. According to the

records, the session here commenced on the 3d of September, 1776. A few

years since, while digging a grave in the yard, the sexton discovered a

skeleton, with bits of scarlet cloth and a brass button, the remains,

doubtless, of a British soldier, who was buried in his uniform.

An interesting bibliographic fact, connected with Fishkill, was

communicated to me by Gulian C. Verplanck, Esq. I have already noticed

the harassing circumstances under which the first republican

Constitution of the State of New York was elaborated, discussed, and

adopted the Legislature retiring before the approach of British

bayonets, first to Harlem, then to Kingsbridge, Yonkers, White Plains,

Fishkill, and Kingston. "The _Constitution of the State of New York,"_

says Mr. Verplanck, "was printed in 1777, and was the first, as well as

the most important book, ever printed in the state. The people could

find but one press in their domain with which to print this work of

their representatives. It was done at Fishkill, by Samuel Loudon, who

had been a Whig editor and printer in the city of New York, and who had

retired with his press to Fishkill, where was the chief deposit of

stores, hospitals, &c., of the northern army of the United States." **

Mr. Verplanck possesses a copy of this precious piece of American

typography. They have become almost as scarce as the Sibylline Books,

and quite as relatively valuable, for the principles therein embodied

foreshadowed the destiny of the commonwealth. Unlike Tarquin the Proud,

the possessor values it above all price.

I left the village toward noon, and, taking a more northerly route for

the ferry, visited the residence of the late Judge Verplanck, situated

in a beautiful, isolated spot, about a mile from the east bank of the

Hudson, and two miles northeast of Fishkill landing. It is approached

from the highway by a winding carriage track which traverses a broad,

undulating lawn, shaded by venerable trees. The old mansion is ol stone,

a story and a half high, with dormer windows, and in the style of the

best class of Dutch-built houses erected one hundred years ago. It was

owned by Samuel Verplanck, Esq., during the Revolution. An' addition,

two stories high, has been erected at the north end. I sketched only the

ancient edifice. This house is remarkable, in connection with my

subject, as the head-quarters of the Baron Steuben when the American

army was encamped in the vicinity of Newburgh, *** and also as the place

wherein the celebrated _Society of the Cincinnati_ was organized in

1783. The meeting for that purpose was held in the large square room on

the north side of the passage. **** The room is carefully preserved in

its original style.

* See page 387, this volume.

** I have a public document, printed there by Loudon, in 1776.

*** An anecdote illustrative of Steuben's generous character is related,

the scene of which was at Newburgh, at the time of the disbanding of the

army. Colonel Cochrane, whom I have mentioned in a former chapter, was

standing in the street, penniless, when Steuben tried to comfort him hy

saying that better times would come. "For myself," said the brave

officer, "I can stand it; but my wife and daughters are in the garret of

that wretched tavern, and I have nowhere to carry them, nor even money

to remove them." The baron's generous heart was touched, and, though

poor himself, he hastened to the family of Cochrane, poured the whole

contents of his purse upon the table, and left as suddenly as he had

entered. As he was walking toward the wharf, a wounded negro soldier

came up to him, bitterly lamenting that he had no means with which to

get to New York. The baron borrowed a dollar, and handing it to the

negro, hailed a sloop and put him on board. "God Almighty bless you,

baron!" said the negro, as his benefactor I walked away. Many similar

acts hallow the memory of the Baron Steuben.

**** The following record of the proceedings at the final meeting of the

convention I copied from the original manuscript in the possession of

Peter Force, Esq., of Washington City, and print it here as an

interesting scrap in the history of the closing scenes of the

Revolution.

**** "Cantonment of the American Army, 19th June, 1783.

**** "At a meeting of the general officers, and the gentlemen delegated

by the respective regiments,"as a convention for establishing the

Society of the Cincinnati, held by the request of the president, at

which were present Major-general Baron de Steuben, president; Major-

general Howe, Major-general Knox, Brigadier-general Paterson, Brigadier-

general Hand, Brigadier-general Huntington, Brigadier-general Putnam,

Colonel Webb, Lieutenant-colonel Huntington, Major Pettengill,

Lieutenant Whiting, Colonel H. Jackson, Captain Shaw, Lieutenant-colonel

Hull, Lieutenant-colonel Maxwell, and Colonel Cortlandt, General Baron

de Steuben acquainted the convention that he had, agreeably to their

request at the last meeting, transmitted to his excellency the Chevalier

de la Luzerne, minister plenipotentiary from the court of France, a copy

of the institution of the Society of the Cincinnati, with their vote

respecting his excellency and the other characters therein mentioned,

and that his excellency had returned an answer declaring his acceptance

of the same, and expressing the grateful sense he entertains of the

honor conferred on himself and the other gentlemen of the French nation

by this act of the convention.

**** "Resolved, That the letter of the Chevalier de la Luzerne be

recorded in the proceedings of this day, and deposited in the archives

of the society, as a testimony of the high sense this convention

entertain of the honor done to the society by his becoming a member

thereof.

**** (Here follows the letter.)

**** "The baron having also communicated a letter from Major l'Enfant,

inclosing a design for the medal and order containing the emblems of the

institution,

**** "Resolved, That the bald eagle, carrying the emblems on its breast,

be established as the order of the society, and that the ideas of Major

l'Enfant respecting it and the manner of its being worn by the mem-Ders,

as expressed in his letter, hereto annexed, be adopted. That the order

be of the same size, and in every other respect conformable to the said

design, which for that purpose is certified by the Baron de Steuben,

president of this convention, and to be deposited in the archives of the

society, as the original from which all copies are to be made. Also that

silver medals, not exceeding the size of a Spanish milled dollar, with

the emblems, as designed by Major l'Enfant and certified by the

president, be given to each and every member of the society, together

with a diploma, on parchment, whereon shall be impressed the exact

figures of the order and medal, as above mentioned, any thing in the

original institution respecting gold medals to the contrary

notwithstanding.

**** (Here follows Major l'Enfant's letter.)

**** "Resolved, That the thanks of this convention be transmitted by the

president to Major l'Enfant for his care and ingenuity in preparing the

aforementioned designs, and that he be acquainted that they cheerfully

embrace his offer of assistance, and request a continuance of his

attention in carrying the designs into execution, for which purpose the

president is desired to correspond with him.

**** "Resolved, That his excellency the commander-in-chief be requested

to officiate as president general, until the first general meeting, to

be held in May next. "That a treasurer general and a secretary general

be balloted for, to officiate in like manner.

**** "The ballots being taken, Major-general M'Dougall was^elected

treasurer general, and Major-general Knox secretary general, who are

hereby requested to accept said appointments.

**** "Resolved, That all the proceedings of this convention, including

the institution of the society, be recorded from the original papers in

his possession by Captain Shaw, who at the first meeting was requested

to act as secretary, and that the same, signed by the president and

secretary, together with the original papers, be given into the hands of

Major-general Knox, secretary general to the society, and that Captain

North, aid-de-camp to the Baron de Steuben, and acting secretary to him

as president, sign the said records.

**** "The dissolution of a very considerable part of the army, since the

last meeting of this convention, having rendered the attendance of some

of its members impracticable, and the necessity for some temporary

arrangements, previous to the first meeting of the general society,

being so strikingly obvious, the convention found itself constrained to

make those before mentioned, which they have done with the utmost

diffidence of themselves, and relying entirely on the candor of their

constituents to make allowance for the measure.

**** "The principal objects of its appointment being thus accomplished,

the members of this convention think fit to dissolve the same, and it is

hereby dissolved accordingly. "Steuben, Major General, President."

The Society of the Cincinnati.--Final Proceedings in the Organization of

the Institution

694"While contemplating a final separation of the officers of the army,"

says Doctor Thacher, "the tenderest feelings of the heart had their

afflicting operation. It was at the suggestion of General Knox, and with

the acquiescence of the commander-in-chief, that an expedient was

devised by which a hope was entertained that their long-cherished

friendship and social intercourse might be perpetuated, and that at

future periods they might annually communicate, and revive a

recollection of the bonds by which they were connected." *. Pursuant to

these suggestions, the officers held a meeting. A committee, consisting

of Generals

* Military Journal p. 317.

Plan and Name of the Society of the Cincinnati.--The Constitution.--

Opposition of Judge Burke and others.

695Knox. Hand, and Huntington, and Captain Shaw, was appointed to revise

the proposals for the institution. Another meeting was held on the 13th

of May, at the quarters of Steuben (Verplanck's), when the committee

reported. A plan, in the following words, was adopted, * and the society

was duly organized:

"It having pleased the Supreme Governor of the universe, in the

disposition of human affairs, to cause the separation of the colonies of

North America from the domination of. Great Britain, and, after a bloody

conflict of eight years, to establish them free, independent, and

sovereign states, connected by alliances, founded on reciprocal

advantages, with some of the greatest princes and powers of the earth:

"To perpetuate, therefore, as well the remembrance of this vast event,

as the mutual friendships which have been formed under the pressure of

common danger, and in many instances cemented by the blood of the

parties, the officers of the American army do hereby, in the most solemn

manner, associate, constitute, and combine themselves into one society

of friends, to endure so long as they shall endure, or any of their

eldest male posterity, and in failure thereof, the collateral branches,

who may be judged worthy of becoming its supporters and members. **

"The officers of the American army, having generally been taken from the

citizens of America, possess high veneration for the character of that

illustrious Roman, Lucius Quin-tius Cincinnatus, and being resolved to

follow his example, by returning to their citizenship, they think they

may with propriety denominate themselves the Society of the Cincinnati.

"The following principles shall be immutable, and form the basis of the

Society of the Cincinnati:

"An incessant attention to preserve inviolate those exalted rights and

liberties of human nature for which they have fought and bled, and

without which the high rank of a rational being is a curse instead of a

blessing.

"An unalterable determination to promote and cherish, between the

respective states, that unison and national honor so essentially

necessary to their happiness and the future dignity of the American

empire.

"To render permanent the cordial affection subsisting among the

officers, this spirit will dictate brotherly kindness in all things, and

particularly extend to the most substantial acts of beneficence,

according to the ability of the society, toward those officers and their

families who unfortunately may be under the necessity of receiving it.

"The general society will, for the sake of frequent communications, be

divided into state societies, and these again into such districts as

shall be directed by the state society.

"The societies of the districts to meet as often as shall be agreed on

by the state society; those of the state on the 4th day of July

annually, or oftener if they shall find it expedient; and the general

society on the first Monday in May annually, so long as they shall deem

it necessary, and afterward at least once in every three years.

* This document, according to Colonel Timothy Pickering, was drawn up by

Captain Shaw, who was the secretary of the committee.

** This clause gave considerable alarm to the more rigid Whigs, because

of the recognition of the right of primogeniture in membership

succession. Judge Ædanus Burke, of South Carolina, attacked it with much

vehemence, as an incipient order of nobility, and an attempt to

establish the pretensions of the military to rank above the mass of

citizens. The objection was groundless, for no civil, military,

political, or social prerogative was claimed. On the other hand, the

King of Sweden (Gustavus Adolphus III.) declined permitting the few

officers in the French army who were his subjects to wear the order of

the Cincinnati, on the ground that the institution had a republican

tendency not suited to his government. On this subject, Washington, in a

letter to Rochambeau, written in August, 1784. said, "Considering how

recently the King of Sweden has changed the form of the government of

that country, it is not so much to be wondered at that his fears should

get the better of his liberality as to any thing which might have the

semblance of republicanism; but when it is further considered how few of

his nation had, or could have, a right to the order, I think he might

have suffered his complaisance to have overcome them."--See Sparks's

Life and Writings of Washington, ix., 56.

Certificate of Membership of the Cincinnati.--The Design and Engraving.-

-Alteration of the Plate.

696"At each meeting, the principles of the institution will be fully

considered, and the best measures to promote them adopted.

"The state societies will consist of all the members residing in each

state respectively, and any member removing from one state to another is

to be considered in all respects as belonging to the society of the

state in which he shall actually reside. *

* This clause is omitted by Dr. Thacher and others. I find it in a

manuscript copy of the Constitution of the society, and records of the

proceedings at its formation, among the papers of Colonel Richard

Varick, in the handwriting of General William North.

** This engraving is a fac simile of a certificate, about one fourth the

size of the original, which is thirteen inches and a half in breadth,

and twenty inches in length. Tire originals are printed on fine vellum.

The plate was engraved in France by J. J. le Veau, from a drawing by

Aug. le Belle. I am indebted to the late James G. Wilson, son of Ensign

Wilson, named in the certificate, for the use of the original in making

this copy. The former was engraved on copper; this is engraved on wood.

The design represents American liberty as a strong man armed, bearing in

one hand the Union flag, and in the other a naked sword. Beneath his

feet are British flags, and a broken spear, shield, and chain. Hovering

by his side is the eagle, our national emblem, from whose talons the

lightning of destruction is flashing upon the British lion. Britannia,

with the crown falling from her head, is hastening toward a boat to

escape to a fleet, which denotes the departure of British power from our

shores. Upon a cloud, on the right, is an angel blowing a trumpet, from

which flutters a loose scroll. Upon the scroll are the sentences,

"Independence declared, A.D. 1776. Treaty of alliance with France

declared, A.D. 1778. Peace! independence obtained, A.D. 1783."

** Upon the medallion on the right is a device representing Cincinnatus

at his plow, a ship on the sea, and a walled town in the distance. Over

his head is a flying angel, holding a ribbon inscribed "Reward of

virtue." Below is a heart, with the words "Be thou perpetual." Upon the

rim is the legend, "Society of the Cincinnati, instituted 1783." The

device upon the medallion on the left is Cincinnatus with his family,

near his house. He is receiving a sword and shield from three senators;

an army is seen in the distance. Upon the rim are the words "He abandons

every thing to serve his country" (referring to Cincinnatus).

* There is a fact connected with this sentence worthy of notice. In the

earlier impressions from the plate, taken previous to the year 1785, the

sentence is Palam nuntiata libertas, not libertatis. Some person, who

doubtless supposed the original word to be incorrect, caused the letters

t i s to be crowded into the space occupied by the final s in libertas.

I have the authority of one of our most learned Latin critics, to whom

the question was submitted, for saying that the original word was

correct, and that the alteration renders the sentence ungrammatical and

totally incorrect, thereby destroying its meaning. Do any of our

historical antiquaries know by whose authority the alteration was made?

The Order of the Society.--The successive Presidents General.--Departure

for West Point.

697"The state societies to have a president, vice-president, secretary,

treasurer, and assistant treasurer, to be chosen annually by a majority

of votes at the stated meeting.

"In order to obtain funds which may be respectable, and assist the

unfortunate, each officer shall deliver to the treasurer of the state

society one month's pay, which shall remain forever to the use of the

state society. The interest only of which, if necessary, to be

appropriated to the relief of the unfortunate.

"The society shall have an _order,_ by which its members shall be known

and distinguished, which shall be a medal of gold, of a proper size to

receive the emblems, and be suspended by a deep blue ribbon, two inches

wide, edged with white, descriptive of the union of America with

France."

I am indebted to the kindness of Colonel Joseph "Warren Scott, of New

Brunswick, New Jersey, now (1850) the president of the society of that

state, for the following information respecting the successive

presidents general of the institution.

General Washington was the first president general, and continued in

office until his death, in December, 1799. In May, 1800, General

Alexander Hamilton was elected as his successor. He was killed in a duel

with Aaron Burr in 1804, and, at the next general meeting, General

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, of South Carolina, was elected as his

successor.

He died in August, 1825. At a special meeting of the society, held at

Philadelphia in November, 1826, Major-general Thomas Pinckney was

elected president general.1 At his death, Colonel Aaron Ogden, of New

Jersey, was elected to fill his place. He held the office until his

decease in April, 1838, when General Morgan Lewis, of New York, became

his successor. General Lewis died on the 7th of May, 1844, in his

ninetieth year, and the venerable Major Popham, also of New York, was

elected as his successor at the general meeting in November following.

Major Popham died in the summer of 1848, and, at the meeting in November

of that year, General Dearborn, the present incumbent, was elected to

supply the vacancy. Such is the brief history of a society over which

the venerated Washington first presided.

I left the interesting mansion wherein the society was organized at

noon, and reached Newburgh in time to dine and embark at half past one

for West Point, eight miles below.

* "At that meeting," says Colonel Scott, in a letter to me dated July 9,

1850, "delegates attended from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut,

New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and South Carolina. Colonel Ogden and

myself were delegates from New Jersey. At that meeting it was

ascertained that all the officers of the society but one had departed

this life. The survivor was Major Jackson, of Pennsylvania. These

communications were given and received in sadness, and a respectful and

affectionate notice was taken of those who had left us forever."

** This was drawn from an original in the possession of Edward Phalon,

Esq., of New York. The engraving is the exact size of the original. The

leaves of the sprigs of laurel are of gold, and green enamel; the head

and tail of the eagle gold, and white enamel; and the sky in the center

device blue enamel. The device and motto are the same as upon the

medallion on the right of the certificate.

West Point and its Associations.--Mrs. Faugeres.--Sufferings of Mrs.

Bleeckor

698

CHAPTER XXX.

"What though no cloister gray nor ivyed column

Along these cliffs their somber ruins rear;

What though no frowning tower nor temple solemn

Of despots tell, and superstition here;

What though that moldering fort's fast-crumbling walls

Did ne'er inclose a baron's bannered halls,

"Its sinking arches once gave back as proud

An echo to the war-blown clarion's peal--

As gallant hearts its battlements did crowd

As ever beat beneath a breast of steel,

When herald's trump on knighthood's haughtiest day

Called forth chivalric hosts to battle-fray."

C. F. Hoffmax

"Low sunk between the Alleghanian hills

For many a league the sullen waters glide,

And the deep murmur of the crowded tide

With pleasing awe the wondering voyager fills.

On the green summit of yon lofty clift

A peaceful runnel gurgles clear and slow,

Then down the craggy steep-side dashing swift,

Tumultuous falls in the white surge below."

Margaretta V. Faugeres.

N the midst of wild mountain scenery, picturesque but not magnificent

when compared with the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the Adirondack

and Catskill range in New York, or the Alleghanies in Western

Pennsylvania and Virginia, is a bold promontory called West Point,

rising more than one hundred and fifty feet above the waters of the

Hudson, its top a perfectly level and fertile plateau, and every rood

hallowed by associations of the deepest interest. West Point! What a

world of thrilling reminiscences has the utterance of that name brought

to ten thousand memories in times past, now, alas! nearly all slumbering

in the dreamless sleep of the dead! How does it awaken the generous

emotions of patriotic reverence for the men, and things, and times of

the Revolution, in the bosoms of th*e present generation! Nor is it by

the associations alone that the traveler is moved with strong emotions

when approaching West Point; the stranger, indifferent to our history

and of all but the present, feels a glow of admira-

* Mrs. Faugeres was the grand-daughter of Brandt Schuyler, and daughter

of Mrs. Anne Eliza Bleeeker, one of the notable sufferers from the

invasion of Burgoyne in 1777. Mrs. Bleecker was then living, with her

husband, about eighteen miles from Albany. Mr. Bleecker went to that

city to make arrangements for moving his family thither. While absent,

Mrs. Bleeeker heard of the approach of Burgoyne and his horde of

savages, and, leading her eldest child by the hand, and bearing her

youngest in her arms, she started on foot for Albany. After a wearisome

journey of a day, and a night passed in a wretched garret, she started

forward with her precious charge, and soon met her husband, with whom

she returned to the city. Her babe died a few days afterward, and within

a month her mother expired in her arms, at Red Hook, in Dutchess county.

Her husband was afterward captured by a party of Tories. This event, and

his sudden restoration when she thought him dead, so overpowered her,

that her constitution sunk beneath the shocks, and she died in the

autumn of 1783. Margaretta (afterward Mrs. Faugeres) was the "sweet

sister" alluded to in the following lines, extracted from a poem written

by Mrs. Bleecker on the death of her child:

"Rich in my children, on my arms I bore My living treasures from the

scalper's power. When I sat down to rest beneath some shade, On the soft

grass how innocent she play'd, While her sweet sister from the fragrant

wild Collects the flowers to please my precious child."

Scenery around West Point--The Military Establishment.--Wood's

Monument.--Interesting Relics.

699tion as he courses along the sinuous channel of the river or climbs

the rough hills that embosom it. The inspiration of nature then takes

possession of his heart and mind, and

"When he treads

The roek-encumbered crest, and feels the strange

And wild tumultuous throbbings of his heart,

Its every chord vibrating with the touch

Of the high power that reigns supreme o'er all,

He well may deem that lips of angel-forms

Have breathed to him the holy melody

That fills his o'erfraught heart."

Bayard Taylor.

The high plain is reached by a carriage-way that winds up the bank from

the landing; the visitor overlooking, in the passage, on the right, the

little village of Camptown, which comprises the barracks of United

States soldiers and a few dwellings of persons not immediately connected

with the military works. On the left, near the summit, is "the Artillery

Laboratory," and near by, upon a little hillock, is an obelisk erected

to the memory of Lieutenant-colonel Wood. * On the edge of the cliff,

overlooking the steam boat landing, is a spacious hotel, where I booked

myself as a boarder for a day or two. A more delightful spot,

particularly in summer, for a weary traveler or a professed lounger, can

not easily be found, than the broad piazza of that public dwelling

presents. Breezy in the hottest weather, and always enlivened by

pleasant company, the sojourner need not step from beneath its shadow to

view a most wonderful variety of pleasing objects in nature and art.

Upon the grassy plain before him are buildings of the military

establishment--the Academic Halls, the Philosophical and Library

buildings, the Observatory, the Chapel, the Hospital, the Barracks and

Mess Hall of the cadets, and the beautifully shaded dwellings of the

officers and professors that skirt the western side of the plateau at

the base of the hills. On the parade the cadets, in neat uniform,

exhibit their various exercises, and an excellent band of music delights

the ear. Lifting the eyes to the westward, the lofty summit of Mount

Independence, crested by the gray ruins of Fort Putnam, and beyond it

the loftier apex of Redoubt Hill, are seen. Turning a little northward,

Old Cro' Nest and Butter Hill break the horizon nearly half way to the

zenith; and directly north, over Martelaer's Roek or Constitution

Island, through the magnificent cleft in the chain of hills through

which the Hudson flows, is seen the bright waters of Newburgh Bay, the

village glittering in the sunbeams, and the beautiful, cultivated slopes

of Dutchess and Orange. The scenery at the eastward is better

comprehended and more extensive as seen from Fort Putnam, whither we

shall presently climb.

I passed the remainder of the afternoon among the celebrities clustered

around October 26, 1848 the plain. I first visited the Artillery

Laboratory, where are deposited several interesting trophies and relics

of the Revolution. In the center of the court is a group of great

interest, consisting of a large brass mortar, mounted, which was taken

from the English when Wayne captured Stony Point; two small brass

mortars, taken from Burgoyne at Saratoga, and a portion of the famous

chain whieh the Americans stretched across the river at West Point to

obstruct the passage of the vessels of the enemy. The large mortar

* The following is the inscription on this monument: "To the memory of

Lieutenant-eolonel E. D. Wood, of the corps of engineers, who fell while

leading n charge at the sortie of Fort Erie, Upper Canada, 17th of

September, 1814, in the 31st year of his age. He was exemplary as a

Christian, and distinguished as a soldier. A pupil of this institution,

* he died an honor to his country. This memorial was erected by his

friend and commander, Major-general Jacob Brown."

* Military Academy at West Point.

Size of the Mortars and Chain.--Position of the Chain in the River.--

Other Relics.--Koseiuszko's Monument

700has a caliber of ten and a half inches; the smaller ones, of four

inches and three quarters. The former is emblazoned with the English

coat of arms, beneath which is engraved _"Aschaleh, fecit_, 1741."

There are twelve links, two clevises, and a portion of a link of the

great chain remaining. The links are made of iron bars, two and a half

inches square, average in length a little over two feet, and weigh about

one hundred and forty pounds each. The chain was stretched across the

river at the narrowest point between the rocks just below the steam-boat

landing, and Constitution Island opposite. It was fixed to huge blocks

on each shore, and under the cover of batteries on both sides of the

river. The remains of these are still visible. "It is buoyed up," says

Doctor Thacher, writing in 1780, "by very large logs of about sixteen

feet long, pointed at the ends, to lessen their opposition to the force

of the current at flood and ebb tide. The logs are placed at short

distances from each other, the chain carried over them, and made fast to

each by staples. There are also a number of anchors dropped at proper

distances, with cables made fast to the chain, to give it greater

stability." * The history of this chain will be noted presently.

Near this group is a cannon, by the premature discharge of which, in

1817, a cadet named Lowe was killed. There is a beautiful monument

erected to his memory in the cemetery of the institution. I observed

several long French cannons, inscribed with various dates; and among

others, two brass field-pieces, of British manufacture, bearing the

monogram of the king, "G R.," and the inscription "_W. Bowen, fecit_,

1755." These were presented to General Greene by order of Congress, as

an inscription among the military emblems avers. **

At the northeast corner of the plain, a little eastward of the hotel,

are mounds denoting the ramparts of old Fort Clinton. Among these mounds

stands the monument erected to the memory of Kosciuszko. It is made of

white marble, and is a conspicuous object to travelers upon the river.

On one side of the pedestal, in large letters, is the name Kosci-

* Military Journal, page 211.

** The inscription is as follows: "Taken from the British army, and

presented, by order of the United States in Congress assembled, to

Major-general Greene, as a monument * of their high sense of the wisdom,

fortitude, and military talents which distinguished his command in the

Southern department, and of the eminent services which, amid complicated

dangers and difficulties, he performed for his country. October ye 18th,

1783."

* To the dishonor of our country, it must be said that these two brazen

cannons form the only "monument" ever made to the memory of that great

commander. Savannah, in Georgia, has a ward and a square bearing his

name, and in the center of the latter in the foundation stone of an

intended monument to his memory. This and the corner-stone of a monument

to Pulaski were laid by La Fayette in 1825. For a further notice of this

matter, See page 514, vol. ii

Kosciuszko's Garden.--Other Localities.--Fort Arnold.--Fort Putnam.

701üszko; and on the other is the brief inscription, "_Erected by the

Corps of Cadets,_ 1828." The monument was completed in 1829, at a cost

of five thousand dollars.

A drawing of it forms a portion of the vignette of the map printed on

page 137. From this monument the view of the river and adjacent scenery,

especially at the northward, is very fine, and should never be

unobserved by the visitor.

Emerging from the remains of Fort Clinton, the path, traversing the

margin of the cliff, passes the ruins of a battery, and descends, at a

narrow gorge between huge rocks, to a flight of wooden steps. These

terminate at the bottom upon a grassy terrace a few feet wide, over

which hangs a shelving cliff covered with shrubbery. This is called

Kosciuszko's Garden, from the circumstance of its having been a favorite

resort of that officer while stationed there as engineer for a time

during the Revolution. In the center of the terrace is a marble basin,

from the bottom of which bubbles up a tiny fountain of pure water. It is

said that the remains of a fountain constructed by Kosciuszko was

discovered in 1802, when it was removed, and the marble bowl which now

receives the jet was placed there.

It is a beautiful and romantic spot, shaded by a weeping willow and

other trees, and having seats provided for those who wish to linger.

Upon a smooth spot, high upon the rocks and half overgrown with moss,

are slight indications of written characters. Tradition says it is the

remains of the name of Kosciuszko, inscribed by his own hand; but I

doubt the report, for he possessed too much common sense to be guilty of

such folly as the mutilated benches around the fountain exhibit; his

name was already upon the tablet of Polish history, and his then present

deeds were marking it deep upon that of our war for independence.

The sun had gone down behind the hills when I ascended from the garden

to the plain. The cadets were performing their evening parade, and, as

the last rays left Bear Hill and the Sugar Loaf, the evening gun and the

tattoo summoned them to quarters. During the twilight hour, I strolled

down the road along the river bank, half a mile beyond the barracks, to

Mr. Kingsley's Classical School, situated upon a commanding eminence

above the road leading to Buttermilk Falls. Near his residence was a

strong redoubt, called Fort Arnold, one of the outposts of West Point in

the Revolution. I was informed that the remains are well preserved; but

it was too dark to distinguish an artificial mound from a natural

hillock, and I hastened back to my lodgings.

Unwilling to wait until the late hour of eight for breakfast the next

morning, I arose at dawn, and before sunrise I stood among the ruins of

Fort Putnam, on the pinnacle of Mount Independence, nearly five hundred

feet above the river.

I had waked

From a long sleep of many changing dreams,

And now in the fresh forest air I stood

View from the Ruins of Fort Putnam.--Names of the Highland Peaks.--

Drake's "Culprit Fan

702

Nerved to another day of wandering.

The sky bent round

The awful domes of a most mighty temple,

Built by Omnipotent hands for nothing less

Than infinite worship. Here I stood in silence;

I had no words to tell the mingled thoughts

Of wonder and of joy that then came o'er me

Even with a whirlwind's rush."

James G. Percival.

Around me were strewn mementoes of the Revolution. My feet pressed the

russet turf upon the ramparts of a ruined fort. Eastward, behind which

were glowing the splendors of approaching day, stretched a range of

broken hills, on whose every pinnacle the vigilant patriots planted

batteries and built watch-fires. At their feet, upon a fertile terrace

almost a mile in breadth, was the "Beverly House," from which Arnold

escaped to the Vulture; old Phillipstown, around which a portion of the

Revolutionary army was cantoned in 1781, * and intermediate localities,

all rich with local traditions and historic associations. On the left,

over Constitution Island, arose the smoke of the furnaces and forges at

Cold Spring, a thriving village at the river terminus of a mountain

furrow that slopes down from the eastern hills. A little beyond, and

beneath the frowning crags of Mount Taurus, ** appeared "Under Cliff,"

the country seat of George P. Morris, Esq., lying like a pearl by the

side of a sleeping giant, and just visible in the fading shadows of the

mountains. Nowhere in our broad land is there a more romantic nook, or

more appropriate spot for the residence of an American song-writer than

this,

"Where Hudson's waves o'er silvery sands

Winds through the hills afar,

And Cro' Nest like a monarch stands

Crown'd with a single star."

Morris.

Hark! the sunrise gun on the plain below hath spoken! How eagerly its

loud voice is caught up by echo and carried from hill to hill! The Sugar

Loaf answers to Redoubt Mountain, and Anthony's Nose to Bear Mountain

and the Dunderberg, and then there is only a soft whisper floating away

over the waters of the Haverstraw. The reveille is beating; the shrill

notes of the fife, and the stirring music of the cornet-players, come up

and fill the soul with a martial spirit consonant with the place and its

memories. Here, then, let us sit down upon the lip of this rock-

fountain, within the ruins of the fort, and commune a while with the old

chronicler.

The importance of fortifying the Hudson River at its narrow passes among

the High-

* It was here that the general inoculation of the soldiers of the

Continental army was performed by Doctors Cochrane, Thacher, Munson, and

others, as mentioned on page 307, vol. i.

** This, in plain English and common parlance, is Bull Hill. I feel very

much disposed to quarrel with my countrymen for their want of taste in

giving names to localities. They have discarded the beautiful

"heathenish" names of the Indian verbal geographies, and often

substituted the most commonplace and inappropriate title that human

ingenuity, directed earthward, could invent--Bull Hill! Crow's Nest!

Butter Hill!! Ever blessed be the name and memory of Joseph Rodman

Drake, whose genius has clothed these Highland cones, despite their

vulgar names, with a degree of classic interest, by thus summoning there

with the herald voice of imagination,

"Ouphe and goblin! imp and sprite! Elf of eve and starry fay! Ye that

love the moon's soft light, Hither, hither wend your way. Twine ye in a

jocund ring; Sing and trip it merrily; Hand to hand and wing to wing,

Round the wild witch-hazel tree!" The Culprit Fat, canto xxxvi. *

* This beautiful poem was written con amort, during a brief ramble of

the author among the Hudson Highlands

Fortifications in the Highlands ordered.--Action of the New York

Assembly.--Fort Constitution.

703lands was suggested to the Continental Congress by the Provincial

Assembly of New York at an early period of the war. On the 10th of

October, 1775, the former directed the latter to proceed to make such

fortifications as they should deem best. *

On the l8th of November, Congress resolved to appoint a commander for

the fortress, with the rank of colonel, and recommended the New York

Assembly, or Convention, to empower him to raise a body of two hundred

militia from the counties of Dutchess, Orange, and Ulster, and a company

of artillery from New York city, to garrison them. The Convention was

also recommended to forward from Kingsbridge such ordnance as they

should think proper. ***

That body had already taken action. On the 18th of August, a committee

was appointed to superintend the erection of forts and batteries in the

vicinity of "West Point. **** They employed Bernard Romans, an English

engineer (who, at that time, held the same office in the British army),

to construct the works; and Martelaer's Roek (now Constitution Island),

opposite West Point, was the chosen spot for the principal

fortification. Romans commenced operations on the 29th of August, and on

the 12th of October he applied to Congress for a commission, with the

rank and pay of colonel.

It was this application which caused the action of Congress on the 18th

of November. In the mean while, Romans and his employers quarreled, and

the commission was never granted; the work was soon afterward completed

by others. The fort was named _Constitution,_ and the island has since

borne that title. (v) The fort and its outworks were quite extensive,

though the main fortress was built chiefly of perishable materials, on

account of the apparent necessity for its speedy erection. The whole

cost was about twenty-five thousand dollars.

The remains of the fort and surrounding batteries are scattered over the

island. Near the highest point on the western end are the

* Journals of Congress, i., 199.

** This little sketch is a view of the remains of the casemates, or

vaults, of Fort Putnam. There were nine originally, but only six remain

in a state of fair preservation. They were built of brick and covered

with stone; were twelve feet wide and eighteen feet deep, with an arched

roof twelve feet high. Each one had a fire-place, and they seem to have

been used for the purposes of barracks, batteries, and magazines. In the

center of the fort is a spring, that bubbles up in a rocky basin. The

whole interior is very rough, it being the pinnacle of a bald, rocky

elevation.

*** Journals of Congress, i., 223.

**** The committee consisted of Isaac Sears, John Berrien, Colonel

Edward Fleming, Anthony Rutger, and Christopher Atiller. Fleming and

Rutger declined the appointment, and Captain Samuel Bayard and Captain

William Bedlow were appointed in their places.

* (v) This island belonged to the widow of Captain Ogilvie, of the

British army, and her children, during the Revolution, as appears by a

correspondence between the New York Committee of Safety and Colonel

Beverly Robinson. The committee supposed that the island belonged to

Robinson, and applied to him for its purchase. In his reply, he

mentioned the fact of its belonging to Mrs. Ogilvie, and added, "Was it

mine, the publie should be extremely welcome to it. The building of the

fort there can be no disadvantage to the small quantity of arable land

on the island." Robinson afterward chose the royal side of the political

question, and held the commission of a colonel in the British army.

* (vi) This plan of Fort Constitution is from Romans's report to the

Committee of Safety of New York, on the 14th of September, 1775, and

published in the American Archives, iii., 735.

* Explanation.--a, guard-room and store-house; b, barracks; c, block-

house and main guard; d, magazine; e, the gateway; 1, a battery of four

four-pounders; 2, three twelve-pounders; 3, three twelve-pounders and

one nine-pounder; 4, five eighteen-pounders; 5, four twelve-pounders; 6,

three eighteen-pounders; 7 and 8. one each, nine and twelve-pounder; 9,

one four-pounder.

New Forts in the Highlands proposed.--West Point selected.--Radiêre and

other Engineers from France

704well-preserved remains of the magazine, the form of which is given in

the annexed diagram. It is upon a high rock, accessible only on one

side. The whole wall is quite perfect, except at the doorway, D, where a

considerable portion has fallen down and blocked up the entrance.

After the capture of Forts Clinton and Montgomery, near the lower

entrance to the Highlands, in 1777, and the abandonment of Fort

Constitution by the Americans a few days afterward, public attention was

directed to the importance of other and stronger fortifications in that

vicinity. On the 5th of November, Congress appointed General Gates to

command in the Highlands, or rather that post was connected with the

Northern department. Gates was made president of the Board of War about

that time, and never entered upon the prescribed duties in the

Highlands.

Anxious to have those passes strongly guarded, Washington requested

General Putnam to bestow his most serious attention upon that important

December 2, 1777subject. He also wrote to Governor Clinton, at the same

time, desiring him to take the immediate supervision of the work; but

his legislative duties, then many and pressing, made it difficult for

him to comply. Clinton expressed his willingness to devote as much time

as possible to the matter, and also made many valuable suggestions

respecting the proposed fortifications. He mentioned West Point as the

most eligible site for a strong fort.

Duty calling General Putnam to Connecticut, and General Parsons not

feeling himself authorized to progress with the works, but little was

done until the arrival of General a 1778. M'Dougal, who took command on

the 20th of March following. (a) In the mean (b) January, while,

several officers examined various localities in the neighborhood, (b)

and all were in favor of erecting a strong fort on West Point, except La

Radière, a French engineer. *

A committee of the New York Legislature, after surveying several sites,

unanimously recommended West Point as the most eligible. Works were

accordingly commenced there, under the direction of Kosciuszko, who had

been appointed to succeed Radière in the Highlands, his skill being

quite equal, and his manners more acceptable to the people. Kosciuszko

arrived on the 20 th of March, and the works were pushed toward

completion with much spirit. The principal redoubt, constructed chiefly

of logs and earth, was completed before May, and named Fort Clinton. It

was six hundred yards around within the walls. The embankments were

twenty-one feet at base, and fourteen feet high. There were barracks and

1773.

* The American commissioners in France were instructed by Congress to

procure some good engineers for the Continental army. Franklin and Deane

contracted with four officers of this description, who had served in

such capacity, under commissions, in the French army, namely, Duportail,

Laumoy, Radiere, and Gouvion. These officers came to the United States

with the knowledge and approbation of the French government, and were

the only ones engaged by the express authority of Congress. The

Chevalier Duportail was appointed colonel of engineers, Laumoy and

Radière lieutenant colonels, and Gouvion major, was afterward promoted

to a brie dière to colonels, and Gouvion to dière died in the service at

the beginning of 1780. See Journals of Congress, iii., 224, 322, 403.

** This view is from a print published in the New York Magazine for

1790. It was taken from Constitution Island. On the left is seen a

portion of old Fort Constitution. The great chain, four hundred and

fifty yards in length, and covered by a strong battery, is seen

stretched across the river, immediately below Fort Clinton, the

structure on the high point. In the distance, on the left, two mountain

summits are seen, crowned with fortifications. These were the North and

Middle Redoubts. Upon the range of the Sugar Loaf Mountain, higher than

these, and hidden, in the view, by Fort Clinton, was another redoubt,

called the South Battery. The view on page 708 I sketched from the same

spot whence this was taken.

West Point in 1780.--Construction of the great Chain.--History of the

Work.--Map of West Point

705huts for about six hundred men. * The cliff on which Fort Clinton was

erected rises one hundred and eighty-eight feet above the river, and is

more elevated than the plain in the rear.

The only accessible point from the river was at the house and dock, on

the water's edge seen in the engraving. That point is now a little above

the steam-boat landing. This weak point was well defended by palisades

To defend Fort Clinton, and more thoroughly to secure the river against

the passage of an enemy's fleet, it was thought advisable to fortify the

heights in the neighborhood. The foundation of a strong fort was

accordingly laid on Mount Independence, and, when completed, it was

named _Putnam_, in honor of the commander of the post. On eminences

south of it. Forts Webb, Wyllys, and other redoubts were constructed;

and at the close of 1779, West Point was the strongest military post in

America. In addition to the batteries that stood menacingly upon the

hill tops, the river was obstructed by an enormous iron chain, the form

and size of which is noted on page 132. The iron of which this chain was

constructed was wrought from ore of equal parts, from the Stirling and

Long Mines, in Orange county. The chain was manufactured by Peter

Townshend, of Chester, at the Stirling Iron Works, in the same county,

which were situated about twenty-five miles back of West Point. ** The

general superintendent of the work, as engineer, was Captain Thomas

Machin, who afterward assisted in the engineering operations at York-

* Note.--This map exhibits all of the most important localities at West

Point during the Revolution and at the present time. It will be seen

that the Hudson River rail-road crosses the cove and Constitution Island

a little eastward of the ruins of the main fortress, on that side of the

river. The island is owned by Henry W. Warner, Esq., and upon the

eminence where the ravelins of the fort were spread is his beautiful

country seat, called "Wood Crag," The kitchen part of his mansion is a

portion of the barracks erected there in the autumn of 1775.

* Letter of General Putnam to the commander-in-chief, January, 1778. In

this letter, Putnam gives, a few words, a picture of the terrible

privations which the soldiers in the Highlands were enduring, while

those at Valley Forge were also suffering intensely. "Dubois's

regiment," he says, "is unfit to be ordered on duty, there being not one

blanket in the regiment. Very few have either a shoe or a shirt, and

most of them have neither stockings, breeches, or overalls. Several

companies of enlisted artificers are in the same situation, and unable

to work in the field.

** The Stirling Works are still in operation. They are situated on the

outlet of Stirling Pond, about five miles southwest of the Sloatsburg

station, on the Erie rail-way. They are owned by descendants of Peter

Townshend, and have now been in operation about one hundred years,

having been established in 1751, by Lord Stirling (the Revolutionary

general) and others.

The Chain weakened by Arnold.--Importance of West Point.--Establishment

of the Military Academy there.

706town, when Cornwallis was captured. The chain was completed about the

middle of April, 1778, and on the 1st of May it was stretched across the

river and secured. *

When Benedict Arnold was arranging his plans to deliver West Point and

its dependencies into the hands of the enemy, this chain became a

special object of his attention; and it is related that, a few days

before the discovery of his treason, he wrote a letter to André, in a

disguised hand and manner, informing him that he had weakened the

obstructions in the river by ordering a link of the chain to be taken

out and carried to the smith, under a pretense that it needed repairs.

He assured his employer that the link would not be returned to its place

before the forts should be in possession of the enemy. Of the treason of

Arnold I shall write presently.

West Point was considered the keystone of the country during the

Revolution, and there a large quantity of powder, and other munitions of

war and military stores, were collected. These considerations combined,

made its possession a matter of great importance to the enemy, and hence

it was selected by Arnold as the prize which his treason would give as a

bribe. When peace returned, it was regarded as one of the most important

military posts in the country, and the plateau upon the point was

purchased by the United States government. Repairs were commenced on

Fort Putnam in 1794, but little was done. Not being included in the

government purchase, the owner of the land on which the fort stood felt

at liberty to appropriate its material to his private use, and for years

the work of demolition was carried on with a Vandal spirit exercised

only by the ignorant or avaricious. It was not arrested until Congress

purchased the Gridly Farm (see the map), on which the fort stood, in

1824, when the work had become almost a total ruin.

The Military Academy at West Point was established by an act of

Congress, which became a law on the 16th of March, 1802. Such an

institution, at that place, was proposed by Washington to Congress in

1793; and earlier than this, even before the war of the Revolution had

closed, he suggested the establishment of a military school there. **

But little progress was made in the matter until 1812, when, by an act

of Congress, a corps of engineers and of professors were organized, and

the school was endowed with the most attractive features of a literary

institution, mingled with that of the military character. From that

period until the present, the academy has been increasing in importance,

in a military point of view. Over three thousand young men have been

educated there, and, under the superintendence of Major Delafield, who

was appointed commandant in 1838, it continues to flourish. The value of

the instruction received there was made very manifest during the late

war with Mexico; a large portion of the most skillful officers of our

army, in that conflict, being graduates of this academy.

The bell is ringing for breakfast; let us close the record and descend

to the plain.

* Gordon and other early writers have promulgated the erroneous opinion

that this chain was constructed in 1777, and was destroyed by the

British fleet that passed up the Hudson and burned Kingston in October

of that year. Misled by these authorities, I have published the same

error in my Seventeen Hundred and Seventy-six. Documentary evidence,

which is far more reliable than the best tradition, shows that the chain

was constructed in the spring of 1778. Colonel Timothy Pickering,

accompanied by Captain Machin, arrived at the house of Mr. Townshend

late on a Saturday night in March of that year, to engage him to make

the chain. Townshend readily agreed to construct it; and in a violent

snow-storm, amid the darkness of the night, the parties set out for the

Stirling Iron Works. At daylight on Sunday morning the forges were in

operation. New England teamsters carried the links, as fast as they were

finished, to West Point, and in the space of six weeks the whole chain

was completed. It weighed one hundred and eighty tons.

** In the spring of 1783, Washington communicated a request to all his

principal officers, then in camp at Newburgh, and also to Governor

Clinton, to give him their views in reference to a peace establishment,

which must soon be organized. They complied, and, from their several

letters, Washington compiled a communication to Congress, extending to

twenty-five folio pages. In that communication, the commander-in-chief

opposed the proposition of several officers to establish military

academies at the different arsenals in the United States, and

recommended the founding of one at West Point. For his proposed plan in

outline. See Washington's Life and Writings, viii., p. 417, 418.

Forts Webb, Wyllys, and Putnam.--Visit to Constitution Island.--Remains

of Fort Constitution.

707The winding road from Fort Putnam to the plain is well wrought along

the mountain Bide, but quite steep in many places. A little south of it,

and near the upper road leading to the stone quarries and Mr.

Kingsley's, are the ruins of Fort Webb, a strong redoubt, built upon a

rocky eminence, and designed as an advanced defense of Fort Putnam.

A short distance below this, on another eminence, are the remains of

Fort Wyllys, a still stronger fortification. I visited these before

returning to the hotel, and from the broken ramparts of Fort Webb

sketched this distant view of Fort Putnam.

After a late breakfast, I procured the service of a waterman to convey

me in his skill' to Constitution island, and from thence down to

Buttermilk Falls, * two miles below West Point. I directed him to come

for me at the island within an hour and a half, but, either forgetting

his engagement or serving another customer, it was almost noon before I

saw him, when my patience as well as curiosity was quite exhausted I had

rambled over the island, making such sketches as I desired, and for

nearly an hour i sat upon a smooth bowlder by the margin of the river,

near the remains of the redoubt made to cover and defend the great chain

at the island end. On the southeast side of a small marshy cove,

clasping a rough rock, a good portion of the heavy walls of Fort

Constitution remain. The outworks are traceable several rods back into

the stinted forest. The sketch on the next page is from the upper edge

of the cove, and includes, on the left, a view of the re-

* These falls derive their name, from the milky appearance of the water

as it rushes in a white foam over the rocks in a series of cascades.

Buttermilk Falls.--A venerable Boatman.--Beverly Dock and Robinson

House.--Arnold's Willow.

708mains of the redoubt across the river, the site of Fort Clinton, the

chain, and Kosciuszko's monument, and, in the distance, Fort Hill, in

the neighborhood of Ardenia and the Robinson House.

From Constitution Island we proceeded along under the high cliffs of

West Point to Buttermilk Falls. There was a strong breeze from the south

that tossed our little craft about like an egg-shell, and my cloak was

well moistened with the spray before reaching the landing. There, in a

little cottage, overhung by a huge cliff that seemed ready to tumble

down, lived-a boatman, named Havens, seventy-nine years old. For more

than fifty years himself and wife have lived there under the rocks and

within the chorus of the cascades. He was too young to remember the

stirring scenes of the Revolution, but immediate subsequent events were

fresh in his recollection. He was engaged in removing powder from Fort

Clinton, at West Point, when the Clermont, Fulton's experiment boat,

with its bare paddles, went up the river, exciting the greatest wonder

in its course.

After I had passed a half hour pleasantly with this good old couple, the

veteran prepared his little boat and rowed me across to "Beverly Dock"

(the place from whence Arnold escaped in his barge to the Vulture),

where he agreed to await my return from a visit to the Robinson House,

three quarters of a mile distant. The path lay along the border of a

marsh and up a steep hill, the route which tradition avers Arnold took

in his flight. Two of the old willow trees, called "Arnold's willows,"

were yet standing on the edge of the morass, riven and half decayed.

The Robinson House, formerly owned by Colonel Beverly Robinson, is

situated upon a fertile plateau at the foot of Sugar Loaf

Mountain, one of the eastern ranges of the Highlands, which rises in

conical form to an elevation of eight hundred feet above the plain. This

mansion, spacious for the times, is at present occupied by Lieutenant

Thomas Arden, graduate of West Point, who, with taste, preserves every

part of it in its original character. The lowest building, on the left,

was the farm-house, attached to the other two which formed the family

mansion. Here Colonel Robinson lived in quiet, but not in retirement,

for his house had

* This house, the property of Richard D. Arden, Esq. (father of the

proprietor), is now called Beverly, the Christian name of Colonel

Robinson. The dock built by Colonel R., and yet partially in existence,

is Beverly Dock. The fine estate of Mr. Arden he has named Ardenia. This

view is from the lawn on the south side of the house. The highest part,

on the right, was the portion occupied by Arnold. On the extreme right

is an ancient cherry-tree, which doubtless bore fruit during the

Revolution. This mansion was the country residence of Colonel Beverly

Robinson, who married a daughter of Frederic Phillipse, the owner of an

immense landed estate on the Hudson. Colonel Robinson was a son of John

Robinson, who was president of the Council of Virginia on the retirement

of Governor Gooch in 1731 He was a major in the British army under Wolfe

at the storming of Quebec in 1759. He emigrated to New York, and became

very wealthy by his marriage. The mansion here delineated was his

residence when the war of the Revolution broke out, and, loving quiet,

he refrained from engaging in the exciting events of the day. He was

opposed to the course of the ministry during the few years preceding the

war, joined heartily in carrying out the spirit of the non-importation

agreements, but, opposed to any separation of the colonies from the

parent country, he took sides with the Loyalists when the Declaration of

Independence was promulgated. He removed to New York, and there raised a

military corps called the Loyal American Regiment, of which he was

commissioned the colonel. His son, Beverly, was commissioned its

lieutenant colonel. It is supposed that he was Arnold's correspondent

and confidant in his preliminary acts of treason, and that the

intentions of the traitor were known to him before any intimation of

them was made to Sir Henry Clinton. Robinson figures publicly in that

affair, and his country mansion was the head-quarters of the recusant

general while arranging the crowning acts of his treachery. At the

conclusion of the war, Colonel Robinson and a portion of his family went

to England, where he remained until his death, which occurred at

Thornburn in 1792, at the age of 69 years. His wife died in 1822, at the

age of 94. Colonel Robinson and Washington were personal friends before

the war, and it is asserted that, at the house of the former, the

Virginian colonel, while on his way to Boston in 1756, to consult

General Shirley on military affairs, saw and "fell in love" with Miss

Mary Phillipse, a sister of Mrs. Robinson. It is also said that

Washington made a proposition of marriage to her, but she refused him,

telling him frankly that she loved another. The favored suitor was Roger

Morris, one of Washington's companions in arms in the battle of the

Great Meadows, where Braddock was killed. Morris was that general's aid-

de-camp. A portrait of this lady may be found on page 626, vol. ii. The

miniature from which this likeness of Colonel Robinson was copied is in

the possession of his grandson, Beverly Robinson, Esq., of New York. It

was painted by Mr. Plott in 1785, when Colonel Robinson was sixty-two

years old. The letter from which I copied his signature was written in

1786. The last surviving son of Colonel Robinson (Sir Frederick Philipse

Robinson), died at his residence, at Brighton, England, on the 1st of

January, 1852, at the age of 87 years.

Arnold in Philadelphia.--His Extravagance.--Marriage with Miss Shippen.-

-Memoir of Beverly Robinson.

709too wide a reputation for hospitality to be often without a guest

beneath its roof. There Generals Putnam and Parsons made their head-

quarters in 1778-9. Dr. Dwight, then a chaplain in the army, and

residing there, speaks of it as a most delightful spot, "surrounded by

valuable gardens, fields, and orchards, yielding every thing which will

grow in this climate." But the event which gives the most historic

importance to this place was the treason of Arnold, which we will here

consider.

When the British evacuated Philadelphia in the spring of 1778, Arnold

(whose leg, wounded at the battle of Stillwater the previous autumn, was

not yet healed) was appointed by Washington military governor of the

city, having in command a small detachment of troops. After remaining a

month in Philadelphia, Arnold conceived the project of quitting the army

and engaging in the naval service. He applied to Washington for advice

in the matter, expressing his desire to be appointed to a command in the

navy, and alleging the state of his wounds as a reason for desiring less

active service than the army, yet a service more fitted to his genius

than the inactive one he was then engaged in. Washington answered him

with caution, and declined offering an opinion. As no further movement

was made in the matter, it is probable that the idea originated with

Arnold alone; and, as he could not engage the countenance of Washington,

he abandoned it.

Fond of show, and feeling the importance of his station, Arnold now

began to live in a style of splendor and extravagance which his income

would not allow, and his pecuniary embarrassments, already becoming

troublesome to him, were soon fearfully augmented. The future was all

dark, for he saw no honorable means for delivering himself from the

dilemma. No doubt, dreams of rich prizes filled his mind while

contemplating a command in the navy, but these

Arnold's Residence and Style of Living.--His fraudulent Healings.--

Charge of Malfeasance preferred against him

710being dissipated, he saw the web of difficulty gathering more closely

and firmly around him. He had recently married Miss Margaret Shippen,

daughter of Edward Shippen, one of the disaffected or Tory residents of

Philadelphia. She was much younger than he, and he loved her with

passionate fondness--a love deserved by her virtues and solidity of

understanding. In addition to these advantages, she was beautiful in

person and engaging in her manners. When the British troops entered

Philadelphia, a few months previously, her friends had given them a

cordial welcome; therefore the marriage of Arnold with a member of such

a family excited great surprise, and some uneasiness on the part of the

patriots. "But he was pledged to the republic by so many services

rendered and benefits received, that, on reflection, the alliance gave

umbrage to no one." *

Arnold resided in the spacious mansion that once belonged to William

Penn, ** and there he lived in a style of luxury rivaled by no resident

in Philadelphia. He kept a coach-and-four, servants in livery, and gave

splendid banquets. Rather than retrench his expenses and live within his

means, he chose to procure money by a system of fraud, and prostitution

of his official power, *** which brought him into collision with the

people, and with the president and Council of Pennsylvania. The latter

preferred a series of charges against him, all implying a willful abuse

of power and criminal acts. These were laid before Congress. A

committee, to whom all such charges were referred, acquitted him of

criminal designs. The whole subject was referred anew to a joint

committee of Congress, and the Assembly and Council of Pennsylvania.

After proceeding in their duties for a while, it was thought expedient

to hand the whole matter over to Washington, to be submitted to a

military tribunal. Four of the charges only were deemed cognizable by a

court martial, and these were transmitted to Washington. Arnold had

previously presented to Congress large claims against the government, on

account of money which he alleged he had expended for the public service

in Canada. A part of his claim was disallowed; and it was generally

believed, that he attempted to cheat the government by false financial

statements.

Arnold was greatly irritated by the course pursued by Congress and the

Pennsylvania Assembly, and complained, probably not without cause (for

party spirit was never more rife in the national Legislature than at

that time), of injustice and partiality on the part of

* American Register, 1817, ii., 31.

** A view of this mansion, which is still standing, may be found on page

95, vol. ii.

*** Under pretense of supplying the wants of the army, Arnold forbade

the shop-keepers to sell or buy; he then put goods at the disposal of

his agents, and caused them to be sold at enormous profits, the greater

proportion of which he put into his own purse. "At one moment he

prostituted his authority to enrich his accomplices; at the next,

squabbled with them about the division of the prey." His transactions in

this way involved the enormous amount of one hundred and forty thousand

dollars.

**** Benedict Arnold was born in Norwich, Connecticut, on the 2d of

January, 1740. He was a descendant of Benedict Arnold, one of the early

governors of Rhode Island. He was bred an apothecary, under the brothers

Lathrop of Norwich, who were so much pleased with him as a young man of

genius and enterprise, that they gave him two thousand dollars to

commence business with. From 1763 to 1767, he combined the business of

druggist and bookseller in New Haven. Being in command of a volunteer

company there when the war broke out, he marched to Cambridge, and

thenceforth his career is identified with some of the bravest exploits

of the Revolution, until his defection in 1780. In preceding chapters

his course and character have been incidentally noticed, and it is

unnecessary to repeat them here. On going over to the enemy, he received

the commission of brigadier general in the British army, together with

the price of his treason. After the war he went to England, where he

chiefly resided until his death. He was engaged in trade in St. John's,

New Brunswick, from 1786 till 1793. He was fraudulent in his dealings,

and became so unpopular, that in 1792 he was hung in effigy by a mob. He

left St. John's for the West Indies in 1794, but, finding a French fleet

there, and fearing a detention by them, the allies of America, he sailed

for England. He died in Gloucester Place, London, June 14th, 1801, at

the age of sixty-one. His wife died at the same place, on the 14th of

June, 1804, aged forty-three. Arnold had three children by his first

wife, and four by his second, all boys.

Arnold ordered to be tried by a Court Martial.--His Trial, Verdict, and

Punishment.--Its Effects.

711the former, in throwing aside the report of their own committee, by

which he had been acquitted, and listening to the proposals of men who,

he said, were moved by personal enmity, and had practiced unworthy

artifices to cause delay. After the lapse of three months, the Council

of Pennsylvania were not ready for the trial, and requested it to be put

off, with the plea that they had not collected all their evidence.

Arnold considered this a subterfuge, and plainly told all parties so. He

was anxious to have the matter settled, for he was unemployed; for on

the 18th of March, 1779, after the committee of Congress had reported on

the charges preferred hy the Council of Pennsylvania, he had resigned

his commission. He was vexed that Congress, instead of calling up and

sanctioning the first report, should yield to the solicitations of his

enemies for a military trial. *

The day fixed for the trial was the 1st of June; the place, Washington's

head-quarters at Middlebrook. The movements of the British prevented the

trial being held, and it was deferred until the 20th of December, (a)

when the court assembled for the purpose, at Morristown. ** The trial

commenced, and continued, with slight interruptions, until the 26th of

January, (b) when the verdict was rendered. Arnold made an elaborate

1779 defense, in the course of which he magnified his services, asserted

his entire innocence of the criminal charges made against him, cast

reproach, by imputation, upon some1780 of the purest men in the army,

and solemnly proclaimed his patriotic attachment to his country. "The

boastfulness and malignity of these declarations," says Sparks, "are

obvious enough; but their consummate hypocrisy can be understood only by

knowing the fact that, at the moment they were uttered, he had been

eight months in secret correspondence with the enemy, and was prepared,

if not resolved, when the first opportunity should offer, to desert and

destroy his country."

Arnold was acquitted of two of the four charges; the other two were

sustained in part. The court sentenced him to the mildest form of

punishment, a simple reprimand by the commander-in-chief. *** Washington

carried the sentence into execution with all possible delicacy; **** but

Arnold's pride was too deeply wounded, or, it may be, his treasonable

schemes were too far ripened, to allow him to take advantage of the

favorable moment to regain the confidence of his countrymen and

vindicate his character. He had expected from the court a triumphant

vindication of his honor; he was prepared, in the event of an

unfavorable verdict, to seek revenge at any hazard.

* Sparks's Life and Treason of Arnold, 131, 133.

** Arnold continued to reside in Philadelphia after resigning his

command. No longer afraid of his power, the people testified their

detestation of his character by various indignities. One day he was

assaulted in the streets by the populace. He complained to Congress, and

asked a guard of twenty men to be placed around his residence. Congress

declined to interfere, and this added another to the list of his alleged

grievances. In the mean while, Arnold devised several schemes by which

to relieve himself of his pecuniary embarrassments. He proposed to form

a settlement in Western New York for the officers and soldiers who had

served under him. He also conceived the idea of joining some of the

Indian tribes, and, uniting many of them in one, become a great and

powerful chief among them.

*** Colonel Philip Van Cortlandt, of West Chester county, recorded the

following in his diary: "General Arnold being under arrest for improper

conduct in Philadelphia while he commanded there, I was chosen one of

the court martial, Major-general Howe, president. There were also in

that court four officers who had been at Ticonderoga when Colonel Hazen

was called on for trial, &c. We were for cashiering Arnold, but the

majority overruled, and he was finally sentenced to be reprimanded by

the commander-in-chief. Had all the court known Arnold's former conduct

as well as myself, he would have been dismissed the service."

**** "When Arnold was brought before him," says M. de Marbois, "he

kindly addressed him, saying, 'Our profession is the chastest of all.

Even the shadow of a fault tarnishes the luster of our finest

achievements. The least inadvertence may rob us of the public favor, so

hard to be acquired. I reprimand you for having forgotten that, in

proportion as you had rendered yourself formidable to our enemies, you

should have been guarded and temperate in your deportment toward your

fellow-citizens. Exhibit anew those noble qualities which have placed

you on the list of our most valued commanders. I will myself furnish

you, as far as it may be in my power, with opportunities of regaining

the esteem of your country.'"

Arnold's Interview with Luzerne.--His Wife and Major André.--Sympathy of

Schuyler and Livingston.

712In manifest treason there was great danger, and, before proceeding to

any overt acts of that nature, Arnold tried other schemes to accomplish

his desire of obtaining money to meet the claims of his creditors and

the daily demands of his extravagant style of living. He apparently

acquiesced in the sentence of the court martial, and tried to get

Congress to adjust his accounts by allowing his extravagant claims. This

he could not accomplish, and he applied to M. de Luzerne, the French

minister, who succeeded Gerard, for a loan, promising a faithful

adherence to the king and country of the embassador. Luzerne admired the

military talents of Arnold, and treated him with great respect; but he

refused the loan, and administered a kind though keen rebuke to the

applicant for thus covertly seeking a bribe. * He talked kindly to

Arnold, reasoned soundly, and counseled him wisely. But words had no

weight without the added specific gravity of gold, and he left the

French minister with mingled indignation, mortification, and shame. From

that hour he doubtless resolved to sell the liberties of his country for

a price.

Hitherto the intimacy and correspondence of Arnold with officers of the

British army had been without definite aim, and apparently incidental.

His marriage with the daughter of Mr. Shippen (who was afterward chief

justice of Pennsylvania) was no doubt a link of the greatest importance

in the chain of his treasonable operations. That family was disaffected

to the American cause. Shippen's youngest daughter, then eighteen years

of age, remarkable, as we have observed, for her beauty, gayety, and

general attractions, had been admired and flattered by the British

officers, and was a leading personage in the splendid _fete_ called the

_Mischianza_, which was given in honor of Sir William Howe when he was

about leaving the army for Europe. She was intimate with Major Andre,

and corresponded with him after the British army had retired to New

York. This was the girl who, attracted by the station, equipage, and

brilliant display of Arnold, gave him her hand; this was the girl he

loved so passionately. From that moment he was peculiarly exposed to the

influence of the enemies of his country, and they, no doubt, kept alive

the feelings of discontent which disturbed him after his first rupture

with the authorities of Pennsylvania. His wife may not have been his

confidant; but through her intimacy with Major Andre his correspondence

with Sir Henry Clinton was effected. Whether she was cognizant of the

contents of the letters of her husband is not known; probably she was

not.

West Point was an object of covetous desire to Sir Henry Clinton. Arnold

knew that almost any amount of money and honors would be given to the

man who should be instrumental in placing that post in the hands of the

enemy. He resolved, therefore, to make this the subject of barter for

British gold. Hitherto he had pleaded the bad state of his wounds in

justification of comparative inaction; now they healed rapidly. Though

he could not endure the fatigues of active service on horseback, he

thought he might fulfill the duties of commander at West Point. Hitherto

he was sullen and indifferent; now his patriotism was aroused afresh,

and he was eager to rejoin his old companions in arms. He was ready to

make the sacrifice of domestic ease for an opportunity to again serve

his bleeding country. With language of such import he addressed his

friends in Congress, particularly General Schuyler, and others who he

knew had influence with Washington. He intimated to Schuyler his

partiality for the post at West Point. He also prevailed upon Robert R.

Livingston, then a member of Congress from New York, to write to

Washington and suggest the expe-

* M. de Marbois, who was the secretary of the French legation, has

preserved a vivid picture of this interview in his account of the

treason of Arnold, an excellent translation of which may be found in the

American Register, 1817. He says Luzerne listened to Arnold's discourse

with pain, but he answered with frankness. You desire of me a service,"

he said, "which it would be easy for me to render, but which would

degrade us both. When the envoy of a foreign power gives, or, if you

will, lends money, it is ordinarily to corrupt those who receive it, and

to make them the creatures of the sovereign whom he serves; or, rather,

he corrupts without persuading; he buys and does not secure. But the

firm league entered into between the king and the United States is the

work of justice and the wisest policy. It has for its basis a reciprocal

interest and good will. In the mission with which I am charged, my true

glory consists in fulfilling it without intrigue or cabal, without

resorting to any secret practices, and by the force alone of the

condition of the alliance."

Arnold's Visit to the American Camp.--Washington Deceived by him.--

Obtains the Command at West Point.

713diency of giving Arnold the command of that station. Livingston

cheerfully complied, but his letter had no appearance of being suggested

by Arnold himself. Scarcely had Livingston's letter reached the camp,

before Arnold appeared there in person. Under pretense of having private

business in Connecticut, he passed through the camp, to pay his respects

to the commander-in-chief. He made no allusion to his desire for an

appointment to the command of West Point, and pursued his journey. On

his return, he again called upon Washington at his quarters, and then

suggested that, on joining the army, the command of that post would be

best suited to his feelings and the state of his health. Washington was

a little surprised that the impetuous Arnold should be willing to take

command where there was no prospect of active operations. His surprise,

however, had no mixture of suspicion Arnold visited and inspected all

the fortifications, in company with General Robert Howe and then

returned to Philadelphia.

Having resolved to join the army, Arnold applied to Congress for

arrearages of pay, to enable him to furnish himself with a horse and

equipage. Whether his application was successful no record explains. He

reached the camp on the last day of July, while the army was crossing

the Hudson from the west side, at King's Ferry (Verplanck's Point).

On the arrival of the French at Newport, Sir Henry Clinton made an

effort to attack them before they could land and fortify themselves. The

result we have already considered. This movement caused Washington, who

was encamped between Haverstraw and Tappan, to cross the river, with the

intention of attacking New York in the absence of Clinton. Arnold met

Washington on horseback, just as the last division was crossing over,

and asked if any place had been assigned to him. The commander-in-chief

replied that he was to take command of the left wing, the post of honor.

Arnold was disappointed, and perceiving it, Washington promised to meet

him at his quarters, and have further conversation on the subject. He

found Arnold's heart set upon the command of West Point. He was unable

to account for this strange inconsistency with his previous ambition to

serve in the most conspicuous place. Still he had no suspicion of wrong,

and he complied with Arnold's request. The instructions which gave him

command of "that post and its dependencies, in which all are included

from Fishkill to King's Ferry," * were dated at Peekskill on the 3d of

August, 1780. Arnold repaired immediately to the Highlands, and

established his quarters at Colonel Robinson's house. Sir Henry Clinton

having abandoned his expedition against the French at'= Newport, the

American army retraced its steps, and, crossing the Hudson, marched down

to Tappan and encamped, where it remained for several weeks. General

Greene commanded the right wing, and Lord Stirling the left; six

battalions of light infantry, stationed in advance, were commanded by La

Fayette.

Thus far Arnold's plans had worked admirably. He had now been in

correspondence with Sir Henry Clinton for eighteen months, ** both

parties always writing over fictitious names, and, for a great portion

of the time, without a knowledge, on the part of the British commander,

of the name and character of the person with whom he was in

communication. Arnold corresponded with Clinton through the hands of

Major Andre. Writing in a dis-

* Sparks's Life and Writings of Washington, viii., 139.

** It is not positively known how early Arnold's correspondence with

officers of the British army commenced, or at what precise period he

first conceived the idea of betraying his country. The translator of the

Marquis de Chastellux's Travels in North America, an English gentleman

of distinction, and a resident here during our Revolution, says (i.,

page 97), "There is every reason to believe that Arnold's treachery took

its date from his connection with Lieutenant Hele, killed afterward on

board the Formidable, in the West Indies, and who was undoubtedly a very

active and industrious spy at Philadelphia in the winter of 1778,

whither he was sent for that purpose in a pretended flag of truce, which

being wrecked in the Delaware, he was made prisoner by Congress, a

subject of much discussion between them and the commander at New York.

That the intended plot was known in England, and great hopes built upon

it long before it was to take place, is certain. General Mathews and

other officers, who returned in the autumn of 1780, being often heard to

declare 'that it was all over with the rebels; that they were about to

receive an irreparable blow, the news of which would soon arrive, &c.,

&c.' Their silence, from the moment in which they received an account of

the failure of the plot and the discovery of the traitor, evidently

pointed out the object of their allusions."

Correspondence of Arnold and André.--Proposed Plan of the British to

gain Possession of West Point.

714guised hand, he clothed his meaning in the ambiguous style of a

commercial correspondence, and affixed to his letters the signature of

Gustavus. Andre signed his John Anderson. He was an aid-de-camp of the

commander-in-chief of the British forces, and was afterward the adjutant

general of the British army.

He enjoyed the unbounded confidence of Sir Henry Clinton, and to him,

when the name and station of Arnold became known, was intrusted the

delicate task of consummating the bargain with the traitor. Even while

the name of Arnold was yet concealed, Clinton was confident that his

secret correspondent was an officer of high rank in the American army;

and before Arnold was tried by a court martial, the British general was

convinced that he was the man. That trial lessened his value in the

estimation of Clinton; but when Arnold obtained the command of West

Point, the affair assumed greater magnitude and importance.

The general plan of operations agreed upon for placing West Point in

possession of the enemy was, for Sir Henry Clinton to send a strong

force up the Hudson at the moment when the combined French and American

armies should make an expected movement against New York. This movement

was really a part of Washington's plan for the autumn campaign, and Sir

Henry Clinton was informed of it by Arnold. It was concluded that West

Point and its dependencies would be the depositories of a great portion

of the stores and ammunition of the allied armies. It was rumored that

the French were to land on Long Island, and approach New York in that

direction, while Washington was to march with the main army of the

Americans to invade York Island at Kingsbridge. At this juncture, a

flotilla under Rodney, bearing a strong land force, was to proceed up

the Hudson to

* This is a portion of a concluding sentence of a letter from André to

Colonel Sheldon, which will be mentioned presently.

André appointed to confer with Arnold.--An Interview proposed by the

Traitor.--Letter to Colonel Sheldon.

715the Highlands, when Arnold, under pretense of a weak garrison, should

surrender the post and its dependencies into the hands of the enemy. In

this event, Washington must have retreated from Kingsbridge, and the

French on Long Island would probably have fallen into the hands of the

British. With a view to these operations, the British troops were so

posted that they could be put in motion at the shortest notice; while

vessels, properly manned, were kept in readiness on the Hudson River.

It was now necessary that Clinton should be certified of the identity of

General Arnold and his hidden correspondent, in order that he might make

himself secure against a counterplot. A personal conference was

proposed, and Arnold insisted that the officer sent to confer with him

should be Adjutant-general Major Andre. * Clinton, on his part, had

already fixed upon Andre as the proper person to hold the conference. It

must be borne in mind that Andre did not seek the service, though, when

engaged in it, he used his best endeavors, as in duty bound, to carry

out its objects.

As money was the grand lure that made Arnold a traitor, he felt it

necessary to have an understanding respecting the reward which he was to

obtain. Under date of August 1780 30th, he wrote to Andre in the feigned

hand and style alluded to, and said, referring to himself in the third

person, "He is still of opinion that his first proposal is by no means

unreasonable, and makes no doubt, when he has a conference with you,

that you will close with it. He expects, when you meet, that you will be

fully authorized from your house; that the risks and profits of the

copartnership may be fully understood. _A speculation of this kind might

be easily made with ready money_." Clinton understood this hint, and

Andre was authorized to negotiate on that point.

Arnold's first plan was to have the interview at his own quarters in the

Highlands, Andre to be represented as a person devoted to the American

interest, and possessing ample means for procuring intelligence from the

enemy. This was a safe ground for Arnold to proceed upon, for the

employment of secret agents to procure intelligence was well known. **

He dispatched a letter to André informing him of this arrangement, and

assuring him that if he could make his way safely to the American

outposts above White Plains, he would find no obstructions thereafter.

Colonel Sheldon was then in command of a detachment of cavalry stationed

on the east side of the Hudson. His head-quarters, with a part of the

detachment, was at Salem, and those of his lieutenant (Colonel Jameson)

and of Major Tallmadge, with the remainder of the corps, were at North

Castle. Arnold gave Sheldon notice that he expected a person from New

York, with whom he would have an interview at the colonel's quarters, to

make important arrangements for receiving early intelligence from the

enemy. He requested Sheldon, in the event of the stranger's arrival, to

send information of the fact to his quarters at the Robinson House.

Arnold's plan was not entirely agreeable to Andre, for he was not

disposed to go within the American lines and assume the odious character

of a spy. He accordingly wrote the following letter to Colonel Sheldon,

signed John Anderson, which, he knew, would be placed in Arnold's hands.

It proposed a meeting at Dobbs's Ferry, upon the Neutral Ground. "I am

told that my name is made known to you, and that I may hope your

indulgence in permitting me to meet a friend near your outposts. I will

endeavor to obtain permission to go out with a flag, which will be sent

to Dobbs's Ferry on Monday next, the 11th instant, at twelve o'clock,

when I shall be happy to meet September, 1780

Mr. G--------. Should I not be allowed to go, the officer who is to

command the escort--between whom and myself no distinction need be made-

-can speak in the affair.

* Sir Henry Clinton's letter to Lord George Germain.

** In this connection it may be mentioned, that when Arnold was about to

proceed to the Highlands, he went to La Fayette, and requested him to

give him the names of spies which the marquis had in his employ in-New

York, suggesting that intelligence from them might often reach him more

expeditiously by the way of West Point. La Fayette objected, saying that

he was in honor bound not to reveal the names of spies to any person.

The object which Arnold had in view became subsequently obvious.

Effect of Andrè's Letter to Sheldon.--Arnold's attempted Interview with

André.--His Letter to Washington.--Joshua H. Smith

716Let me entreat you, sir, to favor a matter so interesting to the

parties concerned, and which is of so private a nature that the public

on neither side can be injured by it." This letter puzzled Colonel

Sheldon, for he had never heard the name of John Anderson, nor had

Arnold intimated any thing concerning an escort. He supposed, however,

that it was from the person expected by Arnold. He therefore inclosed it

to the general, telling him that he (Sheldon) was too unwell to go to

Dobbs's Ferry, and expressing a hope that Arnold would meet Anderson

there himself. Andrè's letter puzzled Arnold too, for he found it

difficult to explain its meaning very plausibly to Colonel Sheldon. But

the traitor contrived, with consummate skill, to prevent the mystery

having any importance in the mind of that officer.

Arnold left his quarters on the 10th, went down the river in his barge

to King's Ferry, and passed the night at the house of Joshua Hett Smith,

near Haverstraw, * who afterward acted a conspicuous part in the work of

treason, he being, as is supposed, the dupe of Arnold. Early in the

morning the traitor proceeded toward Dobbs's Ferry, where Andre and

Colonel Beverly Robinson had arrived. As Arnold approached that point,

not having a flag, he was fired upon by the British gun-boats stationed

near, and closely pursued. He escaped to the opposite side of the river,

and the conference was necessarily postponed. Having gone down the river

openly in his barge, Arnold deemed it necessary to make some explanation

to General Washington, and accordingly he wrote a letter to him, in

which, after mentioning several important matters connected with the

command at West Point, he incidentally stated that he had come down the

river to establish signals as near the enemy's lines as possible, by

which he might receive information of any movements of a fleet or troops

up the Hudson. This letter was

* This house is yet standing. A drawing of it is presented on page 152.

It is about two miles and a half below Stony Point, on the right side of

the road leading to Haverstraw.

* There has ever been a difference of opinion concerning the true

character of Smith; some supposing him to have been a Tory, and acting

with a full knowledge of Arnold's instructions; others believing him to

have been the traitor's dupe. Leake, in his Life of John Lamb (p. 256),

says that Arnold often visited Smith to while away tedious hours; and

that Colonel Lamb, while in command at West Point, was frequently

invited to visit him, but invariably declined, notwithstanding Mrs.

Smith and Mrs. Lamb were nearly related. Colonel Lamb said he knew Smith

to be a Tory, and he would not visit his own father in a similar

category. There is evidence that he was a Whig. See William Smith's

letter on page 724.

* This map includes the Hudson River and its shores from Dobbs's Ferry

to West Point, and exhibits a chart of the whole scene of Arnold's

treason, and of the route, capture, and execution of the unfortunate

Andre. The thin lines upon the map indicate the public roads. By a

reference to it, in perusing the narrative, the reader will have a clear

understanding of the matter.

Further arrangements for an Interview.--Arnold's Correspondence with

Beverly Robinson.--Washington on his Journey

717dated at "Dobbs's Ferry, September 11th," and on that night he

returned to his quarters at the Robinson House.

It was now necessary to make arrangements for another interview. No time

was to be lost; no precautionary measure was to be neglected. Arnold

knew that Washington was preparing to go to Hartford, to hold a

conference with the newly-arrived French officers, and that the proper

time to consummate his plans would be during the absence of the

commander-in-chief. As Washington would cross the Hudson at King's

Ferry, it was very necessary, too, that no movement should be made until

his departure that might excite his suspicions.

Two days after Arnold returned to his quarters, he found means to send a

September 13, 1780 communication to Andre, which, as usual, was couched

in commercial language. He cautioned André not to reveal any thing to

Colonel Sheldon. "I have no confidant," he said; "I have made one too

many already, who has prevented some profitable speculation." He

informed André that a person would meet him on the west side of Dobbs's

Ferry, on Wednesday, the 20th instant, and that he would conduct him to

a place of safety, where the writer would meet him. "It will be

necessary," he said, "for you to be in disguise. I can not be more

explicit at present. Meet me, if possible. You may rest assured that, if

there is no danger in passing your lines, you will be perfectly safe

where I propose a meeting." Arnold also wrote to Major Tallmadge, at

North Castle, instructing him, if a person by the name of John Anderson

should arrive at his station, to send him without delay to head-

quarters, escorted by two dragoons.

Sir Henry Clinton, who was as anxious as Arnold to press the matter

forward, had sent Colonel Robinson up the river on board the Vulture,

with orders to proceed as high as Teller's Point. Robinson and Arnold

seem to have had some general correspondence previous to this time, and

it is believed (as I have mentioned on a preceding page) that the former

was made acquainted with the treasonable designs of the latter some time

before the subject was brought explicitly before Sir Henry Clinton. As

Arnold was occupying Colonel Robinson's confiscated mansion, a good

opportunity was afforded him to write to the general without exciting

suspicion, making the burden of his letters the subject of a restoration

of his property. This medium of communication was now adopted to inform

General Arnold that Robinson was on board the Vulture. Robinson wrote to

General Putnam, pretending a belief that he was in the Highlands, and

requesting an interview with him on the subject of his property. This

letter was covered by one addressed to Arnold, requesting him to hand

the inclosed to General Putnam, or, if that officer had gone away, to

return it by the bearer. "In case General Putnam shall be absent," he

said, "I am persuaded, from the humane and generous character you bear,

that you will grant me the favor asked." These letters were sent, by a

flag, to Verplanck's Point, the Vulture then lying about six miles

below. On the very day that Washington commenced his journey to

Hartford, Arnold September 18 had come down to the Point, a few hours

before the arrival of the chief at the ferry on the opposite shore, and

received and read Colonel Robinson's letter. He mentioned the contents

to Colonel Lamb and others, with all the frankness of conscious

integrity. The commander-in-chief and his suite crossed the river in

Arnold's barge * soon afterward, and the latter accompanied them to

Peekskill. Arnold frankly laid the letter before Washing-

* Sparks (American Biography, vol. iii., from which a large portion of

these details are drawn) says that two incidents occurred during this

passage across the river, which, though almost unnoticed at the time,

afterward, when the treachery was known, assumed some importance. The

Vulture was in full view, and while Washington was looking at it through

a glass, and speaking in a low tone to one of his officers, Arnold was

observed to appear uneasy. Another incident was remembered. There was a

daily expectation of the arrival of a French squadron on the coast,

under Count de Guichen. La Fayette, alluding to the frequent

communications by water between New York and the posts on the Hudson,

said to Arnold, "General, since you have a correspondence with the

enemy, you must ascertain, as soon as possible, what has become of

Guichen." Arnold was disconcerted, and demanded what he meant; but

immediately controlling himself, and the boat just then reaching the

shore, nothing more was said. No doubt, for a moment, Arnold thought his

plot was discovered.--Page 186.

Washington again deceived by Arnold's Duplicity.--Smith employed to

bring André from the Vulture.--His Difficulties.

718ton, and asked his advice. His reply was, that the civil authority

alone could act in the matter, and he did not approve of a personal

interview with Robinson. This frankness on the part of Arnold

effectually prevented all suspicion, and Washington proceeded to

Hartford, confident in the integrity of the commandant of West Point.

Arnold dared not, after receiving this opinion from Washington, so far

disregard it as to meet Robinson, but it gave him an opportunity to use

the name of the commander-in-chief in his reply, which he openly

dispatched by an officer in a flag-boat to the Vulture. He September,

1780 informed Colonel Robinson that on the night of the 20th he should

send a person on board the Vulture, who would be furnished with a boat

and a flag of truce; and in a postscript he added, "I expect General

Washington to lodge here on Saturday next, and I will lay before him any

matter you may wish to communicate." This was an ingenuous and safe way

of informing the enemy at what time the commander-in-chief would return

from Hartford.

Arnold's communication was sent to Sir Henry Clinton, and the next

morning André proceeded to Dobbs's Ferry, positively instructed by his

general not to change his dress, go within the American lines, receive

papers, or in any other way act in the character of a spy. It was

supposed that Arnold himself would visit the Vulture; but he had

arranged a plan for effecting a meeting involving less personal hazard.

Joshua Hett Smith, just mentioned, who lived about two miles below Stony

Point, had been employed by General Robert Howe, when in command of West

Point, to procure intelligence from New York. Smith occupied a very

respectable station in society, and could command more valuable aid, in

the business in question, than any other person. To him Arnold went with

a proposition to assist him in his undertaking, without, as Smith

alleged, revealing to him his real intentions. He flattered him with

expressions of the highest confidence and regard, and informed him that

he was expecting a person of consequence from New York with valuable

intelligence from the enemy, and he wanted Smith's service in bringing

him within the American lines. While at Smith's on this business, Arnold

was joined by his wife with her infant child, who had come on from

Philadelphia. There she remained all night, and the next morning her

husband went with her, in his barge, to head-quarters.

Arnold made his arrangements with Smith to have his meeting with André

(whom he had resolved should be brought on shore from the Vulture) take

place at his house, in the event of the conference being protracted.

Smith, accordingly, took his family to Fishkill to visit some friends,

and returning, halted at the Robinson House, and arranged with Arnold a

plan of operations. The general gave him the customary pass for a flag

of truce, sent an order to Major Kierse, at Stony Point, to supply Smith

with a boat whenever he should want one, and directed Smith to proceed

to the Vulture the following night and bring on shore the person who was

expected to be there. Smith failed in his endeavors to make the

arrangements, and did not visit the Vulture at the time he was directed

to. Samuel Colquhon, one of his tenants, to whom he applied for

assistance as boatman, refused to go. Smith sent Colquhon to Arnold with

a letter, informing him of his failure. The messenger, by riding all

night, reached the Robinson House at dawn. Early in the forenoon,

September 21. Arnold himself went down the river to Verplanck's Point,

and thence to Smith's house. At Verplanck's, Colonel Livingston handed

him a letter which he had just received for him from Captain Sutherland

of the Vulture. It was a remonstrance against an alleged violation of

the rules of war by a party on Teller's Point. * The letter was in the

handwriting of André, though signed by Sutherland. Arnold at once

perceived the main object of this secretaryship to be, to inform him

that André was on board the Vulture.

Arnold now hastened to make arrangements to bring André ashore. He

ordered a skiff

* A flag of truce was exhibited at Teller's Point, inviting, as was

supposed, a pacific intercourse with the ship. A boat, with another

flag, was sent off, but as soon as it approached the shore it was fired

upon by several armed men who were concealed in the bushes. On account

of this outrage, Captain Sutherland sent a letter of remonstrance to

Colonel Livingston, "the commandant at Verplanck's Point." The letter

was dated "morning of the 21st of September."

Refusal of the Colquhons to accompany Smith.--Final Compliance.--Landing

of André and his first Interview with Arnold.

719to be sent to a certain place in Haverstraw Creek, and then proceeded

to Smith's house. Every thing was made ready, except procuring two

boatmen, and this was found a difficult matter. The voyage promised many

perils, for American guard-boats were stationed at various places on the

river. These, however, had been ordered not to interfere with Smith and

his party. Samuel Colquhon and his brother Joseph were again solicited

to accompany Smith, but both positively refused at first to go; they

yielded only when Arnold himself threatened them with punishment. At

near midnight the three men pushed off from shore with muffled oars. It

was a serene, starry night; not a ripple was upon the Hudson, not a leaf

was stirred by the breeze. Silently the little boat approached the

Vulture, and when near, the sentinel on deck hailed them. After making

some explanations and receiving some rough words, Smith was allowed to

go on board. In the cabin he found Beverly Robinson and Captain

Sutherland. These officers and Major Andre were the only persons in the

ship who were privy to the transactions in progress. Smith bore a sealed

letter from Arnold to Beverly Robinson, in which the traitor said, "This

will be delivered to you by Mr Smith, who will conduct you to a place of

safety. Neither Mr. Smith nor any other person shall be made acquainted

with your proposals. If they (which I doubt not) are of such a nature

that I can officially take notice of them, I shall do it with pleasure.

I take it for granted that Colonel Robinson will not propose any thing

that is not for the interest of the United States as well as himself."

This language was a guard against evil consequences in the event of the

letter falling into other hands. Smith had also two passes, signed by

Arnold, which Robinson well understood to be intended to communicate the

idea that the writer expected André to come on shore, and to secure the

boat from detention by the water-guard. *