the occasion of his visit to the house in 1783. This room is also
pointed out as the scene of the death of Captain Rowe of the Hessian
jaegers, who was severely wounded near the house. When he realised
that he could not recover, he sent in haste for the young woman who
had promised to marry him, and he died in her arms.
Other famous visitors were Rochambeau, Admiral Digby, and William
Henry, Duke of Clarence, who became King William IV of England.
Admiral Digby, after his departure, sent to Augustus Van Cortlandt,
the owner of the house, two wooden vultures, which he had captured
from a Spanish privateer. These vultures are now in the museum.
The old house was the centre of important military operations during
the Revolution. Washington fortified eight strategic spots in the
vicinity of Kingsbridge, and when he withdrew before the British
occupied the fortification, a number of Hessian jaegers were quartered
in the Van Cortlandt House. To the north of the house was the neutral
ground for which the two armies continually struggled for possession.
In 1781, when Washington was about to withdraw his army to Yorktown,
he directed that camp-fires be lit on Vault Hill, the site of the Van
Cortlandt family vault. By this stratagem he succeeded for a time in
deceiving the enemy as to his movements.
Since the building of the Broadway subway Van Cortlandt Park has been
so easy of access that the number of visitors to the historic spot has
rapidly increased.
XXIII
THE HASBROUCK HOUSE, NEWBURGH, NEW YORK
WHERE THE CLOSING DRAMA OF THE REVOLUTION WAS STAGED
During the entire period of the Revolution the country about Newburgh
was an important centre of military operations. West Point was
fortified in 1776, that the British might not be able to carry out
their design of separating New England from the middle colonies. Many
officers had their headquarters within a few miles of these
fortifications. Lafayette was at the Williams House, three miles north
of Newburgh, while Generals Green, Gates, and Knox were at Vail's
Gate, four miles south of the town. General George Clinton was at
Little Britain, and General Anthony Wayne was in Newburgh.
Washington's first stay in the vicinity was at Vail's Gate, New
Windsor, in the winter of 1779-80. His longest sojourn, however, was
in the house which Jonathan Hasbrouck built in 1750 and enlarged in
1770. The best description of this substantial one-story stone house
at the time of Washington's residence there is contained in the
"Memoirs" of Marquis de Chastellux, who was the guest of the
Commander-in-chief on December 6, 1872:
"The largest room in it, (which was the proprietor's parlor
for his family, and which General Washington has converted
into his dining-room) is in truth tolerably spacious, but it
has seven doors and only one window. The chimney, or rather
the chimney back, is against the wall; so that there is in
fact but one vent for the smoke, and the fire is in the room
itself. I found the company assembled in a small room, which
served by way of parlor. At nine supper was served, and when
the hour of bed-time came, I found that the chamber, to which
the General conducted me, was the very parlor I speak of,
wherein he had made them place a camp bed...."
The records of the months when Washington was an occupant of the old
Dutch house are among the most interesting of the war. For instance,
on May 10, 1782, there came tidings of the arrival in New York of Sir
Guy Carleton, the new British commander, who wrote that he desired to
tell of the king's idea of a possible peace, and of the attitude of
the House of Commons. He closed his letter by saying, "If war must
prevail, I shall endeavor to render its miseries as light to the
people of this continent as the circumstances of such a condition will
possibly permit."
Two days earlier Washington wrote a letter to Meschech Weare in which
he seems to have anticipated and discredited Carleton's word of
appeal:
"They are meant to amuse this country with a false idea of
peace, to draw us off from our connection with France, and to
lull us into a state of security and inactivity, which having
taken place, the ministry will be left to prosecute the war
in other parts of the world with greater vigor and effect."
In less than two weeks a tempter of an entirely different sort
approached Washington. Lewis Nicola, colonel of the corps of invalids,
wrote to tell of the fact that the officers and soldiers were
discontented because they had not received their pay. Then he
intimated that he had no hope of the success of republican
institutions, but thought this country needed a ruler like a king,
though he might not be called king, owing to the objection to that
word. Yet he added, "I believe strong arguments might be produced for
admitting the title of KING, which I conceive would be attended with
some material advantages."
To this letter Washington sent prompt reply, on May 22, 1782:
"SIR: With a mixture of great surprise and astonishment, I
have read with attention the sentiments you have submitted
to my perusal. Be assured, Sir, no occurrence in the course
of the war has given me more painful sensations, than your
information of there being such ideas existing in the army,
as you have expressed, and I must view with abhorrence and
reprehend with severity. For the present the Communication of
this will rest in my own bosom, unless some further agitation
of the matter shall make a disclosure necessary.
"I am much at a loss to conceive what part of my conduct
could have given encouragement to an address, which to me
seems big with the greatest mischiefs that can befall my
country. If I am not deceived in the knowledge of myself, you
could not have found a person to whom your schemes are more
disagreeable. At the same time, in justice to my own
feelings, I must add that no man possesses a more sincere
wish to see ample justice done to the Army than I do, and so
far as my power and influence, in a constitutional way,
extend, they shall be employed to the utmost of my abilities
to effect it, should there be any occasion. Let me conjure
you then, if you have any regard for your country, concern
for yourself or respect for me, to banish these thoughts from
your mind, and never communicate, as from yourself or any one
else, a sentiment of the like nature.
"With esteem I am, sir, Your most obedient servant,
"GEORGE WASHINGTON."
That Washington desired to be a simple resident on his own estate at
Mount Vernon instead of king of the new country, was emphasized by a
letter written on June 15 to Archibald Cary:
"I can truly say, that the first wish of my soul is to return
speedily into the bosom of that country which gave me birth,
and, in the sweet enjoyment of domestic happiness and the
company of a few friends, to end my days in quiet, when I
shall be called from this stage."
There was joy in the village on the banks of the Hudson when, late in
1782, a letter came from Sir Guy Carleton announcing that negotiations
for a general peace had already begun in Paris, and that the king had
decided to propose the independence of the thirteen Provinces "in the
first instance, instead of granting it as a condition of a general
treaty."
In the long interval before the receipt of decisive word concerning
peace, the sagacity of Washington was once more tested severely. There
was still disaffection among the officers and the men because they had
not been paid, and because Congress seemed to pay no attention to
their protests. Washington learned that a call had been issued for a
meeting of officers to be held in New Windsor to consider taking
matters into their own hands and forcing Congress to act.
Washington did not hesitate. He asked the officers to meet him in the
very building in which they had planned to make their plans for
revolt. Then he appealed to their patriotism, urging them not to put a
stain on their noble service by hasty action. When he had gone, the
officers acted in a way that justified the General's confidence.
Unanimously they promised all that had been asked of them, and voted
to thank Washington for his method of dealing with them.
On March 19, 1783, four days after this action, Washington
acknowledged to Congress receipt of word that the preliminary articles
of peace had been signed on November 30, and on April 18 he ordered
the cessation of hostilities, in accordance with the proclamation of
Congress.
The Hasbrouck house was sold by the family to New York State in 1849.
For twenty-four years, by act of Assembly, the historic quarters were
cared for by the trustees of the village, and later by the city
authorities. In May, 1874, trustees appointed by the legislature took
over the property and have held it ever since, for the benefit of the
people.
THREE: ACROSS THE JERSEYS WITH THE PATRIOTS
_See the ancient manse
Meet its fate at last!
Time, in his advance,
Age nor honor knows;
Axe and broadaxe fall,
Lopping off the Past:
Hit with bar and maul,
Down the old house goes!_
_Sevenscore years it stood;
Yes, they built it well,
Though they built of wood,
When that house arose.
For its cross-beams square
Oak and walnut fell;
Little worse for wear,
Down the old house goes!_
_On these oaken floors
High-shoed ladies trod;
Through those panelled doors
Trailed their furbelows;
Long their day has ceased;
Now, beneath the sod,
With the worms they feast,--
Down the old house goes!_
_Many a bride has stood
In yon spacious room;
Here her hand was wooed
Underneath the rose;
O'er that sill the dead
Reached the family tomb;
All that were have fled,--
Down the old house goes!_
_Once, in yonder hall,
Washington, they say,
Led the New Year's ball,
Stateliest of beaux;
O that minuet,
Maids and matrons gay!
Are there such sights yet?
Down the old house goes!_
_Doorway high the box
In the grass-plot spreads;
It has borne its locks
Through a thousand snows;
In an evil day,
From those garden beds
Now 'tis hacked away,--
Down the old house goes!_
EDMUND CLARENCE STEDMAN.
THREE: ACROSS THE JERSEYS WITH THE PATRIOTS
[Illustration: THE FRANKLIN PALACE, PERTH AMBOY, N. J.
_Photo furnished by W. A. Little, D.D., Perth Amboy_
See page 115]
XXIV
THE FRANKLIN PALACE, PERTH AMBOY, NEW JERSEY
THE HOME OF THE SON OF WHOM BENJAMIN FRANKLIN VAINLY TRIED TO MAKE A
PATRIOT
There was a time when Benjamin Franklin was proud of his son William,
and was glad to have his name coupled with that of the young man.
The first year of the father's service in the Pennsylvania Assembly
William was appointed clerk of that body; this fact is mentioned with
pride in the Autobiography.
When General Braddock was sent from England to America to oppose the
union of the Colonies for defence, "lest they should thereby grow too
military and feel their own strength," Franklin was sent by the
Assembly to Fredericktown, Maryland, to confer with the General. "My
son accompanied me on the journey," the Autobiography says.
At Braddock's request Franklin advertised at Lancaster, Pennsylvania,
for one hundred and fifty wagons for the proposed expedition into the
interior, and at the close of the advertisement was the note, "My son,
William Franklin, is empowered to enter into like contracts with any
person in Cumberland County."
Later, when the father was asked to secure financial assistance for
certain subalterns in Braddock's company, he wrote to the Assembly,
recommending that a present of necessaries and refreshments be sent to
those officers. "My son, who had some experience of camp life and of
its wants, drew up a list for me which I enclos'd in my letter," the
father wrote.
When, during the French and Indian War, the Governor of Pennsylvania
asked Franklin to take charge of "our Northwestern frontier which was
infested by the enemy, and provide for the defence of the inhabitants
by raising troops and building a line of forts," he went to the front
with five hundred and sixty men. In the Autobiography he wrote, "My
son, who had in the preceding war, been an officer in the army rais'd
against Canada, was my aid-de-camp, and of great use to me."
And in 1771, when beginning his Autobiography, Franklin addressed it
"Dear Son," and spoke of the trip the two had taken together to
England, to make "enquiries among the remains of my relations." Then
he added:
"Imagining it may be equally agreeable to you to know the
circumstances of my life, many of which you are yet
unacquainted with, and expecting the enjoyment of a week's
uninterrupted leisure in my present country retirement, I sit
down to write them for you."
Six years before the beginning of the Autobiography, Franklin, in
company with six other Philadelphians, entered on a land speculation
in Nova Scotia. Together they bought two hundred thousand acres of
land. There they intended to found a colony. Two shiploads of
emigrants were taken to Monkton, the site of the proposed colony, but
most of the men settled on other land, finding that this could be had
practically for nothing. Franklin's will later provided that William
be given an interest in the Nova Scotia property, and he explained the
gift by saying that this was "the only part of his estate remaining
under the sovereignty of the king of Great Britain."
What was the explanation of the father's changed attitude to his son
that led him to make his bequest in such unpleasant terms?
After William Franklin's return from the frontier, he was appointed
governor-in-chief of the Province of New Jersey. A mansion was built
for him in Perth Amboy by the Lord Proprietor. Its construction
required a somewhat extended time, for it was a grand place; no wonder
it was called "The Palace." But in 1774 the Governor took possession.
Of course this was not the reason for the breach with his father.
Again Benjamin Franklin was proud of his son, and of the lavish
entertainments he made for his associates.
But the father began to shake his head when his son became a favorite
of the Tories in Perth Amboy who had looked askance on his
appointment, the year before. He was told that William would himself
remain a loyalist when the break came with Great Britain, and he was
compelled to believe that there was serious ground for the charge. He
decided, however, to make a supreme effort to rouse the Governor to
the call of patriotism. Accordingly, in 1775, he sought the Palace and
pleaded with William to forsake his Tory associates, turn his back on
the king who had turned his back on the Colonies, and become a
steadfast defender of his country's rights.
What a subject that interview would make for an artist! Opposed to the
luxury-loving governor, in the house furnished for his satisfaction by
the Tories with whom he had chosen to ally himself, was the sturdy
figure of the sage of Pennsylvania, who was ready to lay down his life
in the defence of his country.
It must have been a stirring interview. But it was fruitless. Benjamin
Franklin went back to Philadelphia a disappointed man. His feelings
were expressed in the letter in which he said, "I am deserted by my
only son."
Within a year Governor Franklin was practically a prisoner in the
Palace, in consequence of the discovery that he was plotting against
the Colonies. When he persisted in courses that troubled Congress, he
was arrested and taken to Burlington. Mrs. Franklin fled to New York,
and the Palace was at the mercy of the British. On several occasions
the house was used as headquarters by British generals, and soldiers
made their encampment on the grounds.
Though the interior of the Palace was destroyed by fire soon after the
war, the house was restored, and it still looks much as it did when
Franklin, the patriot, stood within its walls. For years it was used
as a hotel, and later as a private residence. In 1883 it was made a
Home for aged ministers of the Presbyterian Church. To-day it is again
used as a hotel.
XXV
THE CHURCH AT CALDWELL, NEW JERSEY
WITH GLIMPSES OF THE FIGHTING CHAPLAIN CALDWELL
The trying days of the Revolution would not seem to be a favorable
time for the beginning of a church, especially in the section of New
Jersey which was so often overrun by the soldiers of both armies. Yet
it was at this critical time that many of the people of Horseneck (now
Caldwell), New Jersey, near Montclair, were looking forward to the
organization of a church and the building of a house of worship.
Timbers were in fact drawn and framed for church purposes, but the war
interfered with the completion of the project.
The donation, in 1779, of ninety acres of wild land in the centre of
the settlement gave the prospective congregation new heart. On this
land a parsonage was begun in 1782. The upper portion of this house,
unplastered and unceiled, was used for church purposes until 1796.
The final organization of the church dates from December 3, 1784, when
forty persons signed their names to the following curious agreement:
"We Whose Names are Under writen Living at the Place called
Horse Neck, Being this Day to be Formed or Embodied as a
Church of _Jesus Christ_, Do Solemnly Declare that as we do
desire to be founded Only on the Rock Christ Jesus, So we
would not wish to Build on this foundation, Wood Hay and
Stubble, but Gold and Silver and Precious Stones; and as it
is our profested Sentiments that a Visible Church of Christ,
Consists of Visible Believers with their Children, so no
Adult Persons ought to be Admitted as members but such as
Credibly profess True Faith in Jesus Christ, Love, Obedience,
and Subjection to Him, Holding the Fundamental Doctrines of
the Gospel, and who will Solemnly Enter into Covenant to Walk
Worthy such an Holy Profession as we do this Day."
The last survivor of those who signed this document was General
William Gould, who died February 12, 1847, in his ninetieth year.
During the Revolution he saw much active service, especially at the
battles of Springfield and Monmouth and the campaigns that preceded
and followed these conflicts.
But the connection of the church with the Revolution came rather
through Rev. James Caldwell, who was pastor of the First Presbyterian
Church of Elizabeth Town. During the early years of the struggling
congregation he was their adviser and helper, and after his death the
name of the church was changed to Caldwell, in his honor.
Mr. Caldwell--who had among his parishioners in Elizabeth Town William
Livingston, the Governor of the State, Elias Boudinot, Commissary
General of Prisons and President of Congress, Abraham Clark, one of
the signers of the Declaration of Independence, as well as more than
forty commissioned officers of the Continental Army--was one of the
famous chaplains of the war, having been chosen in 1776 chaplain of
the regiment largely made up of his own members. Later he was
Assistant Commissary General.
The British called him the "Fighting Chaplain," and he was cordially
hated because of his zeal for the cause of the patriots. His life was
always in danger, and when he was able to spend a Sunday with his
congregation he would preach with his cavalry pistols on the pulpit,
while sentinels were stationed at the doors to give warning.
The enmity of the British led to the burning of the chaplain's church,
and the murder, a few months later, of Mrs. Caldwell. While she was
sitting in a rear room at the house at Connecticutt Farms, where she
had been sent for safety, surrounded by her children, a soldier thrust
his musket through the window and fired at her.
Mr. Caldwell survived the war, in spite of the efforts of the British
to capture him, only to be murdered on November 24, 1781, by a
Continental soldier who was thought to have been bribed by those whose
enmity the chaplain had earned during the conflict.
The Elizabeth Town congregation succeeded in rebuilding their church
five years after it was destroyed, but the delayed Caldwell church
building was not ready for its occupants until 1795. The timbers for
the church were hewed in the forest where the trees were felled and
were drawn by oxen to the site selected. Forty men worked several days
to raise the frame. Lime was made from sea shells, which were hauled
from Bergen, and then burned in a kiln erected near the church lot.
The interior of the building was plain. The pulpit, "about the size of
a hogshead," was built on a single pillar, against the wall; above
this was a sounding board. The windows had neither blinds nor
curtains, and nothing was painted but the pulpit. The backs of the
pews were exactly perpendicular. Provision was made regularly for the
purchase of sand to freshen the floors. This building was burned in
1872.
The first pastor, Rev. Stephen Grover, received as salary one hundred
and fifty dollars a year, though this sum was to be increased ten
dollars a year until the total was two hundred and fifty dollars. Of
course the use of the parsonage and land was given in addition.
Mr. Grover was pastor for forty-six years, and his successor was Rev.
Richard F. Cleveland, to whose son, born in the old manse at
Caldwell,--which was purchased in 1912 by the Grover Cleveland
Birthplace Memorial Association,--was given the name Stephen Grover,
in memory of the first pastor of the church. Forty-seven years later
Stephen Grover Cleveland became President of the United States.
For the first ten months of its history the Caldwell church was
Presbyterian, then it became Congregational, but since 1831 it has
been a Presbyterian body.
[Illustration: OLD TENNENT CHURCH, FREEHOLD, N. J.
_Photo by Hall's Studio, Freehold_
See page 122]
XXVI
OLD TENNENT CHURCH, FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY
ON THE BATTLE FIELD OF MONMOUTH
One of the bas-reliefs on the monument commemorating the decisive
Battle of Monmouth, which has been called the turning-point of the War
for Independence, represents the famous Molly Pitcher as she took the
place at the gun of her disabled husband. In the background of the
relief is the roof and steeple of Old Tennent, the church near which
the battle raged all day long.
Tennent Presbyterian Church was organized about 1692. The first
building was probably built of logs. The second structure, more
ambitious, was planned in 1730. Twenty years later a third structure
was demanded by the growing congregation. This building, which was
twenty-seven years old at the time of the battle of Monmouth, is still
standing.
The plan called for a building sixty feet long and forty feet wide.
The present pastor of the church, Rev. Frank R. Symmes, in his story
of the church, says of the building:
"The sides were sheathed with long cedar shingles, and
fastened with nails patiently wrought out on an anvil, and
the interior was finished with beaded and panelled Jersey
pine.... The pulpit ... is placed on the north side of the
room, against the wall, with narrow stairs leading up to it,
closed in with a door. The Bible desk is nine feet above the
audience floor, with a great sounding board overhanging the
whole.... Below the main pulpit a second desk or sub-pulpit
is built, where the precentor used to stand.... The galleries
extend along three sides of the room."
Among the early pastors of the church were Rev. John Tennent and his
brother, Rev. William Tennent, members of a family famous in the early
history of the Presbyterian Church in New Jersey. In consequence of
their forty-seven years of service the church became known as "Old
Tennent."
The story of the marriage of Rev. William Tennent is a tradition in
the congregation. In spite of his salary of about one hundred pounds,
and the use of the parsonage farm, he became financially embarrassed.
A friend from New York who visited him when he was thirty-three years
old told him he ought to marry and suggested a widow of his
acquaintance. Mr. Tennent agreed to the proposition that he go to New
York in company with his friend, and see if matters could not be
arranged. So, before noon next day, he was introduced to Mrs. Noble.
"He was much pleased with her appearance," the story goes on, "and
when left alone with her, abruptly told her that he supposed her
brother had informed her of his errand; that neither his time nor his
inclination would suffer him to use much ceremony, but that if she
approved ... he would return on Monday, be married, and immediately
take her home." Thus in one week she found herself mistress of his
house. She proved a most invaluable treasure to him.