History of West Point, and its military importance during the American revolution: and the origin and progress of the United States military academy

Front matter

HISTORY

WEST POIE'T,

MILITARY IMPORTMCE DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION:

Preface

This History of West Point is designed to supply a want which all interested in the antecedents of the Post, or in the origin and progress of the United States Military Academy, have long desired to see supplied.

Emanating from the Custodian of the records of the Academy, who has been an instructor for many years in the Institution, and for many years in one of our prominent literary Colleges, the statements put forth are believed to be correct, and the comparisons instituted cannot be regarded as purely speculative.

If errors are found to exist, it is hoped, nevertheless, that a nucleus of truth has been established, which invites amendment and improvement.

No claim to literary merit or originality is asserted. The labors of Ruttenber on the "Obstructions of the Hudson," and of Sargeant on the " Life of Andre," have been freely used, with the consent of the authors or publishers. To these may be added extracts from the North American and Quarterly Reviews ; and the whole, having been subjected to revision by competent authorities at the Academy, is, with their approbation, respectfully submitted.

To the Rev. Roswell Park, D. D., Chancellor of Racine College, Wisconsin, and pioneer author of a Sketch

^j Pkeface.

of West Point; Mr. George H. Mooee, Librarian of the New Yorlc Historical Society; Mr. H. B. Dawson; Lieutenant Elbekkin, U. S. A., and Cadets Lydeckee and Peteikin, of the Military Academy, the author is indebted for courteous assistance in the preparation of the volume.

Adjutant's Office, West Point, N. Y., September 30th, 1863.

LIST OF AUTHORITIES.

In the preparation of this History the following works have been freely consulted, and from some of them copious extracts have been taken :

American State Papees, — Military Affairs.

Ameeioan Aechives.

Ameeioan Historical Magazine, Notes and Queries, &c., of America.

Battles of the United States, by Sea and Land. By H. B. Dawson.

Correspondence of the American Revoltttion, beiog Letters of Eminent Men to George Washington. By J. Sparks.

History of Westchester County. By R. Bolton,

History of Orange County. By S. W. Eager.

HisTOEY OF Putnam County. By W. J. Blake.

Life of Benedict Arnold : Library of American Biography. By J. Sparks.

Life of Major John Andre. By W. Sargeant.

Manuscripts of Major George Fleming. Library of the U. S. Military Academy.

Manuscripts of Major-General Gates : Library of the New York Historical Society.

Manuscripts of Colonel Lamb : Library of the New York Historical Society.

Memoirs of Major-General Heath. By Himself.

Memoirs of Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge. By Himself.

Memoirs of the Life and Times of General John Lamb. By L Q. Leake.

Military Journal dueing the Ameeican Eevolutionaey War. By James Thatcher.

f viii List of Authorities.

North American Review. LVII. 1843.

Obstritotions of the Hudson River. By E. M. Ruttenber. [Munsell'a

Hist. Series. No. V.] Official Records at the United States Military Academy. Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution. By B. J. Lossing. Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U. S. Military Academy.

Reports of the Boards of Visitors at the U. S. Military Academy. Report Mil. Committee : House of Representatives, No. 466. Revolutionary Orders of General Washington. By H. Whiting. Writings of George Washington. By J. Sparks.

I

I

COl^TENTS.

Chapter I

Early grants of the Lands at "West Point. — Title acquired by THE United States by Purchase. — Commissioners Settle the Boundaries. — Further Purchase by the United States. — Jurisdiction ceded by the State of New York. — Early importance OF THE Control of the Hudson during the Revolution. — Resolutions of the Continental Congress, May 25, 1775. — Appointment of Committee by the Provincial Congress, AND Resolutions of the latter, August 18, 1YY5. 9-19

CHAPTER n.

Entrance to the Upper Highlands. — Martelaer's Rock. — Arrival OF THE Commissioners with Col. Romans, the Engineer. — Possession taken of the Island. — Correspondence WITH Col. Beverly Robinson. — Controversy between Romans AND the Commissioners. — A Garrison ordered to Fort Constitution. — First Proposition to occupy West Point and ERECT Redoubts on the east side of the River. — Removal of Romans, and Report of the Commissioners en route to Canada. — Order of Washington for a Board of Officers to Report upon the Condition of the Fortifications in the Highlands. — Report of the Board. 20-38

Chapter III

Appointment of a Secret Committee for Obstructing the Channel of the Hudson. — Their Action and Letter to Washington. — Assignment of General Geo. Clinton to Command in the Highlands. — General Clinton and other Officers ex-

X Contents.

AMINE THE "WORKS AND RePORT UPON THE NECESSITY OF A BoOM

AND Chain at Fort Montgomery. — Major-General Putnam appointed TO Command. — Advance of Sir Henry Clinton up the Hudson to Co-operate with General Burgoyne. — Assault AND Capture of Forts Montgomery and Clinton. 39-47

Chapter IV

Renewed Efforts to Obstruct the Hudson. — Selection of West Point as a Suitable Place. — Letters of "Washington to Putnam ANDi Clinton upon the Subject. — Appointment of a Committee BY the New York Provincial Convention to confer WITH Putnam. — Report of the Committee, in which they Recommend THE Fortification of West Point. — Commencement of THE Works by General Parsons. — Contract made by Colonel Hughes for the Great Chain at West Point. — Report of General Putnam on the Progress of the Fortifications. — Report of General Parsons on the same. — General McDou-

GALL ordered TO ReLIEVE GeNERAL PuTNAM. INSTRUCTIONS TO

General Parsons relative to the Construction of the Works

48-68

Chapter V

Progress of Obstructing the Hudson. — Relic op the Boom and Chain. — Letters of General Glover and Captain Machin. — Disposition of the Boom, Chain, etc. — Fort Arnold. — Discrepancies in the Name of the Work. — Assignment of Major- General Heath to the Command. — Head-quarters of Washington Established at West Point. — Washington's Orders. — Severity of the Winter of 1779-80. — Assignment of General Howe to the Command of the Post. 69-86

CHAPTER VL

Major-General Arnold ordered to Relieve General Howe. — Disaffection of Arnold. — Disheartening Condition of the American Cause. — Advantages of West Point if C-.-iptured by the Enemy. — Sir Henry Clinton's Idea. — The Secret Correspondence with Arnold. — Appointment to meet John An- DERSOsr. — The " Robinson House," and its Original f roprie-

I

J r

Contents. xi

TOR. — The Meeting between Arnold and Anderson Thwarted. — A Flag of Truce from the Vulture, and its Purport. — Smith's House. — Joshua Hett Smith. — Meeting between Arnold AND Anderson. — Attempt of Anderson to Return to New York by Land. — Cow-boys and Skinners. — Capture of Anderson. 87-106

Chapter VII

Narrative of One of the Captors. — Anderson Conveyed to North Castle. — The Papers found on his Person. — Anderson's Appearance Described. — He is Transferred to the " Robinson House." — Arrival of Washington. — The Plot Discovered. — Flight of Arnold. — Andre Conveyed to "West Point and from thence to Tappan. — Board of General Officers Convened. 107-124

Chapter VIII

Proceedings of the Board of General Officers. — Letters of Washington to Congress. — Andre to Washington and Sheldon. — Letter from Arnold to Washington. — Robinson to Washington. — Clinton to Washington. — Arnold to Clinton. — Report of the Board. — Andre to Clinton. — Washington to Clinton. — Robertson to Washington. — Reply of Washington. — Clinton to Washington. — Arnold to Washington. — Robertson to Washington. — Arnold to Washington. — Andr^ to Washington. 125-147

CHAPTER IX. Andre's Statement. — His Execution. — Assignment of General

McDoUGALL TO COMMAND AT WeST PoINT. GeNERAL GrEENE

Ordered to Relieve Him. — The Army go into Winter Quarters. — Visit of the Marquis de Chastellux. — Celebration at West Point of the Birth of the Dauphin of France. — General Knox Ordered to Command at West Point. — Major Fleming Succeeds Him. — Removal op the Great Chain from THE Hudson. — Attempt to Raise the Old Iron in the Sunken Frigates. — Captain Molly. — The Artillerists and Engineers. — Establishment of a Military School. — Repairs on the Fortixii Contents.

FicATioNS. — Report of Major Niven. — Visit of Liancourt. — West Point no longer of Importance as a Defensive Point.

149-171

Chapter X

Early Necessity for a Military Academy Recognized at the Commencement of the Revolution. — Appointment of a Committee to Visit the Army by Congress, and their Report in Favor of such an Institution. — Resolution of Congress upon THE Subject. — Necessity for a Military Academy on th? Establishment of Peace. — Arguments of Generals Huntingdon AND Pickering. — Value of their Experience and Opinions. — Official Report of General Knox on Military Education. — Brief Career of Military Men. — Citizen Graduates AND their Services. — Opinions of Washington and Jefferson on the Establishment of a Military Academy. — Organization of the Corps of Artillery and Engineers, and Appointment OF Cadets thereto, in 1794. — Increase of the Corps and of the Number OF Cadets IN 1798. — Provision for their Education. — Inadequate Means for this Purpose. — Views of President Adams and Mr. McHenry, the Secretary of War. — Organization of the Military Academy by Congress, to be Stationed AT West Point. — Message of President Jefferson Relative to the Subject. — Report of Colonel Williams, the First Superintendent of the Academy. 175-196

CHAPTER XL

Action taken by Congress and Increase of the Number of Cadets.^Urgent Recommendations in Favor of the Institution by President Madison. — Reorganization of the Institution in 1812, by which it became a Branch of the Army. — Reduction OF THE Latter, and Recommendation of the President to Enlarge the Academy. — Inquiry into the Constitutionality OF THE Institution. — Unanimity of Boards of investigating Committees on the Subject. — Progress of the Institution, and THE Difficulties it Encountered. — Changes among the Teachers. — Organization under the Law of 1812. — Resignation op Colonel Williams; Colonel Swift his Successor. — Introduc-

Contents. xiii

TION OF THE INSPECTOR. RuLES WITH RESPECT TO THE PROMOTION

OF Cadets. — Appointment of a Board of Visitors. — Uniform OF the Cadets. — Report of the Chief-Engineer. 197-216

Chapter XII

Appointment of Brevet-Major Thayer as Superintendent. — Impetus imparted to the Institution. — Organization of the Battalion of Cadets. — Improvements in the System of Education. — The Secretary of War directs Five most Distinguished Cadets in each Class, to be Annually Reported. — Amenability OF Cadets to Martial Law. — Cadet Assistant Professors. — General Examinations in January and June. — Furloughs. — Major De Russy Appointed to Succeed Colonel Thayer as Superintendent. — Destruction by Fire of the Academic Building. — New one Erected. — Organization of the Department of Chemistry, &c. — The Cadets Sworn to Serve Eight Years.

217-224

Chapter XIII

Major Delafield Appointed to Succeed Colonel De Russy as Superintendent. — Progress in Improvements. — Establishment of Cavalry Instruction. — Commandant of the Post. — Method OF Appointing the Cadets. — Principles Regulating it. — Not Controlled by the "Wealthy. — Open to all. — Substitutes for the Present System of making Appointments. — Enormous Expense of the Proposed Change. — Comparison of a Cadet and Citizen Applicant for Grade of Lieutenant. — The Military Academy said to be "Only a School of Art," and Accused OF HAVING Produced no " Great Military Genius." — An Appeal TO ITS Records. — Term of Service of Graduates, and of Citizens in the Army. 225-243

Chapter XIV

Law of Congress Regulating the Appointment of Cadets. — Suspension of the Board of Visitors. — Pay of the Cadets Increased. — Major Delafield Succeeded by Captain Brewerton AS Superintendent, — Reappointment of the Board of xiv Contents.

Visitors. — Teachers Discoxtinued by Professorships. — Prosperity OF the Academy. — Demolition of the Old Barracks AND Erection of New. — Captain Brewerton Succeeded by Colonel Lee as Superintendent. — Extension of the Term of Study from Four to Five Years. — Major Barnard and Colonel Delafield Succeed as Superintendents. — Continued Improvements. — Establishment of Local Rank of the Superintendent AND the Commandant of Cadets. — Return from a Five to a Pour Years' Course of Study. — Academic Board NOT Sustained. — A Commission from both Houses of Congress Examine into the Institution. — Major Beauregard and Major Bowman Succeed as Superintendents. — Loyalty of the Cadets. — Description of the Public Buildings. 244^-264

Chapter XV

Appointment of Cadets. — The Qualifications Necessary. — Admission into the Academy. — Instruction and Examination of THE Candidates. — Outfit Procured for the New Cadet. — Classification and System of Military Instruction. — Aca. demic Instruction. — Arrangement into Classes and Sections. — Programme for the Employment of Time. — Thoroughness in Learning and Teaching. — Importance of the Conduct-Roll. — Successful Workings of the System. — Discipline among the Cadets. — Determination of Class-Rank, and its Importance. — Proportion of Graduates to the Number of Cadets Admitted. — Services of the Graduates. 265-282

CHAPTER XVL

"West Point in 1863. — Scenery. — Principal Objects of Interest. — Fort Clinton. — Kosciuszko's Monument. — Dade's Monument. — Narrative of the Survivor of the Massacre. — Chain Battery Walk. — Library and Observatory. — Chapel. — Trophies ON the Walls. — Academic Building. — Museum. — Picture Gallery. — Sculpture Gallery. — Engineering and Chemical Departments. — Cadets' Barrack. — Mess-Hall. — Hospital. — Riding-Hall. — Scenery from Fort Putnam. — The Cemetery. — Mexican Trophies. — The Great Chain. — The Encampment. — Autumnal Landscape at West Point. 28.S-307

Contents. yy

Appendix

PA6B

Appropriations for the Military Academy . . .311 Secretaries of War, from 1789 to 1863 .... 312 List of Inspectors, Superintendents, Professors, Teachers, Heads of Departments, Surgeons, and Adjutants, and their Term of Service at the Military Academy, from its Origin to the present Date ..... 313-319 Statement showing the Number of Cadets actually Admitted INTO THE United States Military Academy from its Origin, March 16, 1802, to October, 1863 . . .320 Statement exhibiting the actual Number of Cadets who HAVE Graduated at the Military Academy, from its Origin

TO THE PRESENT DaTE, WITH THE StATES AND TERRITORIES

whence appointed ........ 322

Statement exhibiting the Condition in Life of the Parents OF the Cadets of the United States Military Academy, FROM 1842 to 1863, INCLUSIVE 324

List of Cadets attached to the Army Register annually, IN conformity with a Regulation requiring the Names of the most Distinguished Cadets, not exceeding Five in each Class, to be reported at each Annual Examination 325-334

Military Academy Band ....... 335

Abstract of all the Acts of Congress providing for the Appointment of Cadets in the Army, and for the Establishment AND Organization of the United States Military Academy 337-361

Military Education in Europe ... ... 362

Special Military School of St. Cyr 364

The Polytechnic School 368

School of Application for the Artillery and Engineering at Metz 371 School of Application for the Staff 373

Military Education in England ...... 377

Royal Military Academy at Woolwich 378

Prussian System of Military Education .... 382

Cadet Schools 382

School of Artillerists and Engineers ..... 383 The Staff School at BerUn 385

XVI

Contents

Austrian System of Military Education

The Artillery Academy

The Engineer Academy

Chapter I

Early grants op the Lands at West Point. — Title acquired by THE United States by Purchase. — Commissioners Settle the Boundaries. — Further Purchase by the United States. — Jurisdiction ceded by the State of New York. — Early importance OF THE Control of the Hudson during the Revolution. — Resolutions of the Continental Congress, May 25, I'^'^S. — Appointment of Committee by the Provincial Congress, AND Resolutions of the latter, August 18, 1775,

The United States tract at West Point includes 2,105 acres of land, the title to which was secured by purchase, as herein described.

West Point proper was originally granted to Captain John Evans ; but, having been vacated by him, it was a;fterwards reassumed and held by the English Crown.

On May 17, 1723, by Royal Letters-Patent, a tract, including the northern portion of the Point, and embracing 1,463 acres of land, was granted to Charles Congreve, upon the condition that, within three years, he or his heirs or assigns should settle and cultivate at least three acres for every fifty acres of land described in the grant. The first settlement at West Point may therefore date from this period. On March 25, 1747, another portion of the Evans grant, adjoining the southwest corner of the Congreve patent, and embracing 332 acres of land, was patented to John Moore, on like condition of settlement within three years.

The patent of Congreve having been purchased in later years by Moore, was conveyed by will, together with the Moore patent, to his son, Stephen Moore, merchant, of Caswell County, N. C.

It appears that a petition was presented to Congress by the latter, praying that the United States would purchase West Point, which had already been so long occupied for public purposes. On this petition Greneral Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury, made a ftivorable report, June 10, 1790.

He quoted the opinion of General Knox, the Secretary of War, as set forth by him in a report to Congress, dated July 31, 1786, that West Point is of the most decisive importance to the defence of the Hudson River, for the following reasons :

First. " The distance across the river is only about fourteen hundred feet, a less distance by far than at any other part.

Second. The peculiar bend, or turn of the river, forming almost a re-entering angle.

Third. The high banks on both sides of the river, favorable for the construction of formidable batteries.

Fourth. The demonstrated practicability of fixing across the river a chain or chains, at a spot where vessels in turning the Point invariably lose their rapidity, and, of course, their force, by which a chain at any other part of the river would be liable to be broken."

These considerations, together with the difficulty [at that time] of taking West Point by siege ; its being within a single night's sail of New York, and its importance in preserving communications between the Eastern and Middle States, induced General Hamilton to recommend its purchase by the United States, as a permanent military post.* Accordingly, /1both the patents held by Stephen Moore were deeded to the United States, on the payment of the sum of $11,085, September 10, 1790, in compliance with the act of Congress of July 5, of the same year./

A controversy having arisen in relation to the boundary of the public lands in after years, a commission was appointed by the Hon. Secretary of War, under an act approved January 22, 1811, to ascertain and settle the exterior lines of the Government property at West Point. This commission surveyed the tract, and submitted a report with map, dated January 22, 1812, establishing the boundary.

Which report was accepted and approved by act of Congress, dated January 5, 1813.

The tract adjoining Congreve's patent, immediately on the south, was one of the six tracts originally granted to Gabriel and William Ludlow, October 18, 1731, under the same condition of early settlement in the three years before referred to.

It was successively owned and afterwards occupied by Richard Williams, of Cornwall, N. Y., and Robert Armstrong, of Sussex County, N. J., by whom it was deeded toBenjamin Rose, December 1, 1785; by Rose to John Dunlap, of Ulster County, N. Y., September 6, 1788, and by Dunlap to Thomas North, of Cornwall, November 22, 1794. North also purchased a tract lying south of the

* Am. State Papers— Claims— 19.

one under consideration, from Isaiah Smith, June 3, 1796, and on the 28th December, 1819, he deeded both tracts to Oliver Gridley, of Bergen County, N. J. '^ On the 13th of May, 1824, Gridley deeded them to the United States for the sum of $10,000, in accordance with the act of Congress, approved March 10, of the same year.

Vexatious claims having in later years arisen between the Government and citizens who resided on the lands, application was made to the legislature of the State of New York, to transfer to the United States a portion of the territory in question.

Accordingly, on March 2, 1826, an act passed the Senate and Assembly, ceding jurisdiction over the tract here described : * Beginning at the mouth of a small brook or creek, northwest of the present Engineer Barracks, and the Powder Magazine ; thence up said creek to its intersection with the road leading west to the Cemetery; thence easterly along the northern brow of the bank bounding the road, to its intersection with the road near the west gate leading to Fort Putnam ; thence due south until the line intersects a line beginning thirty-eight chains south of Gee's Point, and running westerly. The latter crosses the road about 180 feet south of the centre of the entrance to the Cadets' Mess. The ceded district contains nearly two hundred and twenty acres.

The State reserved the right to execute any process, civil or criminal, wherein the real or personal property of the United States was not affected.

Taxes have never been claimed by the State authori-

* Official Records, U. S. M. A.

History of AVest Point. 13

ties but once (in 1828), and then only the road-tax was demanded ; but, in consideration of the liberal repairs habitually made by the Government, it was relinquished.*

A portion of the Moore patent having been offered for sale by the State of New York, for the payment of quit-rents, was purchased by William S. Watkins in 1828, and sold by him, in 1833, to Timothy Mahoney. A suit for trespass having been instituted against the latter, and the illegality and impossibility of his holding the land having been made manifest, in 1839, Mahoney determined to avoid trouble by giving a quit-claim to the United States.

When the Moore and Congreve patents were purchased by the United States, Hugh McCleUan, a Revolutionary soldier, occupied a small house on the patent first named ; and in consequence of distinguished services, the soldier was permitted by General Knox, then Secretary of War, to remain in occupancy and cultivate a garden. McClellan accordingly lived and died on the spot undisturbed, leaving a widow and daughter. The latter, having married, remained on the premises to aid and assist her aged mother. After the lapse of a few years, her husband claimed the whole of Moore's patent as the property of his wife, on the plea that, under the laws of the State of New York, McClellan had acquired a title to the land by years of undisputed possession, and that his own wife was the only lawful heiress.

A suit for ejectment was instituted, and a judgment, rendered in 1839, decided in favor of the United States.

A third suit for trespass, brought against Andrew

Swim, for the recovery of a portion of the Ludlow patent, which had also been sold for the payment of quit-rents, resulted in the removal and ejectment of the trespasser, in 1840.*

The annoyances caused by these parties led to a new survey of the boundaries of the pubhc lands in April, 1839, and the lines as then established have remained unchanged to the present day.

The intervals between the granting of the patents and the transfer of the titles, before described, down to the period at which the American Revolution commenced, are blanks in historical literature.

No traditions even of early settlers are extant, and the probabilities are, that beyond a settlement made to secure a title or grant, West Point — being in a region of primary stratified rocks, heavily covered with drift deposits, and without a suitable soil for cultivation — remained a mere wood-land tract, possessing no higher value than attaches to similar adjoining points in the Highlands, which have ^'emained unsettled and uncultivated to the present day.

Even after hostilities commenced, its importance as a key to the passage of the Hudson remained, for a period of nearly three years, practically of no interest to the Provincial or Continental authorities.

f The student of American history is familiar with the fact, that to obtain control of the navigation of the Hudson River, Avas a favorite project with the British Government, during the whole progress of the War of Independence.

* Official Records, U. S. M. A. f Munsell's Historical Series, No. V.

I/I.lf'x yO^iif^ '^"U

V

In order to a proper understanding of the reasons on which this project was based, we should examine with some attention the topography of the river, not simply as limited to the section of country through which its waters flow, but taking a broader view, and regarding its connection with those more remote and wide-spread regions, that find through it their most direct and natural channel to the seaboard.

Even at the present day, when the skilled enterprise of a numerous and commercial people has linked the interior to the coast, by many and various artificial channels, the great thoroughfare of the State of New York holds a pre-eminent position, mainly due to its unrivalled natural advantages. But these advantages were of paramount importance, both before and during the Revolutionary struggle, when the canoe of the Indian, or the bateau of the voi/ageur, furnished the most convenient and speedy transportation, for purposes either of commerce or of war. Then, to the north, at the head of boat navigation, the Hudson was connected by an easy portage with Lakes George and Champlain, and through them with the St. Lawrence, the great river of the Canadas ; whilst, towards the west, its principal affluent, the Mohawk, gave easy access, scarcely interrupted by a few short portages, to the basin of the great lakes, and to the magnificent river system of the Mississippi.

Thus established by nature as the main artery, connecting a vast network of interior water communications with the Atlantic, and draining the resources of almost half a continent, the Hudson occupied a position of the highest strategic importance.

The British Government had been taught this fact in the course of the long struggle between England and France, then but recently terminated. They knew that by the possession of the Hudson they could separate the eastern part of the Province of New York and the Provinces of New England from the remainder of the Confederacy, and thus, by cutting off communication betw^een these points, speedily reduce the patriots to subjection. Hence, in a letter dated London, July 31st, 1775, conveying to the colonists the plan of operations decided upon by the British Government, it is said that their design is; "to get possession of New York and Albany; to fill both of these cities with very strong garrisons ; to declare all rebels who do not join the King's forces ; to command the Hudson and East rivers with a number of small men-of-war, and cutters, stationed in different parts of it, so as to cut off all communication by water between New York and the Provinces to the northward of it, and between New York and Albany, except for the King's service ; and to prevent also all communication between the city of New York and the Provinces of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and those to the southward of them. By these means," continues the letter, "the Administration and their friends fancy that they shall soon either starve out or retake the garrisons of Crown Point and Ticonderoga, and open and maintain a safe intercourse and correspondence between Quebec, Albany, and New York, and thereby afford the fairest opportunity to their soldiery and the Canadians, in conjunction with the Indians, to be procured by G. J.,* to make continual irruptions into New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and so

* Col. Guy Johnson, a son-in-law of Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of Indian affairs of the Province of New York.

distract and divide the Provincial forces as to render it easy for the British Army at Boston to defeat them, break the spirits of the Massachusetts people, depopulate their country, and compel an absolute subjection to Great Britain."*

But the colonists were equally familiar with the importance of maintaining possession of the river. In a report submitted by the Provincial Congress of New York to the Continental Congress, early in 1775, the subject is thus treated: "If the enemy persist in their plan of subjugating these States to the yoke of Great Britain, they must, in proportion to their knowledge of the country, be more and more convinced of the necessity of their becoming masters of the Hudson river, which will give them the entire command of the water communication with the Indian nations, effectually prevent all intercourse between the eastern and southern Confederates, divide our strength, and enfeeble every effort for our common preservation and security. That this was their original plan, and that General Carlton and General Howe flattered themselves with the delusive hope of uniting their forces at Albany, every intelligence confirms, and it appears to the Committee that they will not give up this grand object until they shall finally relinquish the project of enslaving America.''^

With this brief explanation of the natural causes which gave to the Hudson river its importance in the struggle for Independence, and of the plans adopted by the British Government to secure its control, Ave come to consider some of the means employed by the colonists to defeat

* Jour, of the Proy. Cong, of N. T., 172, f Jour. Prov. Cong. K Y., 723.

the efforts of the English. The general operations of the Continental forces are amply detailed in our histories. Still, there are many facts of interest which have not been recorded, especially in regard to the Fortifications in the Highlands, and the character of the obstruction to the navigation of the river. To supply details in reference to these subjects, will constitute an interesting section in this history.