Chapter XXX…

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. *

Major Andre was introduced to Smith, and both descended into the boat. They landed at the foot of a great hill, called Long Clove Mountain, on the western shore of the Hudson, about two miles below Haverstraw. This place had been designated by Arnold for the meeting, and thither he had repaired from Smith's house. Arnold was concealed in the thick bushes, and to the same place Smith conducted Andre. They were left alone, and for the first time the conspirators heard each other's voice; for the first time Arnold's lips uttered audibly the words of treason. There, in the gloom of night, concealed from all human cognizance, they discussed their dark plans, and plotted the utter ruin of the patriot cause. When, at the twilight of an autumn day, I stood upon that spot, in the shadow of the high hills, and the night gathering its veil over the waters and the fields, a superstitious dread crept over me lest the sentence of anathema, maranatha, should make the spot as unstable as the earth whereon rested the tents of the rebellious Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.

The hour of dawn approached, and the conference was yet in progress. Smith came, and warned them of the necessity for haste. There was much yet to do, and André reluctantly consented to mount the horse rode by Arnold's servant, and accompany the general to Smith's house, nearly four miles distant. ** It was yet dark, and the voice of a sentinel, near

* These passes, which are still in existence, are as follows:

"Head-quarters, Robinson House, September 20, 1780.

"Permission is given to Joshua Smith, Esquire, a gentleman, Mr. John Anderson, who is with him, and his two servants, to pass and repass the guards near King's Ferry at all times.

"B. Arnold, M. Gen'l."

"Head-quarters, Robinson House, September 21, 1780.

"Permission is granted to Joshua Smith, Esq., to go to Dobbs's Ferry with three Men and a Boy with a Flag to carry some Letters of a private Nature for Gentlemen in New York, and to Return immediately.

"B. Arnold, M. Gen'l.

"N.B.--He has permission to go at such hours and times as the tide and his business suits.

"B. A."

** The fact that Arnold had provided a spare horse (for there was no necessity for a servant to accompany him to the place of meeting), is evidence that he expected a longer conference than the remainder of the night would afford. Furthermore, convicted as Arnold is of innate wickedness, it may not be unjust to suppose that he was prepared, after getting Andre within the American lines, to perform any act of dishonor to extort a high price for his treason, or to shield himself from harm if circumstances should demand it.

Arrival of the Conspirators at Smith's House.--The Vulture fired upon.-- Plan of Operations arranged.--Colonel Livingston.

720the village of Haverstraw, gave André the first intimation that he was within the American lines. He felt his danger, but it was too late to recede. His uniform was effectually concealed by a long blue surtout, yet the real danger that environed him, he being within the enemy's lines without a flag or pass, made him exceedingly uneasy.

They arrived at Smith's house at dawn, and, at that moment they heard a cannonade in the direction of the Vulture.

Colonel Livingston had been informed that the vessel lay so near the shore as to be within cannon shot. Accordingly, during the night, he sent a party with cannon from Verplanck's Point, and at dawn, from Teller's Point, they opened a fire upon the Vulture, of such severity that the vessel hoisted her anchors and dropped farther down the river. ** This movement André beheld with anxiety; September 22, 1780 but, when the firing ceased, his spirits revived. During that morning the whole plot was arranged and the day for its consummation fixed. André was to return to New York, and the British troops, already embarked under the pretext of an expedition to the Chesapeake, were to be ready to ascend the river at a moment's warning. Arnold was to weaken the various posts at West, Point by dispersing the garrison. When the British should appear, he was to send out detachments among the mountain gorges, under pretense of meeting the enemy, as they approached, at a distance from the works. As we have noticed, a link from the great chain at Constitution Island was to be removed. The river would be left free for the passage of vessels, and the garrison, so scattered, could not act in force; thus the enemy could take possession with very little resistance. All the

* This view is from the slope in front of the house. The main building is of stone; the wings are wood. The piazza in front of the main building, and the balustrades upon the top, are the only modern additions; otherwise the house appears the same as when Arnold and Andre were there. It stands upon a slope of Treason Hill, a few rods west of the road leading from Stony Point to Haverstraw, and about half way between the two places. It was in a room in the second story that the conspirators remained during the day of their arrival. The present owner of the house and grounds is Mr. William C. Houseman.

** Colonel Livingston, on perceiving the position of the Vulture, conceived a plan for destroying her. He asked Arnold for two pieces of heavy cannon for the purpose, but the general eluded the proposal on frivolous pretenses, so that Livingston's detachment could bring only one four-pounder to bear upon her. He had obtained some ammunition from Colonel Lamb, from West Point, who sent it rather grudgingly, and with an expressed wish that there might not be a wanton waste of it. "Firing at a ship with a fourpounder," he said, "is, in my opinion, a waste of powder." Little did he think what an important bearing that cannonade was to have upon the destinies of America. It was that which drove the Vulture from her moorings, and was one of the causes of the fatal detention of Andre at Smith's house. The Vulture was so much injured that, had she not got off with the flood, she must have struck. Colonel Livingston saw Arnold pass Verplanck's in his barge when he escaped to the Vulture; and he afterward declared that he had such suspicion of him that, had his guard-boats been near, he would have gone after him instantly, and demanded his destination and errand. Henry Livingston, who commanded at Stony Point at the time of Arnold's treason, was born at the Livingston Manor, in Columbia county, New York, January 19th, 1752. He married in Canada at an early age, and while residing there became familiar with the French language. He was among the first who took up arms against Great Britain. He accompanied Montgomery to St. John's, Montreal, and Quebec. He assisted in the capture of the fort at Chambly, and otherwise distinguished himself in that campaign. He was a lieutenant colonel in the army at Stillwater, and was present at the capture of Burgoyne. At the close of the war he was made a brigadier general, and throughout a long life maintained the highest confidence and respect of his countrymen. The Marquis de Chastellux, who breakfasted with him at Verplanck's Point on one occasion, says of him, in his Journal (i., 94), "This is a very amiable and well-informed young man." He died at his residence, Columbia county, May 26th, 1823, at the age of seventy-one years.

The Papers taken from Andre's Boot.--"Artillery Orders."--Forces at West Point--Villefranche's Estimate.

721plans being arranged, Arnold supplied Andre with papers explanatory of the military condition of West Point and its dependencies. * These he requested him to place between his

* These documents, with five of the passes given by Arnold on this occasion, are now preserved in the Library of the Stale of New York, at Albany, having been purchased from the family of a lineal descendant of Governor George Clinton. They were in my custody a few weeks, when I had the opportunity of comparing the following copies, previously made, with the originals, and found them correct. These manuscripts, though somewhat worn, are quite perfect. Those written upon one side of the paper only have been pasted upon thicker paper for preservation. The others yet exhibit the wrinkles made by Andre's foot in his boot. The following are true copies of the several papers:

"West Point, September 5th, 1780.

"Artillery Orders.--The following disposition of the corps is to take place in Case of an alarm:

"Capt. Dannills with his Comp'y at Fort Putnam, and to detach an Officer with 12 men to Wyllys's Redoubt, a Non Commissioned Officer with 3 men to Webb's Redoubt, and the like number to Redoubt No. 4.

"Capt. Thomas and Company to repair to Fort Arnold.

"Captain Simmons and Company to remain at the North and South Redoubts, at the East side of the River, until further Orders.

"Lieutenant Barber, with 20 men of Capt. Jackson's Company, will repair to Constitution Island; the remainder of the Company, with Lieut. Mason's, will repair to Arnold.

"Capt. Lieut. George and Lieut. Blake, with 20 men of Captain Treadwell's Company, will Repair to Redoubt No. 1 and 2; the remainder of the Company will be sent to Fort Arnold.

"Late Jones's Company, with Lieut. Fisk, to repair to the South Battery.

"The Chain Battery, Sherburn's Redoubt, and the Brass Field pieces, will be manned from Fort Arnold as Occation may require.

"The Commissary and Conductor of Military stores will in turn wait upon the Commanding Officer of Artillery for Orders.

"The artificers in the garrison (agreeable to former Orders) will repair to Fort Arnold, and there receive further Orders from the Command'g Officer of Artillery.

"S. Bauman, Major Comm't Artillery."

This document gave the British full information of what would be the disposition of the Americans on the occasion; and as Sir Henry Clinton and many of his officers were acquainted with the ground, they would know at what particular points to make their attacks. This and the following document are in Arnold's handwriting:

"Estimate of Forces at Wst Point and its Dependencies, September 13, 1780.

"A brigade of Massachusetts Militia, and two regiments of Rank and File New Hampshire, Inclusive of 166 Batteaux Men at Verplanck's and Stony Points........................................... 992

"On command and Extra Service at Fishkills, New Windsor, &c., &c., who may be called in occasionally........................................................... ............................. 852

"3 regiments of Connecticut Militia, under the com'd of Colonel Wells, on the lines near N. Castle 488

"A detachment of New York levies on the lines.......................................................... 115

Militia, 2447

"Colonel Lamb's Regiment...................................................... 167

"Colonel Livingston's, at Verplank and Stoney Pts............................. 80

Continent: 247

"Colonel Sheldon's Dragoons, on the lines, about one half mounted................................. 142

"Batteaux Men and Artificers............................................................. .............. 250

Total, 3086."

"N.B.--The Artillery Men are not Included in the above Estimate."

Return of the Ordnance in the different Forts at West Point.--Arnold's Description of the Works.

722stockings and feet, and in the event of accident, to destroy them. He then gave him a pass, a fac simile of which is printed on the next page, and bidding Andre adieu, Arnold went

The following table is in the handwriting of Bauman, Major Commandant of Artillery:

The following description of the works at West Point and its dependencies is in the handwriting of Arnold, endorsed "Remarks on Works at West Point, a copy to be transmitted to his Excellency General Washington. Sep'r. 1780."

"Fort Arnold is built of Dry Fascines and Wood, is in a ruinous condition, incompleat, and subject to take Fire from Shells or Carcasses.

"Fort Putnam, Stone, Wanting great repairs, the wall on the East side broke down, and rebuilding From the Foundation; at the West and South side have been a Chevaux-de-Frise, on the West side broke in many Places. The East side open; two Bomb Proofs and Provision Magazine in the Fort, and Slight Wooden Barrack.--A commanding piece of ground 500 yards West, between the Fort and No. 4--or Rocky Hill.

"Fort Webb, built of Fascines and Wood, a slight Work, very dry, and liable to be set on fire, as the approaches are very easy, without defenses, save a slight Abattis.

"Fort Wyllys, built of stone 5 feet high, the Work above plank filled with Earth, the stone work 15 feet, the Earth 9 feet thick.--No Bomb Proofs, the Batteries without the Fort.

"Redoubt No. 1. On the South side wood 9 feet thick, the Wt. North and East sides 4 feet thick, no cannon in the works, a slight and single Abattis, no ditch or Pickett. Cannon on two Batteries. No Bomb Proofs.

"Redoubt No. 2. The same as No. 1. No Bomb Proofs.

"Redoubt No. 3, a slight Wood Work 3 Feet thick, very Dry, no Bomb Proofs, a single Abattis, the work easily set on fire--no cannon.

"Redoubt No. 4, a Wooden work about 10 feet high and fore or five feet thick, the West side faced with a stone wall 8 feet high and four thick. No Bomb Proof, two six pounders, a slight Abattis, a commanding piece of ground 500 yards Wt.

"The North Redoubt, on the East side, built of stone 4 feet high; above the Stone, wood filled in with Earth, Very Dry, no Ditch, a Bomb Proof, three Batteries without the Fort, a poor Abattis, a Rising piece of ground 500 yards So., the approaches Under Cover to within 20 yards.-- The Work easily fired with Faggots diptd in Pitch, &c.

"South Redoubt, much the same as the North, a Commanding piece of ground 500 yards due East--3 Batteries without the Fort."

The "Artillery Orders" of September 5, 1780; the estimate of forces at West Point; estimate of men to man the works, by Villefranche; the "Return" of Bauman; the description of the works at West Point and vicinity, and a copy of a council of war held at Washington's quarters, September 6, 1780, are the papers which were taken from Andre's stocking. The latter document, which set forth the weakness, wants, and gloomy prospects of the American army, was a statement made by Washington to the council. It is too long for insertion here. Preserved among these papers are five passes, signed by Arnold; a memorandum, which, from its ambiguity, is unintelligible, * and the following letter from Joshua Smith to his brother Thomas, after his arrest on suspicion of being an accomplice with Arnold:

"Robinson House, Sept. 25th, 1780.

"'Dear Brother,--I am here a prisoner, and am therefore unable to attend in person. I would be obliged to you if you would deliver to Captain Cairns, of Lee's Dragoons, a British uniform Coat, which you will find in one of the drawers in the room above stairs.f I would be happy to see you. Remember me to your family.

"I am affectionately yours,

I have before me three interesting MS. letters, written by Smith and his two brothers, at about this time. The first is from the Tory Chief Justice Smith, of New York, to his brother Thomas; the second is from Thomas to Governor Clinton, covering the one from Judge Smith; and the third is from Joshua H. Smith, written in the jail at Goshen. See Note * on page 752.

"New York, 12th October, 1180.

"Dear Sir,--You will naturally suppose us in great anxiety for our brother Joshua, though General Arnold assured us that he knew nothing of his designs, and that he has written to General Washington more than once asserting his, and the innocence of several others still more likely to be suspected, from their connections with him, while in his confidence. Joshua meets with a faithful reward from his old friends. God Almighty protect him. I hope his relations, at least, have not deserted him in his afflictions. Our last accounts were, that he was still in the hands of the army, which appears strange to all here that have just views of civil liberty, or know any thing of Thomas Smith, Esq., that that model for a Constitution poor Joshua helped to frame at Kingston as an improvement upon that under which we were all born.

"Your friends here would be all well, if they thought you were so. Our sister, Livingston, has spent several weeks with us, and will return sooner than we wish.

"Your son's health seems at length to be established, and he seems inclined to winter in South Carolina. I have suspended iny assent to the voyage till I know your opinion; which ought to come soon, to avoid the danger of a winter voyage.

"Commend me to all friends. I add no more, from an attention to your condition in an angry and suspicious hour. God preserve you and yours through the storm, which I hope is nearly over.

"Ever most affectionately yours, William Smith."

"16th October, 1780.

"Dear Sir,---The inclosed was this moment delivered me by Mrs. Hoffman, who came out in a Flag via Elizabeth Town, as I wish to receive no letters from my brother but such as are subject to public inspection. I have taken the liberty to inclose it for your perusal. The situation in which the unhappy affair of my brother Joshua has placed me and all the family, calls for the greatest care to avoid suspicion. I am yours, with esteem and affection, Thomas Smith.

"His Excellency Governor Clinton.

"P.S. I should be glad, if your house at Windsor is not engaged, to hire it, as I am determined to quit this place."

"Goshen, Orange County, 19th Nov., 1180.

"Sir,--In pursuance of a warrant of the Commissioners of Conspiracy, I was on the 12th day of this instant committed to the close custody of the sheriff of this County. My long and severe confinement before and during my trial by the court-martial has greatly impaired my health, and I find my constitution much shattered. I have been subject to repeated attacks of a bilious colic and an intermittent fever; and am advised that a close confinement will soon terminate my existence, unless I can be permitted to use some exercise. I have, therefore, to request some indulgence on this head, in compassion to my distressed situation.

"As I have never been officially acquainted with the sentence of the court-martial, I have also to request your Excellency to favor me with a copy of it by Major Hatfield, and thereby much oblige,

"Your Excellency's most obedient and distressed humble servant,

"His Excellency George Clinton, Esq., &c., Ac. "JOSHUA H. SMITH."

** This was Major Andrê's coat, which that officer exchanged with Smith for a citizen's dress-coat, as mentioned in the text.

*** Sec page 387 of this volume. .

Arnold's Pass.--Smith's Refusal to take André back to the Vulture.--His insufficient Excuse.

723up the river, in his own barge, to head-quarters, fully believing that no obstacle now interposed to frustrate his wicked scheme. Andre passed the remainder of the day alone, and

as soon as evening came, he applied to Smith to take him back to the Vulture. Smith positively refused to go, and pleaded illness from ague as an excuse. If he quaked, it was probably not from ague, but from fear, wrought by the firing upon the Vulture; for he offered to ride half the night with Andre, on horseback, if he would take a land route. Having no other means of reaching the vessel, André was obliged to yield to the force of circumstances. He con-

Andrè's Exchange of Coats.--He and Smith cross the Hudson.--Smith's Letter to his Brother.--Ambiguous Memorandum.

724sented to cross King's Ferry to Verplanck's Point, and make his way back to New York by land. He had been prevailed upon by Arnold, in the event of his taking a land route (which had been talked of), to exchange his military coat for a citizen's dress. This act, and the receiving of papers from Arnold, were contrary to the express orders of Sir Henry Clinton, but André was obliged to be governed by the unforeseen circumstances in which he was placed. Smith agreed to attend him on the way as far as the lower outposts of the American lines. September, 1780 A little before sunset, on the evening of the 22d, accompanied by a negro servant, they crossed King's Ferry. At dusk, they passed through the works at Verplanck's

Point, and turned their faces toward White Plains. While they are pursuing their route toward the Neutral Ground, let us consider events at the Robinson House, and then resume our own journey. We shall overtake the travelers presently, when the concluding portion of the narrative of Arnold's treason will be given.

Arnold's Composure in Presence of his Aids.--Washington's Return from Hartford.--His Approach to Arnold's Quarters.

725

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Chapter XXXI

"Here onward swept thy waves,

When tones, now silent, mingled with their sound,

And the wide shore was vocal with the song

Of hunter chief or lover's gentle strain.

Those pass'd away--forgotten as they pass'd;

But holier recollections dwell with thee.

Here hath immortal Freedom built her proud

And solemn monuments. The mighty dust

Of heroes in her cause of glory fallen,

Hath mingled with the soil, and hallow'd it.

Thy waters in their brilliant path have seen

The desperate strife that won a rescued world,

The deeds of men who live in grateful hearts,

And hymn'd their requiem."

Elizabeth F. Ellet.

ITH such consummate art had General Arnold managed his scheme of villainy thus far, that not a suspicion of his defection was abroad. He returned to his quarters at the Robinson House, as we have observed, toward evening, and after passing a half hour with his wife and child, and one or two domestics, he conversed freely with his aids-de-camp, Majors Varick * and Franks, concerning the important information he was expecting to receive from New York, through a distinguished channel which he had just opened.

This was on the 22d; the 24th was the day fixed upon for the ascent of the river by the September, 1780 British, and the surrender of West Point into the hands of the enemy. Yet, with all this guilt upon his soul, Arnold was composed, and the day on which his treason was to be consummated, no change was observed in his usual deportment.

Washington returned from Hartford on the 24th, by the upper route, through Dutchess county to Fishkill, and thence along the land road by Philip town. Soon after leaving Fishkill, he met Luzerne, the French minister, with his suite, on his way to visit Rochambeau. That gentleman induced the commander-in-chief to turn back and pass the night with him at Fishkill. Washington and his suite were in the saddle before dawn, for he was anxious to reach Arnold's quarters by

* Richard Varick, who, before the close of the war, was promoted to colonel, was a sterling patriot. He admired Arnold as a soldier; and when that officer's defection became known, Variek was almost insane for a day or two, so utterly contrary to the whole life of Arnold appeared the fact. Varick beeame one of Washington's military family near the close of the war, as his recording secretary. He was mayor of the city of New York from 1791 to 1801. On the death of John Jay, he was elected president of the American Bible Society, which office he held until his death, which occurred at Jersey City, July 30th, 1831, at the age of seventy-nine years.

Washington's Delay in reaching Arnold's Quarters.--Announcement of Andrê's Arrest.--Flight of Arnold.--His Wife and Son.

726breakfast time, and they had eighteen miles to ride. The men, with the baggage, started earlier, and conveyed a notice to Arnold of Washington's intention to breakfast with him. When opposite West Point, the commander-in-chief turned his horse down a lane toward the river. La Fayette, perceiving it, said, "General, you are going in a wrong direction; you know Mrs. Arnold is waiting breakfast for us, and that road will take us out of the way." Washington answered, good-naturedly, "Ah, I know you young men are all in love with Mrs. Arnold, and wish to get where she is as soon as possible. You may go and take your breakfast with her, and tell her not to wait for me, for I must ride down and examine the redoubts on this side of the river, * and will be there in a short time." The officers, however, did not leave him, except two aids- de-camp, who rode on, at the general's request, to make known the cause of the delay.

Breakfast was waiting when the officers arrived, and as soon as it was ascertained that the commander-in-chief and the other gentlemen would not be there, Arnold, his family, and the aids-de-camp sat down to breakfast. Arnold appeared somewhat moody. The enemy had not appeared according to arrangements, and Washington had returned at least two days sooner than he anticipated. While they were at table, Lieutenant Allen came with a letter for Arnold. The general broke the seal hastily, for he knew by the superscription that it was from Colonel Jameson, stationed at one of the outposts below. The letter was, indeed, from that officer; but, instead of conveying the expected intelligence that the enemy were moving up the river, it informed him that Major Andre, of the British army, was a prisoner in his custody! ** Arnold's presence of mind did not forsake him, and, although agitated, his emotion was not sufficiently manifest to excite the suspicion of those around him. He informed the aids-de-camp that his immediate attendance was required at West Point, and desired them to say to General Washington, when he arrived, that he was unexpectedly called over the river, and would soon return. He ordered a horse to be made ready, and then leaving the table, he went up to Mrs. Arnold's chamber, and sent for her. ****

There was no time to be lost, for another messenger might speedily arrive with evidence of his treason. In brief and hurried words he told her that they must instantly part, perhaps forever, for his life depended on reaching the enemy's lines without detection. Horror- stricken, the poor young creature, but one year a mother and not two a bride, swooned and sunk senseless upon the floor. Arnold dared not call for assistance, but kissing, with lips blasted by words of guilt and treason, his boy, then sweetly sleeping in angel innocence and purity, (v) he rushed from the room, mounted a horse belonging

* These redoubts were upon the point, near the rail-way tunnel above Garrison's Landing.

** This letter was written on the 23d, two days before. The circumstances of the arrest of André are detailed on page 752 to 758 inclusive.

*** This is a view of the room in the Robinson House in which Arnold was at breakfast when he received Colonel Jameson's letter announcing the arrest of Andre. It is preserved in its original style, which is quite antique. The ceiling is low; the heavy beams are bare; the fire-place surrounded with neat panel-work, without a mantel-shelf. The door on the right opens into a small room which Arnold used as an office; the windows on the left open upon the garden and lawn on the south, from whence I made the sketch of the house printed on page 708.

**** This chamber is also preserved in its original character. Even the panel-work over the fire-place has been left unpainted since the Revolution, in order to preserve some inscriptions made upon it with a knife. There is carved in bold letters, "G. Wallis, Lieut. VI. Mass. Reg't."

* (v) This was the only child of Arnold by his second wife, born in the United States. His name was James Robertson. He entered the British army, and rose to the rank of colonel of engineers. He was stationed at Bermuda from 1816 to 1818, and from the last-named year until 1823 was at Halifax, and the commanding officer of engineers in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. While thus in command, he was at St. John's, and, on going into the house built by his father, in King Street (which is still standing), wept like a child. His wife was a Miss Goodrich, of the Isle of Wight. He is a small man, his eyes of remarkable sharpness, and in features bears a striking resemblance to his father. A gentleman who has been in service with him, and is intimately acquainted with him, speaks of him in terms of high commendation, and relates that he expressed a desire to visit the United States. Since the accession of Queen Victoria, he has been one of her majesty's aids-de-camp. In 1841, he was transferred from the engineer's corps, and is now (1846) a major general, and a knight of the royal Hanoverian Guelphic order.--See Sabine's Biographical Sketches of American Loyalists.

Arnold's Passage to the Vulture.--Treatment of his Oarsmen.-- Washington's visit to West Point.--Discovery of the Treason.

727to one of the aids of Washington, and hastened toward the river, not by the winding road that led to the "Beverly Dock," but along a by-way down a steep hill, which is yet called Arnold's Path. At the dock he entered his barge, and directed the six oarsmen to push out into the middle of the stream, and pull for Teller's Point. *

Arnold's oarsmen, unconscious of the nature of the general's errand, had their muscles strengthened by a promise of two gallons of rum, and the barge glided with unusual speed. He told them he was going on board the Vulture with a flag, and was obliged to make all possible haste, as he wished to return in time to meet General Washington at his quarters. When he passed Verplanck's Point, he displayed a white handkerchief, which, as a signal of amity, answered for both Colonel Livingston at the Point, and Captain Sutherland of the Vulture, which lay in sight a few miles below. They reached the Vulture without interruption, and, after having introduced himself to Captain Sutherland, Arnold sent for the coxswain, and informed him that he and his oarsmen were prisoners. They indignantly asserted their freedom to depart, alleging truly, as they supposed, that they had come on board under the protection of a flag. Arnold coolly replied that they must remain on board. Captain Sutherland would not interfere with Arnold's commands, but, despising his meanness, he gave the coxswain a parole to go on shore and get such things as he wanted. This was done, and, when the Vulture arrived in New York, Sir Henry Clinton set them all at liberty. In this transaction, the inherent meanness of Arnold's spirit was conspicuous, and made the British officers regard him with scorn as a reptile unworthy of that esteem which a high-souled traitor--a traitor because of great personal wrongs- -might claim.

Washington arrived at Robinson's house shortly after Arnold had left. Informed that he had gone to West Point, the commander-in-chief took a hasty breakfast, and concluded not to wait, but go directly over and meet Arnold there. Hamilton remained behind, and it was arranged that the general and his suite should return to dinner. While crossing the river in a barge, Washington expressed his expectation that they would be greeted with a salute, as General Arnold was at the Point; but, to his surprise, all was silent when they approached the landing-place. Colonel Lamb, the commanding officer, who came strolling down a winding path, was much confused when he saw the barge touch the shore. He apologized to Washington for the apparent neglect of courtesy, alleging his entire ignorance of his intended visit. The general was surprised, and said, "Sir, is not General Arnold here?" "No, sir," replied Colonel Lamb, "he has not been here these two days, nor have

I heard from him within that time." This awakened the suspicions of Washington. He proceeded, however, to inspect the several works at West Point, and at about noon returned to the Beverly Dock, from whence he had departed.

While ascending from the river, Hamilton was seen approaching with hurried step and anxious countenance. He conversed with Washington in a low tone, and returned with him into the house, where he laid several papers, the damning evidence of Arnold's guilt, before him. These consisted of the documents given in a preceding chapter, which Arnold had placed in Andre's hands. They were accompanied by a letter from Colonel Jameson, and one from André himself. Jameson, uninformed of the return of Washington from Hartford, had dispatched a messenger thither, with the papers, to the commander-in-chief. After rid-

* The coxswain on the occasion was James Larvey. The aged Beverly Garrison, whom I saw at Fort Montgomery, knew him well. He said Larvey always declared that, had he been aware of Arnold's intention, he would have steered to Verplanck's Point, even if the traitor had threatened to blow his brains out.

Washington's presence of Mind.--Condition of Mrs. Arnold.--Attempts to "head" the Traitor.--His Letters from the Vulture.

728ing almost to Danbury, the messenger heard of the return of Washington by the upper road, and, hastening back, took the nearest route to West Point through Lower Salem, where André was in custody. He thus became the bearer of Andre's letter to Washington. * He arrived at the Robinson House four hours after the departure of Arnold, and placed the papers in the hands of Hamilton.

Washington called in Knox and La Fayette for counsel. "Whom can we trust now?" said the chief, with calmness, while the deepest feeling of sorrow was evidently at work in his bosom. The condition of Mrs. Arnold, who was quite frantic with grief and distress in another room, awakened his liveliest sympathies. He believed her innocent of all previous knowledge of her husband's treasonable designs, and this gave keenness to the pang which her sorrows created." Yet he maintained his self-possession, and calmly said, when dinner was announced, "Come, gentlemen, since Mrs. Arnold is unwell, and the general is absent, let us sit down without ceremony."

As soon as the contents of the papers were made known, Washington dispatched Hamilton on horseback to Verplanck's Point, that preparations might be made there to stop the traitor. But Arnold had got nearly six hours' the start of him, the tide was ebbing, and the six strong oarsmen, prompted by expected reward, had pulled with vigor. When Hamilton arrived at the Point, a flag of truce was approaching from the Vulture to that post. The bearer brought a letter from Arnold to Washington, which Hamilton forwarded to the commander-in-chief, and then wrote to General Greene at Tappan, advising him to take precautionary measures to prevent any movement of the enemy in carrying out the traitor's projects. The failure of the plot was not known to Sir Henry Clinton until the arrival of the Vulture at New York the next morning, and then he had no disposition to venture an attack upon the Americans in the Highlands, now thoroughly awake to the danger that had threatened.

Arnold's letter to Washington was written to secure protection for his wife and child. "I have no favor to ask for myself," he said; "I have too often experienced the ingratitude of my country to attempt it; but, from the known humanity of your excellency, I am induced to ask your protection for Mrs. Arnold from every insult and injury that a mistaken vengeance of my countrymen may expose her to. It ought to fall only on me. She is as good and innocent as an angel, and is incapable of doing wrong." In this letter Arnold avowed his love for his country, and declared that that sentiment actuated him in his present

* This letter of Andre's is a model of frankness, and exhibits the highest regard for truth and honor. After revealing his name and character, and relating the circumstances under which he was lured within the American lines without his knowledge or consent, and mentioning his capture, he says, "Thus, as I have had the honor to relate, was I betrayed (being adjutant general of the British army) into the vile condition of an enemy in disguise within your posts." He disavowed any intention of being a spy, and asked, as a favor, that he should not be branded as such, he "being involuntarily an impostor." He further requested the privilege of sending an open letter to Sir Henry Clinton, and another to a friend, for linen; and concluded by intimating that there were several American prisoners who were taken at Charleston for whom he might be exchanged.

** "She, for a considerable time," says Hamilton, in a vivid description of the scene, "entirely lost herself. The general went up to see her. She upbraided him with being in a plot to murder her child. One moment she raved; another, she melted into tears. Sometimes she pressed her infant to her bosom, and lamented its fate, occasioned by the imprudence of its father, in a manner that would have pierced insensibility itself. All the sweetness of beauty, all the loveliness of innocence, all the tenderness of a wife, and all the fondness of a mother, showed themselves in her appearance and conduct. We have every reason to believe that she was entirely unacquainted with the plan, and that the first knowledge of it was when Arnold went to tell her he must banish himself from his country and from her forever. She instantly fell into convulsions, and he left her in that situation." Mr. Leake, the biographer of Colonel John Lamb, basing his opinion upon information received from Arnold's sister Hannah, in 1801, regards this scene as only a trick to deceive, and believes that Arnold's wife was the chief instrument in bringing about the defection of her husband. Hannah Arnold averred that the traitor's wife received a pension from the Queen of England during her life.--See Life of John Lamb, by Isaac Q. Leake, p. 270. I can not but regard the inference of Mr. Leake as untenable. It was certainly consoling to the feelings of Hannah Arnold to believe that the influence of another, and not his own base principles, was the source of the defection and disgrace of her brother.

Beverly Robinson's Letter to Washington.--The Army at Tappan put in Motion.--André ordered to West Point

729conduct. "In short," says Sparks, "the malignant spirit, impudence, and blunted moral feeling shown in this letter were consistent with his character. Attachment to his wife was the only redeeming quality which seemed not to be extinguished." *

Washington also received a letter from Beverly Robinson, dated on board the Vulture, demanding, in mild terms, the release of André, claiming it as equitable, he being on shore with a flag of truce at the request of General Arnold. Robinson attempted to influence the mind of the chief by referring to their former friendship, but the letter had not the least effect upon Washington's firmness of purpose. He was ignorant of the extent of defection, and his thoughts and efforts were first directed to measures of security. He had a most delicate task to perform. He might suspect the innocent, and give his confidence to the unworthy. He resolved, as the least dangerous course, to confide unreservedly in all his officers, and this resolution, promptly acted upon, had a very salutary effect. **

Washington sent orders to General Greene, directing him to put the left wing of the army, near Tappan, in motion as soon as possible, and march toward King's Ferry. It was midnight when the express reached Greene's quarters; before dawn the whole division was upon the march. The commander-in-chief also dispatched a letter to Colonel Jameson, directing him to send Andre to Robinson's house under a strong guard. This messenger also reached his destination at Lower Salem, at midnight. Andre was aroused, and, although the rain was falling fast, and the night was exceedingly dark, a guard, under Major Tallmadge, set off with the prisoner immediately. They rode all night, and arrived at Robinson's house at dawn on the 26th. André was taken over to West Point the same September, 1780 evening, and on the morning of the 28th was conveyed, under a strong escort of cavalry, to Tappan, where he was tried and convicted as a spy. This event will be noticed in connection with the details of his capture. For the present, my tour leads me to the consideration of other important transactions within cannon-echo of the Sugar Loaf, at whose base we are standing, and up whose steep sides I was desirous of climbing, to view the prospect so glowingly depicted by the pen of Dr. Dwight; *** but recollecting that the venerable boatman was awaiting my return, I exchanged a hasty adieu with Lieutenant Arden, and hastened back to the Beverly Dock by way of Arnold's, Path. There I found the old waterman quietly

* Inclosed in the letter to Washington was one for Mrs. Arnold, who, when thus made acquainted of her husband's safety, became more quiet. She was treated with great tenderness by Washington, and was soon afterward sent to New York under an escort, and joined her husband. Her affection survived his honor, and through all his subsequent career she exemplified the character of a true woman's love, which often "Clings like ivy to a worthless thing."

** The position of Colonel Livingston at Verplanck's Point, with some circumstances that appeared suspicious, made him liable to be distrusted, for it might fairly be presumed that he was directly or indirectly concerned in Arnold's movements. By a brief letter, Washington ordered Livingston to come to head-quarters immediately. Conscious of his integrity, that officer promptly obeyed, but he expected his conduct would be subjected to a strict investigation. Washington made no inquiries. He told him that he had more explicit orders to give than he could well communicate by letter, and that was the object of calling him to the Highlands. "It is a source of gratification to me," said the commander-in-chief, "that the post was in the hands of an officer so devoted as yourself to the cause of your country." Washington's confidence, was not misplaced, for there was not a purer patriot in that war than Henry Livingston.

*** Dwight's Travels in New England.

**** This view is taken from the Hudson River rail-road, looking north. The dock, covered with cord wood, is seen near the point on the left. It is at the termination of a marsh, near the point of a bold, rocky promontory, through which is a deep rock cutting for the road. The distant hills on the extreme left are on the west side of the Hudson; and through the gorge formed for the road may be seen the military edifices of West Point.

Buttermilk Falls.--Ride to Fort Montgomery.--Mrs. Rose.--A speculating Daughter.

730fishing, and apparently unconscious that two hours had elapsed since we parted. He locked his oars, and in a few minutes we were at the foot of Buttermilk Falls. I clambered up the steep, rough road under the cliff, to the village, dined at a late hour upon cold mutton and stale bread, and in a light wagon, procured with difficulty for the occasion, set off, with a boy driver, for Fort Montgomery, about four miles below. For half the distance the road (which is the old military one of the Revolution) was smooth; the residue of the way was as rough as rocks and gulleys could make it. On every side huge bowlders, many of them ten feet in diameter, lie scattered over the bare flat rocks, like fruit shaken from a tree in autumn. They become more numerous toward the base of the steep mountain range on the west, where they lie in vast masses, like mighty pebbles rolled up by the waves upon the shore. Here the geologist has a wonderful page spread out for his contemplation.

Within a short distance of Fort Montgomery, we turned up a rough mountain road to visit an old lady named Rebecca Rose, eighty years of age, who lived close by Fort Montgomery at the time it was taken by the enemy. I found her upon a bed of sickness, too feeble then to converse, but at a subsequent visit she was well and communicative. She was a child only seven or eight years old, and has no distinct recollection of events at the taking of the forts, except her care and anxiety in concealing her rag babies in a sap trough, while her parents were hiding their property in the woods. Her father was a tanner and shoemaker, in the employ of the garrison at the two forts. The British tried to frighten him into the performance of the duty of a guide for them, by twice hauling him up to an apple-tree with a halter around his neck. He resolutely defied them, and they passed on. From the cottage of Mrs. Rose, among the hills, is one of the most magnificent views of rock and forest, cliff and river, imaginable; overlooking Forts Montgomery and Clinton, the Race flanked by Anthony's Nose and the Dunderberg, and the fertile hills of West Chester in the distance.

Near Mrs. Rose lived an old soldier who was wounded at the siege of Fort Montgomery. I found him living with his daughter, a little plump widow of fifty, in a cottage beside a clear stream that comes leaping down from the hills. He was a private in Captain De Vere's company, Colonel Dubois's regiment, and was bayoneted in the thigh when the enemy made their way over the ramparts of Fort Montgomery and fought the garrison hand to hand. Although nearly ninety years old, he was vigorous and talked sensibly. I asked the privilege of sketching his portrait, which he readily granted, and I was about unlocking my port-folio for the purpose, when his daughter, resting upon a broom handle, and assuming the shrewd look of a speculator, inquired, "What'll ye give?" "For what?" I inquired. "For daddy's likeness," she answered. Unacquainted with the market value of such commodities, and being doubtful as to the present sample possessing much intrinsic worth, I made the indefinite offer of "What is right."

"No, no," she said, tuning her voice to a higher key, and beginning to sweep the floor vigorously, "you sha'n't look at him till you tell me what you'll give. We've been cheated enough a'ready. Two scamps come along here last week, and told my darter they'd make a likeness on her for their breakfasts, and they on'y guv her a 'nasty piece of black paper, that had a nose no more like sis's than that tea-pot spout. No, sir; give me a half a dollar, or clear out quick!" The more fortunate silhouettists had evidently ruined my prospects for a gratuitous sitting of the old soldier; and feeling very doubtful whether the demanded half dollar, if paid, would add a mite to his comforts, I respectfully declined giving the price. The filial regard of the dear woman was terribly shocked, and she called me a cheat and other hard names. I shook hands with the old "Continentaler" as I rose to depart, and turning quietly to the dame, who was yet sweeping around the room in a towering passion, invited her to sit for her portrait! This produced a climax; she seized the broom by the brush; I saved my head by closing the door between us. I walked off unscathed and much amused, in the midst of a perfect

Sites of Forts Clinton and Montgomery.--Lake Sinnipink.--Beverly Garrison.

731shower of grape-shot from her tongue-battery, compelled to content myself with a pen and ink sketch of the hornet instead of the one I had asked for.

We descended the hills, and proceeded to the site of Fort Montgomery, a rough promontory on the north side of Peploap's, or Poplopen's, Kill. * It terminates in a steep cliff at the mouth of the stream, and was an admirable situation for a strong fortress to command the river. Almost the entire line of the fortifications may be traced upon the brow of the cliff, which is rocky, and bare of every thing but stinted grass and dwarf cedars. More than half way down to the water's edge are the remains of the two-gun-battery which was placed there to cover the chain and chevaux de frise which were stretched across the river from the upper side of Poplopen's Kill to Anthony's Nose.

We crossed to the southern side of the stream, and clambered up a winding and romantic pathway among cedars, chestnuts, and sassafras, to the high table land whereon stood Fort Clinton, within rifle shot of Fort Montgomery. A fine mansion, belonging to Mrs. Pell, with cultivated grounds around it, occupy the area within the ravelins of the old fort. The banks of the fortress have been leveled, its fossé filled up, and not a vestige of it remains. About a quarter of a mile west of Mrs. Pell's is Lake Sinnipink, a small sheet of crystal water, surrounded by the primitive forest, and as wild in its accompaniments as when the Indian cast his bait in its deep waters.

From its western rim rises the highest peak of Bear Mountain to an altitude of more than a thousand feet. The lake itself is one hundred and twenty-three feet above the river.

Near the north end of Lake Sinnipink, on the river slope of the hills, stands the cottage of the aged Beverly Garrison, a hale old man of eighty-seven years. He was a stout lad of fourteen when the forts were taken. His father, who worked a great deal for Beverly Robinson, and admired him, named this boy in honor of that gentleman. When the British approached the

* This kill, or creek, is the dividing line between the towns of Monroe and Cornwall, in Orange county. Its correct orthography is uncertain. Upon a map of the State of New York made in 1779 it is called Cop-lap's Kill; in the British plan of the engagements there, of which the map given on page 166 is a copy, it is spelled Peploap's; Romans, who was engaged in the construction of the forts, wrote it Pooploop's.

** This view is from an eminence near the mountain road, about three quarters of a mile in the rear of Fort Montgomery. In the distance, the cultivated slopes of West Chester, between Peekskill and Ver-planck's Point, are seen. On the left is the high, rocky promontory called Anthony's Nose; on the right is the Dunderberg, with a portion of Beveridge's Island; the buildings in the center of the picture, owned by Mrs. Pells indicate the site of Fort Clinton; toward the right is seen the deep ravine through which flows Poplopen's Creek, and on the extreme right, partly hidden by the tree in the foreground, and fronting the river, is the site of Fort Montgomery. The scenery from this point of view is indeed magnificent This picture is from a pencil sketch by Tice, who accompanied me to the spot.

*** This view is from the outlet of the lake, within a few rods of the spot where a large number of the Americans and British were slain in a preliminary skirmish on the afternoon when the forts were taken. The bodies were thrown into the lake, and from that circumstance it was afterward called Bloody Pond.

Mr. Garrison's Recollections.--"Captain Molly."--Character of Forts Clinton and Montgomery.--Chevaux de frise.

732forts, Beverly and his father, who was wagon-master at Fort Montgomery, were ordered to take a large iron cannon to the outworks on the neck of the promontory. While thus engaged, they were made prisoners; but Beverly, being a boy, was allowed his liberty.

He told me that he was standing on the ramparts of Fort Montgomery on the morning when Arnold passed by, in his barge, fleeing to the Vulture, and that he recognized the general, as well as Larvey, his coxswain. He also informed me that a Tory, named Brom Springster, piloted the enemy over the Dunderberg to the forts. Brom afterward became a prisoner to the patriots, but his life was spared on condition that he should pilot Wayne on his expedition over the same rugged hills to attack Stony Point. Mr. Garrison remembered the famous Irish woman called Captain Molly, the wife of a cannon-ier, who worked a field-piece at the battle of Monmouth, on the death of her husband. She generally dressed in the petticoats of her sex, with an artilleryman's coat over. She was in Fort Clinton, with her husband, when it was attacked. When the Americans retreated from the fort, as the enemy scaled the ramparts, her husband dropped his match and fled. Molly caught it up, touched off the piece, and then scampered off. It was the last gun fired by the Americans in the fort. Mrs. Rose (just mentioned) remembers her as Dirty Kate, living between Fort Montgomery and Buttermilk Falls, at the close of the war, where she died a horrible death from the effects of a syphilitic disease. I shall have occasion to refer to this bold camp-follower, whom Washington honored with a sergeant's commission for her bravery on the field of Monmouth, nearly nine months afterward, when reviewing the events of that battle.

Here, by the clear spring which bubbles up near the cottage of the old patriot, and in the shadow of Bear Mountain, behind which the sun is declining, let us glance at the Revolutionary history of this region.

Forts Clinton and Montgomery were included in the Highland fortifications ordered to be constructed in 1775--6. These, like Fort Constitution, were commenced by Bernard Romans, assisted by skillful French engineers, and were finally completed under the superintendence of Captain Thomas Machin. Fort Montgomery was of sufficient size to accommodate eight hundred men; Fort Clinton was only about half as large.

They were built of stones and earth, and were completed in the spring of 1776. Pursuant to a recommendation of Romans, made the previous autumn, preparations were made to place obstructions in the river from the mouth of Poplopen's, or Peploap's Kill, to Anthony's Nose, opposite. These obstructions, which were not completed until the autumn of 1777, just before the forts were attacked, consisted of a very strong boom, and heavy iron chain. * The latter, eighteen in length, was hundred feet buoyed up by heavy spars, connected by iron links, and also by large rafts of timber. It was believed that these obstructions, covered by the guns of the fort, and accompanied by several armed vessels, would be sufficient to effectually prevent the enemy from ascending the river. The result, however, was otherwise.

* Generals Knox and Greene visited Fort Montgomery in the spring of 1777, in company with Generals Wayne, M'Dougal, and Clinton. They made a joint report to Washington, in which they recommended the completion of the obstructions substantially as they were afterward done. The boom and the chevaux de frise so obstructed the current of the river (here very strong), that the water was raised two or three feet above them, and pressed upon them heavily. Twice the chain was parted by this pressure: first, a swivel, which came from Ticonderoga, was broken; and the second time a clevis, which was made at Poughkeepsie, gave way.

Condition of the British Forces.--Putnam's intended Expedition.--Sir Henry Clinton's Stratagem.--Landing of British Troops.

733When Burgoyne found himself environed with difficulties at Saratoga, and perceived the rapid augmentation of the American army under Gates, he dispatched messengers to Sir Henry Clinton, then commanding at New York in the absence of General Howe, * urging him to make a diversion in his favor, and join him, if possible, with a force sufficient to scatter the half-disciplined provincials. Clinton was eager to comply; but a re- enforcement of troops from Europe, expected for several weeks, was still delayed. This force, amounting to almost two thousand men, under General Robertson, arrived at the beginning of October. Having sailed in Dutch bottoms, they were three months on the voyage. The 1777 first battle of Stillwater had now been fought, and the second was nigh at hand. Putnam was in the Highlands, with fifteen hundred men; his head-quarters were at Peekskill. Washington had drawn upon Putnam, toward the close of September, for twenty-five hundred troops, to aid in defending Philadelphia and the works on the Delaware, then menaced by the enemy. ** Their places were supplied by militia of New York and Connecticut; but, apprehending no hostile movement up the Hudson, Putnam had discharged about one thousand of them, leaving his effective force only fifteen hundred strong. Forts Clinton and Montgomery, commanded by the brothers James and George Clinton, were feebly garrisoned; in both fortresses there were not more than six hundred men, chiefly militia from Dutchess and Ulster. There was a fortification near Peekskill, called Fort Independence, which was also feebly garrisoned; in fact, the Highland posts were almost defenseless against a respectable demonstration on the part of the enemy.

On the arrival of re-enforcements, Sir Henry Clinton prepared for an expedition up the Hudson, partly for the purpose of destroying American stores at Peekskill, but chiefly to make a diversion in favor of Burgoyne. On Saturday evening, the 4th of October, he proceeded up the river in flat boats and transports, with about five thousand men, 1777 and landed at Tarrytown, nearly thirty miles from New York. ** This was a feint to deceive General Putnam into the belief that Peekskill was his destination. To strengthen this belief, and to divert Putnam's attention from the Highland forts, Clinton proceeded on Sunday, with three thousand troops, to Verplanck's Point, eight miles below Peekskill, where he debarked. General Putnam fell back, on his approach, to the high ground in the rear of Peekskill, and sent a messenger to Governor Clinton, desiring him to send to his aid as many troops as he could spare from the forts. The militia in the vicinity rallied around Putnam, and he had about two thousand men, on the afternoon of the 5th, to dispute the progress of the enemy up the Hudson, either by land or water. Sir Henry Clinton perceived that his stratagem was successful, and the next morning, under cover of a fog, he passed two thousand of his troops over to Stony Point, whence they made their way among the tangled defiles and lofty crags of the Dunderberg to Forts Clinton and Montgomery, twelve miles distant. The transports were anchored near Stony Point, and the corps of Loyalists, under Colonels Bayard and Fanning, remained at Verplanck's Point. A detachment was left near Stony Point, to guard the pass and preserve a communication with the fleet. Three frigates, the Tartar, Preston, and Mercury, proceeded up the river to a position between what is now known as Caldwell's Landing and Fort Independence, and within cannon-shot of the latter.

Governor Clinton received advices on Sunday night of the arrival of the enemy's ships and transports at Tarrytown, and, on Monday morning, a scouting party of one hundred

* General Howe was now in Pennsylvania. His army was encamped at Germantown, and being in possession of Philadelphia, he had established his headquarters in that city.

** When this requisition was made, Putnam was preparing a plan for attacking the enemy at four different points: Staten Island. Long Island, Paulus's Hook, and New York. He relied upon the militia of Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, to accomplish his designs. Fortunately, Washington made his requisition in time to prevent what must have proved a disastrous expedition.

*** Colonel Luddington was posted at Tarrytown with about five hundred militia. Clinton sent a flag with a peremptory summons for them to surrender themselves prisoners of war. While parleying with the flag the enemy endeavored to surround the militia, which Luddington perceiving, he ordered a retreat. The British then returned to their shipping.

Governor Clinton informed of the Landing of the British.--A reconnoitering Party.--Skirmish near Doodletown.

734men under Major Logan, which he had sent to the Dunderberg to watch the motions of the enemy, returned with information that about forty boats, filled with troops, had landed near Stony Point. Another party of thirty men was sent out upon the mountain road leading from Fort Clinton to Haverstraw; and at a place called Doodletown, three miles south from the fort, they fell in with the advanced guard of the approaching British. The Americans were ordered to surrender, but refused, when the enemy fired upon them. They returned the fire with spirit, and retreated to the fort without losing a man.

The design of the enemy was now apparent. It was past noon, and no intelligence had been received from Putnam. Clinton had dispatched a messenger to that officer, requesting him to send him a strong

* This view is from Peekskill landing, looking up the river. On the left is the Dunderberg, or Thunder Mountain, over which the troops marched to Forts Clinton and Montgomery. The dark spot on the brink of the river, upon the extreme left, shows the place of the coffer-dam made by the deluded seekers after Captain Kidd's treasure. At the water's edge, on the right, is seen the grading of the Hudson River railroad, in course of construction when the sketch was made. The dark mountain on the right is Anthony's Nose. Intermediately, and projecting far into the river, is a high, sandy bluff, on which stood Fort Independence. Further on is Beveridge's Island; and in the extreme distance, behind the flag-staff, is seen Bear Mountain. Between the point of Fort Independence and the rock cutting of the rail-road is the mouth of the Peek's Kill, or Peek's Creek. The Plan of the attack here given is copied from the narrative of Stedman, a British officer, and appears to be mainly correct. The reader may correct the slight errors by the text.

Treachery of a Messenger.--Putnam deceived.--Skirmish near Fort Montgomery.--Forts ordered to be Surrendered.

735re-enforcement to defend the forts. The messenger, whose name was Waterbury, treacherously delayed his journey, and the next day deserted to the enemy. In the mean while, Putnam, astonished at hearing nothing further from the enemy, rode to reconnoiter, and did not return to his head-quarters, near Continental Village, until after the firing was heard on the other side of the river. Colonel Humphreys, who was alone at head-quarters when the firing began, urged Colonel Wyllys, the senior officer in camp, to send all the men not on duty to Fort Montgomery. * He immediately complied, but it was too late. It was twilight before they reached the river, and the enemy had then accomplished their purpose.

The British army, piloted by a Tory, traversed the Dunderberg in a single column, and at its northern base separated into two divisions. One division, under Lieutenant-colonel Campbell, consisting of nine hundred men, was destined for the attack on Fort Montgomery; the other, under the immediate command of Sir Henry Clinton, and consisting of an equal number, was to storm Fort Clinton. There was a large body of Hessians in each division. Governor Clinton, on hearing of the attack upon his scouts near Doodletown, sent out a detachment of more than one hundred men, under Colonels Bruyn and M'Claghrey, ** with a brass field- piece and sixty men, to an advantageous post on the road to Orange furnace. As the enemy approached, another detachment of one hundred men was sent to the same point, but they were pressed back by the bayonets of a superior force, and retreated to a twelve-pounder in the rear, leaving their guns (which they spiked) in possession of the assailants. With the second cannon they did great execution, until it bursted, when they retreated to Fort Montgomery, followed by Emerick's corps of chasseurs, a corps of Loyalists and New York volunteers, and the fifty- second and fifty-seventh British regiments, under Campbell. The pursued kept up a galling fire with small-arms while on their retreat, and slew many of the enemy.

Sir Henry Clinton, in the mean while, made his way toward Fort Clinton with much difficulty, for upon a narrow pass between the Sinnipink Lake at the foot of Bear Mountain and the high river bank was a strong abatis. ** This was overcome after much hard fighting, and at about four o'clock both forts were invested by the enemy. Sir Henry Clinton sent a flag, with a summons for both garrisons to surrender prisoners of war within five minutes, or they would all be put to the sword. Lieutenant-colonel Livingston was sent by Governor Clinton to receive the flag, and to inform the enemy that the Americans were determined to defend the forts to the last extremity. The action was immediately renewed

* See Humphreys's Life of Putnam. This detachment seems to have been mistaken by Stedman for the whole army under Putnam, for on his map, at the top, he says, "General Putnam with 2000 men endeavoring to cross the river."

** In connection with a notice of Colonel M'Claghrey, who was made a prisoner at the capture of the fort, Mr. Eager, in his History of Orange County, makes a slight error. He says he was taken to New York, and confined in the Hospital. In the room above him, he affirms, was Colonel Ethan Allen, who had been a prisoner in the hands of the British since the autumn of 1775. The floor between them was full of wide cracks, through one of which M'Claghrcy, who had heard of the capture of Burgoyne, passed a scrap of paper to Allen, on which he had written the information. Allen immediately went to his window, and called out to some British officers passing in the street, "Burgoyne has marched to Boston to the tune of Yankee Doodle." "For this and other offenses, we believe," says Mr. Eager, "Allen was sent to England in chains." Quite the contrary. He was sent to England in irons two years before, and had returned to New York, where he was admitted to his parole. In January, 1777, he was ordered to reside on Long Island; and in August following he was sent to the provost jail, where he remained until exchanged in May, 1778.

*** These abatis were placed on the margin of the outlet of Lake Sinipink, near its center, the place from which the view on page 731 was sketched.

Attack on Forts Clinton and Montgomery.--Flight of the Americans.-- Destruction of Vessels and the Chevaux de frise.

736with great vigor on both sides. The British vessels under Commodore (afterward Admiral) Hotham approached within cannon shot of the forts, and opened a desultory fire upon them, and on some American vessels lying above the chevaux de frise. * At the same time, Count Grabowski, a brave Pole, and Lord Rawdon, led the grenadiers to the charge on Fort Montgomery. The battle continued until twilight, when the superior number of the assailants obliged the patriots at both forts to give way, and attempt a scattered retreat or escape. It was a cloudy evening, and the darkness came on suddenly. This favored the Americans in their flight, and a large proportion of those who escaped the slaughter of the battle made their way to the neighboring mountains in safety.

The brothers who commanded the forts escaped. General James Clinton was severely wounded in the thigh by a bayonet, but escaped to the mountains, and reached his residence in Orange county, sixteen miles distant, the next day, where he was joined by his brother George, and about two hundred of the survivors of the battle. Lieutenant-colonels Livingston, Bruyn, and Claghery, and Majors Hamilton and Logan, were made prisoners. The loss of the Americans in killed, wounded, and prisoners, was about three hundred; that of the British about one hundred and forty in killed and wounded, among whom were Colonel Campbell and Count Grabowski. **

Above the boom the Americans had two frigates, two galleys, and an armed sloop. On the fall of the forts, the crews of these vessels spread their sails, and, slipping their cables, attempted to escape up the river, but the wind was adverse, and they were obliged to abandon them. They set them on fire when they left, to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy. "The flames suddenly broke forth, and, as every sail was set, the vessels soon became magnificent pyramids of fire. The reflection on the steep face of the opposite mountain, and the long train of ruddy light which shone upon the water for a prodigious distance, had a wonderful effect; while the ear was awfully filled with the continued echoes from the rocky shores, as the flames gradually reached the loaded cannons. The whole was sublimely terminated by the explosions, which left all again in darkness." *** Early in the morning October 1777 the obstructions in the river, which had cost the Americans a quarter of a million of dollars, Continental money, were destroyed by the British fleet. Fort Constitution, opposite West Point, was abandoned, passage up the Hudson. Vaughan and Wallace marauding expedition, and, as we have before noticed, burned Kingston, or Esopus. It was deemed too late to assist Burgoyne by a junction with him, for on that very day the second battle of Stillwater, so disastrous to that commander, was fought; ten days afterward he and his whole army were captives. Yet the fall of the Highland forts was a serious blow to the Americans, for quite a large quantity of ordnance and ammunition was collected there. ****

* An account in the Annual Register for 1778 says that the British galleys approached so near the forts that the men could touch the walls with their oars! Both forts were upon a precipice more than one hundred feet above the water, rather beyond the reach of oars of ordinary length.

** Count Grabowski fell at the foot of the ramparts of Fort Montgomery, pierced by three bullets. He gave his sword to a grenadier, with a request that he would convey it to Lord Rawdon, with the assurance of the owner that he died as a brave soldier ought to.--Stedman, i., 362. A pile of stones still marks the burial-place of the count.

*** Stedman, i., 364.

**** The Americans lost 67 cannons in the forts, and over 30 in the vessels, making a total of more than 100 pieces. Also, 54 casks, 11 half barrels, and 12,236 pounds of loose powder, exclusive of what was in the vessels. There were also 1852 cannon cartridges, and 57,396 for muskets. Also, 9530 round cannon shot, 886 double-headed, 2483 grape and case, and 36 cwt. of langridge; 1279 pounds of musket balls, 116 pounds of buck shot, and 5400 flints. In addition to these were stores of various kinds, such as gun-carriages, port-fires, tools, &c., in great plenty.

Evening Voyage in a Fisherman's Shallop.--Anthony's Nose.--Peekskill.-- Situation of the Village

737It was almost sunset when I left the ruins of Fort Montgomery to seek for a waterman to carry me to Peekskill, on the east side of the river, four miles distant. The regular ferryman was absent on duty, and after considerable search, I procured, with difficulty, the services of a fisherman to bear me to the distant village. We embarked at twilight--a glorious Indian summer twilight--the river as calm as a lake of the valley.

"The Dunderberg sat silently beneath

The snowy clouds, that Form'd a vapory wreath

Above its peak. The Hudson swept along

Its mighty waters--oh! had I a pen

Endued with master gifts and genius, then

Might I aspire to tell its praise in song."

Thomas MacKellar.

The boat was a scaly affair, and the piscatory odor was not very agreeable; nevertheless. I had no alternative, and, turning my eyes and nose toward the glowing heavens, I tried to imagine myself in a rose- scented caique in the Golden Horn. I had half succeeded, when three or four loud explosions, that shook the broad mountains and awoke an hundred echoes, broke the charm, and notified me that I was in a fisherman's shallop, and a little too near for safety to St. Anthony's Nose, * where the constructors of the Hudson River rail-road, then working day and night, were blasting an orifice through that nasal feature of the Highlands. We sheered off toward the Dunderberg, and, shooting across Peekskill Bay, with the tide flowing strongly down its eastern rim, I landed in time for a warm supper at the "Atlantic."

Early on the morning of the 27th I made the sketch from Peekskill landing October, 1848 printed on page 166, and then walked up to the village on the slopes and hills, by a steep winding way that overlooks a deep ravine, wherein several iron founderies are nestled. The town is romantically situated among the hills, and from some of its more prominent points of view there are magnificent prospects of the river and Highland scenery in the vicinity. Here, spreading out south and east for miles around, was the ancient manor of Cortlandt,3 stretching along and far above the whole eastern shore of Haverstraw Bay, and extending back to the Connecticut line. The manor house, near the mouth of the Croton River, is yet standing. Within Peekskill village, opposite the West Chester County Bank, is the old Bird-sail residence, a part of which, as seen in the picture upon the next page, is a grocery store. This building was erected by Daniel Birdsall, one of the founders of the village. His store was the first one erected there. *** The owner and occupant, when I visited it, was a son of

* This is a high rocky promontory, rising to an altitude of twelve hundred and eighty feet above the level of the river, and situated directly opposite Fort Montgomery. The origin of its name is uncertain. The late proprietor of the land, General Pierre Van Cortlandt, says, that before the Revolution, as Captain Anthony Hogans, the possessor of a remarkable nose, was sailing near the place, in his vessel, his mate looked rather quizzically first at the hill, and then at the captain's nose. The captain comprehended the silent allusion, and said, "Does that look like my nose? If it does, call it Anthony's Nose, if you please." The story got abroad on shore, and it has since borne that name. Washington Irving, in his authentic history of New York, by Diedrich Knickerbocker, gives it an earlier origin. He says that while the fiery- nosed Anthony Van Corlear, the trumpeter of one of the Dutch governors, was standing one morning upon the deck of an exploring vessel, while passing this promontory, a ray of the sun, darting over the peak, struck the broad side of the trumpeter's nose, and, glancing off into the water, killed a sturgeon! What else could the hill be called, under the circumstances, but Anthony's Nose?

** The Courtlandts, or Van Courtlandts, are descended from a noble Russian family. The orthography, in the Dutch language, is properly korte-landt, meaning short land, a term expressing the peculiar form of the ancient duchy of Courland in Russia. This domain constituted a portion of Livonia, but was conquered by the Teutonic knights in 1561, and subsequently became a fief of Poland. It remained a short time independent, under its own dukes, after the fall of that power, but in 1795 it was united to Russia. The dukes of Courland were represented in 1610 by the Right Honorable Steven Van Cortlandt, then residing at Cortlandt, in South Holland. He was the father of Oloff Stevenson Van Cortlandt, the first lord of the manor, of that name, on the Hudson.

*** The first settlement at Peekskill commenced one mile north of the present village, near the head waters of the creek. The name is derived from John Peck, one of the early Dutch navigators, who, mistaking the creek for the course of the river, ran his yacht ashore where the first settlement was commenced. The settlement of the present village was commenced in 1764.--Bolton's History of West Chester, i., 63.

The Birdsall House.--An Octogenarian.--Oak Hill.--Van Cortlandt House.-- Philip Van Cortlandt

738the first owner, and was then eighty years of age. His lady, many years his junior, kindly showed me the different apartments made memorable by the presence and occupancy of distinguished men in the Revolution.

It was occupied by Washington when the head-quarters of the army were there; and the rooms are pointed out which were used by the chief and La Fayette as sleeping apartments. Chairs, a table, and an old clock which has told the hours for more than eighty years, are still there; and in the parlor where Whitefield once preached, I sat and sketched one of the pieces of this venerable furniture. This old mansion, projecting into and marring the regularity of the street, is an eyesore to the villagers, and when the present owner shall depart, no doubt this relic will be removed by the desecrating hand of improvement.

On leaving the Birdsall House, I proceeded to visit another octogenarian named Sparks, whose boyhood and long life have been passed in Peekskill. I found him sitting in the sun, upon his stoop, reading a newspaper without glasses, and his little grandson, a fair-haired child, playing at his feet. For an hour I sat and listened to his tales of the olden times, and of scenes his eyes had witnessed. He had often seen Washington and his suite at the Birdsall House, and well remembers Putnam, Heath, M'Dougall, and other officers whose quarters were at Peekskill. He never became a soldier, and saw only one battle during the war. That occurred near the Van Cortlandt House, two miles east of Peekskill, between some American pickets at the foot of Gallows Hill, and a picket guard of the enemy at the base of the eminences opposite. They were too near each other to keep quiet, and a skirmish at length ensued. "They made a great smoke and noise," said Mr. Sparks, "but nobody was hurt except by fright." Pointing to a huge oak standing near the Peekskill Academy on Oak Hill, and in full view of our resting- place, he related the circumstance of the execution of a British spy, named Daniel Strang, upon that tree. He was a Tory, and was found lurking about the American army at Peekskill with enlisting orders sewed up in his clothes. I left the vigorous old man to enjoy the warm sunlight and his newspaper alone, and procuring a conveyance, rode out to Van Cortlandt's house; the church-yard, where rest the remains of one of Andre's captors; Gallows Hill, famous as the camping-ground of Putnam for a short period during the Revolution, and to Continental Village, the scene of one of Tryon's marauding expeditions.

Van Cortlandt's house is situated in the midst of one of the fine estates of that family.' It is a brick mansion, and was erected in 1773. It stands in the center of a pleasant lawn, shaded by locust trees, on the north side of the post-road. It was occupied by Washington, for a brief space, as head-quarters; and there the Van Cortlandt family resided in safety,

* General Philip Van Cortlandt was the last possessor of the manor house, near Croton, by entail. He was born in the city of New York on the 1st of September, 1749, and was reared at the manor house. At nineteen, he commenced business as a land surveyor, but when the Revolution broke out, agreeing in sentiment with his father, Honorable Pierre Van Cortlandt, he joined the Republican army. His Tory relatives tried to dissuade him from his purpose, and Governor Tryon forwarded him a major's commission in the Cortlandt militia. He tore it in pieces, and accepted a lieutenant colonel's commission in the Continental army. He was appointed a colonel in 1776, and in that capacity served at the battles of Stillwater. He also served against the Indians on the New York frontier in 1778, and in 1779-80 was a member of the court martial convened for the trial of Arnold. He commanded a regiment of militia under La Fayette in 1781, and for his gallant conduct at the siege of Yorktown he was promoted to a brigadier's command. Seven hundred of the British and Hessian prisoners of war were afterward intrusted to his care while on their march from Charlottesville to Fredericktown, in Maryland. He was for sixteen years a member of Congress, but in 1811 declined a re-election. General Van Cortlandt accompanied La Fayette in his tour through the United States in 1824. He died at the manor house, at Croton, November 21st, 1831, at the age of eighty-two. With him expired the property entail.

The Cortlandt Manor House.--Paulding's Monument, and St. Peter's Church.--Gallows Hill.

739while desolation was rife around them. When I visited the mansion, General Pierre Van Cortlandt, the late owner (brother of General Philip Van Cortlandt, of the manor October, 1848 house), had been dead but a few months. Many of the family portraits were yet there, some of them more than one hundred years old. They have since been removed to the old manor house at Croton. The mansion which we are considering was occupied for a while by General M'Dougall's advanced guard, when the British took possession of Peekskill in March, 1777, an event that will be noticed presently. The old oak tree is standing in a field a little eastward of the house, which was used for the purpose of a military whipping-post during the encampment there. It is green and vigorous, and so regular are its branches, that, when in full foliage, its form, above the trunk, is a perfect sphere.

Upon a knoll, a little eastward of Van Cortlandt's house, is an ancient wooden church, erected in 1767 for worship, according to the rituals of the Church of England. Within its grave-yard, which spreads over the knoll westward, is the monument erected to the memory of John Paulding, one of the captors of Andre, by the corporation of the city of New York. The monument is constructed of West Chester marble, in the most simple form, consisting of a pedestal surmounted by a cone. It is massive, and so constructed as to last for ages. The base of the pedestal covers a square of seven feet, and is surrounded by a strong iron railing. The height is about thirteen feet. One side of the monument exhibits a representation, in low relief, of the face of the medal voted by Congress to each of the captors of Andre; the other side exhibits the reverse of the medal. The main inscription is upon the western panel of the pedestal. **

From the old church-yard I rode to the summit of Gallows Hill, a lofty ridge on the north, and bared of trees by the hand of cultivation. It is famous as a portion of the campground of the division of the American army under Putnam in 1777, and also as the place where a spy was executed, from which circumstance the hill derives its name. Leaving my vehicle at the gate of a farm-house by the road side, I crossed the fields to the place designated by tradition as the spot where the old chestnut-tree stood, near which the spy was hanged. It is about one hundred rods west of the road, on the southeastern slope of the hill, and is marked by a huge bowlder lying upon the surface, by the side of which is the decayed trunk

* The site of this church and the grave-yard was a gift of Andrew Johnson, of Perth Amboy, New Jersey. The parish was called St. Peter's; and this and the parish of St. Philip, in the Highlands, were endowed with two hundred acres of land by Colonel Beverly Robinson.

** The following are the inscriptions: North side.--"Here repose the mortal remains of John Paulding, who died on the 18th day of February, 1818, in the 60th year of his age." West side.--"On the morning of the 23d of September, 1780, accompanied by two young farmers of the county of West Chester (whose names will one day be recorded on their own deserved monuments), he intercepted the British spy, Andre. Poor himself, he disdained to acquire wealth by the sacrifice of his country. Rejecting the temptation of great rewards, he conveyed his prisoner to the American camp; and, by this act of noble self-denial, the treason of Arnold was detected; the designs of the enemy baffled: West Point and the American Army saved; and these United States, now by the grace of God Free and Independent, rescued from most imminent peril." South side.--"The Corporation of the city of New York erected this tomb as a memorial sacred to PUBLIC GRATITUDE." The monument was erected in 1827; the cone was placed on the pedestal on the 22d of November of that year, in the presence of a large concourse of citizens, who were addressed by William Paulding, then Mayor of New York. A copy of the medal presented to the captors of Andre may be found on page 773

Execution place of a Spy.--Putnam's laconic Letter.--View from Gallows Hill.--Relative importance of Peekskill

740of a chestnut, as seen in the picture, * said to be a sprout of the memorable tree. The the spy was Edmund Palmer. He was an athletic young man, connected by nature and affection with some of the most respectable families in West Chester, and had a wife and children.

He was arrested on suspicion, and enlisting papers, signed by Governor Tryon, were found upon his person. It was also ascertained that he was a lieutenant in a Tory company. These and other unfavorable circumstances made it clear that he was a spy, and on that charge he was tried, found guilty, and condemned to be hung. His young wife pleaded for his life, but the dictates of the stern policy of war made Putnam inexorable. Sir Henry Clinton sent a flag to the American commander, claiming Palmer as a British officer, and menacing the Republicans with his severest wrath if he was not delivered up. Putnam's sense of duty was as deaf to the menaces of the one as to the tears of the other, and he sent to Clinton the following laconic reply:

"Head-quarters, 7th August, 1777.

"Sir,--Edmund Palmer, an officer in the enemy's service, was taken as a spy, lurking within our lines. He has been tried as a spy, condemned as a spy, and shall be executed as a spy; and the flag is ordered to depart immediately. Israel Putnam.

"P.S.--He has been accordingly executed."

From the top of Gallows Hill there is a glorious prospect of the surrounding country, particularly southward, in which direction the eye takes in glimpses of Peekskill village, the river and its rocky shores on the west, and the fertile estates of West Chester as far as the high grounds of Tarrytown. On the southeast of the ridge is the beautiful undulating Peekskill Hollow, and on the north, between it and the rough turrets of the Highland towers, is scooped the Canopus Valley, deep and rich, wherein is nestled Continental Village, the scene of one of Tryon's desolating expeditions. We are upon historic ground; let us open the chronicle for a few moments.

In view of the relative position of the belligerent armies at the opening of 1777, Peekskill was regarded by the commander-in-chief as a very important post. Believing that the chief design of the next campaign would be, on the part of the enemy, to accomplish a junction of the forces under Sir William Howe at New York and an army preparing in Canada March 12, 1777 for invasion, Washington wrote, in a letter to General Schuyler, as follows:

"On these considerations, I can not help thinking much too large a part of our force is directed to Ticonderoga. Peekskill appears to me a much more proper place, where, if the troops are drawn together, they will be advantageously situated to give support to any of the Eastern or Middle States. Should the enemy's design be to penetrate the country up the North River, they will be well posted to oppose them; should they attempt to penetrate into New England, they will be well stationed to cover it; if they move westward, the Eastern and Southern troops can easily form a junction; and besides, it will oblige the enemy to have a much stronger garrison at New York." ** With these views, the commander- in-chief determined to collect a respectable force at Peekskill. This was done as speedily as possible, and General Heath, of Massachusetts, was placed in command. This officer was obliged to return to his state, and the command devolved upon General M'Dougall. ***

* Near this bowlder a gallows, rudely constructed of logs, was erected, on which the spy was hung. It remained there for several years afterward, an object of superstitious dread to the country people who were obliged to pass it in the night.

** Sparks's Washington, iv., 359.

*** Alexander M'Dougall was the son of a Scotchman from the Lowlands, who came to America about twenty years before the Revolution broke out, and commenced business in the city of New York. The date of his birth is not known. He became a zealous Whig during the years immediately preceding the Revolution, and when the war broke out he joined the army. In August, 1776, he was appointed a brigadier, and in October, 1777, he was promoted to the rank of major general. He commanded in the action near White Plains, and was in the battle at Germantown in the autumn of 1777. In 1781 he was elected to a seat in the Continental Congress, and was afterward a member of the New York State Senate. He died June 8, 1786.

Stratagem of Sir William Howe.--Invasion of Peekskill.--Destruction of Stores.--Destruction of Continental Village

741Cattle and military stores, in large quantities, were collected at Peekskill and in the vicinity; and the post, not being very strongly manned, attracted the attention of the enemy. Sir William Howe projected a scheme to capture or destroy them. Stratagem was a part of his plan. He caused a conversation on the subject to be held in the hearing of an American officer who had been captured at Fort Washington, in which it was arranged that an excursion was to be made into the country by three divisions: one to go up the Sound and land at Mamaroneck, another to march up the center road by Kingsbridge, and a third to go up the Hudson and land at Tarrytown. The officer was soon afterward released, and escorted with a flag to the American lines. The object was to have him report the conversation, and thus draw off General M'Dougall's attention from the real point of attack. M'Dougall had only two hundred and fifty effective men, too few to attempt opposition. He immediately commenced sending his stores to Forts Clinton and Montgomery for safety, but before he had accomplished his design, ten sail of British vessels appeared off Tarrytown, and two went up to Haverstraw Bay, at a point twelve miles below Peekskill. March 22, 1777 The next day the whole fleet anchored in Peekskill Bay; and at one o'clock, five hundred men, in eight flat-boats, under the command of Colonel Bird, landed at Lent's Cove, on the south side of the bay. They had four pieces of light artillery, drawn by the sailors. General M'Dougall retreated to Gallows Hill and vicinity, giving directions for destroying such stores as could not be removed. At the same time, he sent a dispatch to Lieutenant- colonel Willett, at Fort Constitution, to leave a subaltern's command there, and hasten to his assistance. The British held possession of the town until next day, when a detachment advanced toward the Highlands. These were attacked by Colonel Willett, and a smart skirmish ensued. The detachment retreated back to the main body of the enemy, and in the evening, favored by the light of the moon, they all embarked and sailed down the river. Their object, the destruction of the stores, was partially accomplished, but not by their own hands. They had nine of their number killed in the skirmish with Willett, and four at the verge of the creek, while attempting to burn some boats. The Americans had one man killed by a cannon shot. * Two or three houses were burned, and about forty sheep, furnished by the Tories, were carried off.

Near the banks of Canopus Creek, and overlooked by Gallows Hill, is Continental Village. It is about three miles from Peekskill, at the main entrance to the Highland passes northward. There, in 1777, were constructed barracks sufficient to accommodate two thousand men. A large number of cattle, and a great quantity of military stores under the charge of Major Campbell, were collected there. Two small redoubts were erected on the high ground, for the double purpose of protecting the public property and guarding the mountain road. Hither, on the morning of the 9th of October, three days after the capture of Forts Clinton and Montgomery, General Tryon was detached with Emerick's 1777 chasseurs and other Germans, with a three-pounder, to destroy the settlement. He accomplished the object most effectually. The barracks, and nearly every house in the little village, together with the public stores, were consumed, and many of the cattle were slaughtered. The inhabitants fled to the hills, while the few troops that were left when Putnam and the main force retired to Fishkill on the fall of the mountain fortresses, were compelled to fly for safety. In a few hours the smiling little valley was a scene of utter desolation. ** Gen-

* General M'Dougall's MS. Letter of March 29, 1777, quoted by Sparks.

** The feelings of Tryon toward the Republicans may be learned from a letter of his, written a few weeks after this transaction, in reply to one of remonstrance on the part of General Parsons. "I have," he says, "the candor enough to assure you, as much as I abhor every principle of inhumanity or ungenerous conduct, I should, were I in more authority, burn every committee-man's house within my reach, as I deem those agents the wicked instruments of the continued calamities of this country; and in order sooner to purge this country of them, I am willing to give twenty-five dollars for every acting committee-man who shall be delivered up to the king's troops."

Peekskill possessed by the Americans.--The Soldier's Spring.-- Verplanck's Point.--Hudson and the Indians.

742eral Parsons * marched down from Fishkill with two thousand men a few days afterward, and took possession of Peekskill. From that time it was the scene of no stirring military events, other than those incident to the brief encampment of regiments or divisions of the American army.

After sketching the only prominent object on the site of poor Palmer's gallows, I resumed the reins, and, when part way down the northern slope of the ridge, turned up a green lane near the Soldier's Spring ** to the farm-house of Mr. Lent, to inquire for an aged couple of that name. Informed that they lived at a little village called Oregon, a mile and a half distant, I returned to Peekskill Hollow, and proceeded thither. My journey was fruitless of information. They were, indeed, a venerable pair; one aged eighty-four, and the other eighty-three years.

After dinner at Peekskill, I rode down to Verplanck's Point, eight miles below. *** It was October 27, 1848 a lovely afternoon; a fine road amid ever-varying scenery, and every rock, and knoll, and estuary of the river clustered over with historic associations, made the journey of an hour one of great pleasure and interest. Verplanck's Point is the termination of a peninsula of gently rolling land, gradually ascending from the neck toward the shore, where it ends in a bluff, from thirty to fifty feet high. Here, during the memorable season of land and town speculation, when the water-lot mania emulated that of the tulip and 1836 the South Sea games, a large village was mapped out, and one or two fine mansions were erected. The bubble burst, and many fertile acres there, where corn and potatoes once yielded a profit to the cultivator, are scarred and made barren by intersecting streets, not _de_populated, but _un_populated, save by the beetle and grasshopper. On the brow of

* In allusion to this and kindred expeditions, Trumbull makes Malcom say,

"Behold, like whelps of Britain's lion, Our warriors, Clinton, Vaughan, and Tryon, March forth with patriotic joy To ravish, plunder, and destroy. Great gen'rals, foremost in their nation, The journeymen of Desolation! Like Sampson's foxes, each assails, Let loose with fire- brands in their tails, And spreads destruction more forlorn Than they among Philistines' corn." ----M'Fingal, Canto iv.

* Samuel Holden Parsons was a native of Connecticut, and one of a committee of correspondence in that state before the commencement of the war. He was appointed a brigadier general by Congress in August, 1776, and served his country faithfully during the contest. Under his direction, the successful expedition of Colonel Meigs against the enemy at Sag Harbor, on Long Island, in 1777, was sent out. He was appointed a commissioner to negotiate with the Western Indians in 1785. In 1787, he was appointed one of the judges of the Northwestern Territory. He was drowned in the Ohio, in December, 1789.

**This is a little fountain bubbling up by the road side, and named The Soldier's Spring, from the circumstance that an American soldier, while retreating before the enemy, stooped at the fountain to quench his thirst. While so doing, a cannon ball, that struck the hills above him, glanced obliquely, hit and shattered his thigh, and left him dying beside the clear waters. He was conveyed in a wagon that passed soon afterward, to Fishkill, where he expired.

*** This was the point off which Henry Hudson's vessel, the Half Moon, came first to anchor after leaving the mouth of the river. The Highland Indians, filled with wonder, came flocking to the ship in boats, but their curiosity ended in a tragedy. One of them, overcome by acquisitiveness, crawled up the rudder, entered the cabin window, and stole a pillow and a few articles of wearing apparel. The mate saw the thief pulling his bark for land, and shot at and killed him. The ship's boat was sent for the stolen articles, and when one of the natives, who had leaped into the water, caught hold of the side of the shallop, his hand was cut off by a sword, and he was drowned. This was the first blood shed by these voyagers. Intelligence of this spread over the country, and the Indians hated the white man, afterward, intensely. The exceedingly tortuous creek which traverses the marsh southward of Verplanck's Point was called, by the Indians, Meahagh, and this was the name which they gave to the peninsula. It was purchased of the Indians by Stephanus Van Cortlandt in 1683. From him it passed into the possession of his son Johannes, whose only daughter and heiress, Gertrude, married Philip Verplanck, from whom it acquired its present appellation.

Fortifications at Verplanck's Point.--Capture of Fort Fayette. -- Surrender of the Garrison.

743the Point, near the western extremity, and overlooking the water, a small fortification, called Fort Fayette, was erected It was an eligible site for a fort; and, in connection with the fortress on the rocky promontory opposite, was capable of being made a formidable defense at this, the lower gate of the Hudson Highlands.

These two promontories make the river quite narrow, and, if well fortified, might defy the passage of any number of hostile vessels. * The site of Fort Fayette is distinctly traceable in the orchard upon the high grounds in the rear of Mr. Bleakly's store upon the wharf. The mounds and fossé of the main fort, as it was enlarged and strengthened by the British, and also the embankments of the smaller outworks, are quite prominent in many places.

The small forts at Verplanck's and Stony Points were captured by the enemy commanded by Sir Henry Clinton in person, on the 1st of June, 1779. The garrison of Stony Point consisted of only about forty men, and that at Verplanck's of seventy men, commanded by Captain Armstrong. As these forts secured a free communication between the troops of New England and those of the central and southern portions of the confederacy, Clinton determined to dislodge the Americans therefrom. Accordingly, on the 30th of May, he sailed up the river with a strong force, accompanied by General Vaughan; the flotilla was commanded by Admiral Collier. They landed in two divisions on the morning of the 31st, the one under Vaughan, on the east side, eight miles below Verplanck's, and May-1779 the other under Clinton, on the west side, a little above Haverstraw. The garrison at Stony Point retired to the Highlands on the approach of the enemy, and the fort changed masters without bloodshed. The next morning, the guns of the captured fortress, and the cannons and mortars dragged up during the night, were pointed toward Fort Fayette opposite, and a heavy cannonade was opened upon it. Unable to make a respectable resistance to this assault, and attacked in the rear by Vaughan's division, the little garrison surrendered themselves prisoners of war. ** The loss of these forts was greatly lamented by Washington,

* This map shows the relative position of Verplanek's and Stony Points, and of the forts in the time of the Revolution. A represents the position and form of the fort on Stony Point; B, General Wayne's right column, and C his left column, when he stormed the ramparts and fort; and D shows the site of Fort Fayette, on the east side of the river.

** The following were the terms of capitulation:

"On the glacis of Fort Fayette, June 1st, 1779.

"His excellency Sir Henry Clinton and Commodore Sir George Collier grant to the garrison of Fort La Fayette terms of safety to the persons and property (contained in the fort) of the garrison, they surrendering themselves prisoners of war. The officers shall be permitted to wear their side-arms.

"John Andre, Aid-de-camp."

Disposition of the American Troops on the Hudson.--Preparations for attacking Stony Point--The Negro Spy.

744and his first care was to make an effort to recover them, for West Point was now in danger. The main body of the American army was moved from Middlebrook toward the Highlands, and Washington established his quarters at Smith's Clove, far in the rear of Haverstraw. *

Sir Henry Clinton gave orders for the immediate strengthening of the forts, and to guard the detachments left for the purpose, he descended the river with his army only as far as Phillipsburgh, now Yonkers.

On the 23d of June, Washington established his headquarters at New Windsor, leaving General Putnam in command of the main army at Smith's Clove. General M'Dougall was transferred to the command at West Point; the garrisons at Constitution Island, and at the redoubts opposite West Point, were strengthened; the road to Fish-kill was well guarded, and three brigades were placed under the command of General Heath, who had lately been ordered from Boston. On the 1st of July, General Wayne was appointed to the command of the light infantry of the line, and was stationed in the vicinity of the Dunderberg, between Fort Montgomery and the main army at the Clove. The British had now greatly enlarged and strengthened the two forts in question, well supplied them with ammunition and stores, and had them strongly garrisoned. The force at Stony Point consisted of the seventeenth regiment of foot, the grenadier companies of the seventy-first, and some artillery; the whole under the command of Lieutenant-colonel Johnson of the seventh. The garrison at Verplanck's was commanded by Lieutenant-colonel Webster, and was quite equal in force to that at Stony Point. Several small British vessels of war were anchored in the bay within close cannon shot of the forts. Such was the situation of the two armies, when the attack of the Americans under Wayne and Howe upon Stony Point and Verplanck's Point was planned and executed by order of Washington 1779 On the morning of the 15th of July, all the Massachusetts light infantry were marched to the quarters of Wayne at Sandy Beach, fourteen miles from Stony Point. At meridian on that exceedingly sultry day, the whole body moved through narrow defiles, over rough crags, and across deep morasses, in single file, and at eight in the evening rendezvoused a mile and a half below Stony Point. There they remained until General Wayne and several officers returned from reconnoitering the works of the enemy, when they were formed into column, and moved silently forward under the guidance of a negro slave belonging to a Captain Lamb who resided in the neighborhood. ***

The position of the fortress was such that it seemed almost impregnable. Situated upon a huge rocky bluff, an island at high water, and always inaccessible dry-shod, except across

* Smith's Clove extends northward from the Ramapo Valley, not far from Turner's station on the Erie rail-road.

** This sketch presents a rear view of the old embankments of the fort, and of the light-house, whieh is seen by all travelers upon the river, just before entering the Highlands. The beacon stands exactly in the center of the fort, upon the site of the magazine. There was a covered way toward the water on the north side of the hill, and about twenty yards in the rear are some prominent remains of the ravelins which extended across the point.

*** Mr. Tenyek, the old ferryman at Stony Point, informed me that he knew this negro well. His name was Pompey, and for his services on that night his master gave him a horse to ride, and never exacted any labor from him afterward. Pompey's master was a warm Whig, and himself was a shrewd negro. Soon after the enemy took possession of the Point, Pompey ventured to go to the fort with strawberries to sell. He was kindly received; and as the season advanced, and berries and cherries beeame plentiful, he carried on an extensive traffic with the garrison, and beeame a favorite with the officers, who had no suspicion that he was regularly reporting every thing to his Whig master. Finally, Pompey informed them that his master would not allow him to come with fruit in the daytime, for it was hoeing-corn season. Unwilling to lose their supply of luxuries, the officers gave Pompey the countersign regularly, so that he could pass the sentinels in the evening. He thus possessed a knowledge of the countersign on the night of the attack, and made good use of it. That countersign was, "The fort's our own," and this was the watch-word of the Americans when they scaled the ramparts.

Condition of Stony Point.--Wayne's Proposition to Storm it.--Biography of Wayne.--His Monument.

745a narrow causeway in the rear, it was strongly defended by outworks and a double row of abatis. Upon three sides of the rock were the waters of the Hudson, and on the fourth was a morass, deep and dangerous. But Wayne was not easily deterred by obstacles; and tradition avers, that while conversing with Washington on the subject of this expedition, he remarked, with emphasis, "General, I'll storm hell if you will only plan it."

He possessed the true fire of the flint, and was always governed by the maxim, "Where there's a will there's a way."

He resolved to storm the fort at all hazards, and only waited for the ebbing of the tide, and the deep first slumber of the garrison, to move toward the fortress.

* Anthony Wayne was born in the township of Eastown, in Chester county, Pennsylvania, on the 1st of January, 1745. He was educated in Philadelphia, and having studied mathematics with care, he opened a surveyor's office in his native town. He was sent to Nova Scotia in 1765, to locate a grant of land from the crown to several gentlemen in Pennsylvania. They made Wayne superintendent of the settlement. This post he held until 1767, when he returned home, married a young lady in Philadelphia, and resumed his profession as surveyor. In 1773, he was appointed a representative to the general Assembly of his state. He quitted the council for the field in 1775, where he was appointed a colonel in the Continental army, and went to Canada with General Thomas. At the close of the campaign there in 1776, he was promoted to brigadier general. He was with the commander-in chief at Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth, in all of which engagements he was distinguished for his valor. The capture of Stony Point raised him to the highest mark in the admiration of his countrymen. In 1781, he went with the Pennsylvania line to the South, and in Virginia co-operated with La Fayette. After the capture of Cornwallis, he was sent to conduct the war in Georgia, and was very successful. As a reward for his services, the Legislature of Georgia made him a present of a valuable farm. He was a member of the Pennsylvania Convention that ratified the Federal Constitution. In 1792, he succeeded St. Clair in the command of the army to be employed against the Western Indians, and gained a great victory over them in the battle of the Miamis, in August, 1794. He concluded a treaty with the Indians in August, 1795. While engaged in the public service, and returning home from the West, he was seized with the gout, and died in a hut at Presque Isle, in December, 1796, aged fifty-one years. He was buried, at his own request, under the flag-staff of the fort, on the shore of Lake Erie, from whence his remains were conveyed in 1809, by his son, Colonel Isaac Wayne, to Radnor chureh-yard, in Delaware county. The venerable church, near which the body of the hero lies, was erected in 1717.

* The Pennsylvania State Society of the Cincinnati caused a handsome monument of white marble to be erected over his remains, upon which are the following inscriptions: North front.--Major-general Anthony Wayne was born at Waynesborough,* in Chester county, State of Pennsylvania, A.D. 1745. After a life of honor and usefulness, he died in December, 1796, at a military post on the shore of Lake Erie, commander-inchief of the army of the United States. His military achievements are consecrated in the history of his country and in the hearts of his countrymen. His remains are here interred." South front.--"In honor of the distinguished military services of Major-general Anthony Wayne, and as an affectionate tribute of respect to his memory, this stone was erected by his companions in arras, the Pennsylvania State Society of the Cincinnati, July 4, A.D. 1809, thirty-fourth anniversary of the independence of the United States of America; an event which constitutes the most appropriate eulogium of an American soldier and patriot."

* This is an error. His birth-place was about a mile and a quarter south of the Paoli tavern

Approach of the Americans to Stony Point.--Capture of Sentinels.-- Storming of the Fort

746It was half past eleven o'clock at night when the Americans commenced their silent march toward the fort. All the dogs in the neighborhood had been killed the day before, that their barking might not give notice of strangers near. The negro, with two strong men disguised as farmers, advanced alone.

The countersign was given to the first sentinel, on the high ground west of the morass, and while he was conversing with Pompey, the men seized and gagged him. The silence of the sentinel at the causeway was secured in the same manner, and as soon as the tide ebbed sufficiently, the whole of Wayne's little army, except a detachment of three hundred men under General Muhlenburg, who remained in the rear as a reserve, crossed the morass to the foot of the western declivity of the promontory, unobserved by the enemy. The troops were now divided into two columns; the van of the right, consisting of one hundred and fifty volunteers, under Lieutenant-colonel De Fleury, and that of the left, of one hundred volunteers, under Major Stewart, each with unloaded muskets and fixed bayonets. An avant-guard of twenty picked men for each company, under Lieutenants Gibbon and Knox, preceded them, to remove the abatis and other obstructions. These vans composed the forlorn hope on that memorable night.

At a little past midnight the advanced parties moved silently to the charge, one company on the southern, and the other toward the northern portion of the height. They were followed by the two main divisions; the right, composed of the regiments of Febiger and Meigs, being led by General Wayne in person. The left was composed of Colonel Butler's regiment, and two companies under Major Murfey. The Americans were undiscovered until within pistol shot of the pickets upon the heights, when a skirmish ensued between the sentinels and the advanced guards. The pickets fired several shots, but the Americans, true to orders, relied entirely upon the bayonet, and pressed forward with vigor. The garrison was aroused from their slumbers, and instantly the deep silence of the night was broken by the roll of the drum, the loud cry To arms! to arms! the rattle of musketry from the ramparts and behind the abatis, and the roar of cannon, charged with the deadly grape-shot, from the embrasures. ** In the face of this terrible storm, the Americans forced their way, at

* This view shows a large portion of the morass, and the place where the assaulting party divided and prepared for an attack upon the fort, which was situated where the light-house is seen. The place of the causeway is on the left, denoted by the cattle. When I made this sketch it was quite high water, and the morass, there about one hundred feet wide, was almost covered. There was another place near the river shore, on the right, where the Point was accessible at times. It is distinguished in the sketeh by the narrow strip of land extending nearly across the mouth of the morass. Upon this the enemy had dug pits and placed sharpened stakes within them, so that, had the Americans attempted to reach the Point by that way many would have been impaled. The position of the Americans in the attack, and of the outworks and the abatis, will be better understood by a reference to the map on a preceding page.

** Major (afterward General) Hull says in his Memoir, "At about half past eleven o'clock, the two columns commenced their march in platoons. The beach was more than two feet deep with water, and before the right column reached it we were fired on by the out-guards, which gave the alarm to the garrison. We were now directly under the fort, and, closing in a solid column, ascended the hill, which was almost perpendicular. When about half way up, our course was impeded by two strong rows of abatis, which the forlorn hope had not been able entirely to remove. The column proceeded silently on, and, clearing away the abatis, passed to the breast-work, cut and tore away the pickets, cleared the chevaux de frise at the sally-port, mounted the parapet, and entered the fort at the point of the bayonet. Our column on the other side entered the fort at the same time. Each of our men had a white paper in his hat, which in the darkness distinguished him from the enemy; and the watch-word was, 'The fort's our own!'" Some authors have asserted that bomb-shells were thrown by the British, but such, probably, was not the fact. No official account that I have seen mentions the use of shells.

Wayne wounded.--His Bravery.--Surrender of the Fort--Wayne's laconic Dispatch.

747the point of the bayonet, through every obstacle, until the van of each column met in the center of the works, where each arrived at the same time.' At the inner abatis, Wayne was struck upon the head by a musket ball, which brought him upon his knees. His two brave aids, Fishbow and Archer, raised him to his feet, and carried him gallantly through the works. Believing himself mortally wounded, the general exclaimed, as he arose, "March on! carry me into the fort, for I will die at the head of my column!" But the wound was not very severe, and he was able to join in the loud huzzas that arose when the two columns met as victors within the fort. Colonel De Fleury first entered the works, and struck the British standard with his own hands. The garrison surrendered at discretion as prisoners of war, and that brilliant achievement was rendered the more glorious for the clemency which the victors exercised toward the vanquished. Not a life was taken after the flag was struck and the garrison had pleaded for quarters. Wayne had but fifteen killed and eighty-three wounded; the British had sixty-three killed; ** and Johnson, the commander, with five hundred and forty-three officers and men, were made prisoners. The ships of the enemy lying in the river in front of Stony Point slipped their cables and moved down to a place of security. Before daylight, Wayne sent to the commander-in- chief the brief but comprehensive reply, of which a fac simile is here given:

* Wayne's official dispatch, dated at Stony Point, July 17, 1779.

** This is the number given in the American account. Colonel Johnson, in his official dispatch, says he had only twenty killed.

Fort Fayette Cannonaded.--Relieved by Sir Henry Clinton.--Galley with Ordnance sunk at Caldwell's.

748At dawn the next morning the cannons of the captured fort were turned upon the enemy's works at Verplanck's Point under Colonel Webster, and a desultory bombardment was kept up during the day. Major-general Robert Howe had been sent to attack Fort Fayette, but on account of delays, and some misconceptions of Washington's orders, he did not make the attack in time to dislodge the garrison. News of Webster's critical situation and the capture of Stony Point was speedily communicated to Sir Henry Clinton, and he immediately sent relief to the menaced garrison at Verplanck's. Howe withdrew, and the enterprise was abandoned.

Washington, clearly perceiving the danger of attempting to retain the post at Stony Point with so few troops as could be employed in the service, concluded to order an evacuation, and a destruction of the works after the ordnance and stores should be removed. This was accordingly done on the night of the eighteenth. All that was originally intended July, 1779. was accomplished, namely, the destruction of the works and the seizure of the artillery and stores. A large portion of the heavy ordnance was placed upon a galley to be conveyed to West Point. As soon as the vessel moved, a cannonade from Verplanck's and the British shipping was commenced upon it. A heavy shot from the Vulture struck it below water-mark, and the galley went down at the point just above Caldwell's Landing, where speculation recently made credulity seek for treasures in a sunken vessel alleged to have belonged to the famous Captain Kidd. If, as asserted, a cannon was drawn up from a vessel lying at the bottom of the river there, it was doubtless one of the pieces taken from Stony Point, and the "ship's timbers" there discovered are the remains of the old galley. The "treasures," if secured, would be of little worth in these "piping times of peace."

The British repossessed themselves of Stony Point on the 20th, but they had little of value left them but the eligible site for a fortification.

The storming and capture of Stony Point, regarded as an exhibition of skill and indomitable courage, was one of the most brilliant events of the war. General Wayne, the leader

* This is a representation of the medal, the size of the original. On one side 3s a device representing an Indian queen crowned, a quiver on her back, and wearing a short apron of feathers. A mantle hangs from her waist behind, the upper end of which appears as if passed through the girdle of her apron, and hangs gracefully by her left side. With her right hand she is presenting a wreath to General Wayne; in her left she is holding up a mural crown toward his head. At her feet, on the left, an alligator is lying. The American shield is resting against the animal. Over the figure is the legend "Antonio Wayne Duci Exercitus," and beneath, "Comitia Americana "The American Congress to General Anthony Wayne. On the reverse is a fort on the top of a hill; the British flag flying; troops in single file advancing up the hill, and a large number lying at the bottom. Artillery are seen in the foreground, and six vessels in the river. The inscription is, "Stony Point expugnatum, xv. Jul. mdcclxxix. "Stony Point captured, July 15, 1779."

Medal awarded to Wayne.--His Popularity.--Medal awarded to Colonel De Fleury

749of the enterprise, was every where greeted with rapturous applause. * Congress testified their grateful sense of his services by a vote of thanks "for his brave, prudent, and soldierly conduct." It was also resolved that a medal of gold, emblematical of this action, should be struck, and presented to General Wayne. Thanks were also presented by Congress to Lieutenant-colonel De Fleury ** and Major Stewart, and a medal of silver was ordered to be struck and presented to each.

The conduct of Lieutenants Gibbon and Knox was warmly applauded, and brevets of captain was given to each, and to Mr. Archer, the volunteer aid of Wayne, who was the bearer of the general's letter to Washington on the occasion. Pursuant to the recommendation of the commander-in- chief, and in fulfillment of promises made by Wayne before the assault, with the concurrence of Washington, Congress resolved, "That the value of the military stores taken at Stony Point be ascertained and divided among the gallant

* General Charles Lee, who was not on the most friendly terms with Wayne, wrote to him, saying, "I do most seriously declare that your assault of Stony Point is not only the most brilliant, in my opinion, throughout the whole course of the war, on either side, but that it is the most brilliant I am acquainted with in history; the assault of Schiveidnitz, by Marshal Laudon, I think inferior to it." Dr. Rush wrote, saving, "Our streets rang for many days with nothing but the name of General Wayne. You are remembered constantly next to our good and great Washington, over our claret and Madeira. You have established the national character of our country; you have taught our enemies that bravery, humanity, and magnanimity are the national virtues of the Americans."

** De Fleury was descended from Hercule Andre de Fleury, a French nobleman, who was the preceptor of the grandson of Louis XIV. during the latter years of the life of that monarch. He was afterward made cardinal and prime minister. The subject of our sketch came to America soon after the news of the revolt reached France. Washington received him kindly, obtained for him a commission, and he proved to be a brave and worthy soldier. Educated as an engineer, his talents were brought into requisition here. In that capacity he was acting at the time of the engagement at Fort Mifflin, on the Delaware. He was at the battle of Brandywine, and for his gallantry there Congress gave him a horse. He returned to France soon after the capture of Stony Point.

*** This is a representation of the medal, the size of the original. The device is a helmeted soldier, standing against the ruins of a fort. His right hand is extended, holding a sword upright; the staff of a stand of colors is grasped by his left; the colors are under his feet, and he is trampling upon them. The legend is, "A memorial and reward of valor and daring. The American Republic has bestowed (this medal) on Colonel D. de Fleury, a native of France, the first over the walls (of the enemy)." On the reverse are two water batteries, three guns each; a fort on a hill, with a flag flying; a river in front, and six vessels before the fort. The legend is, "Mountains, morasses, foes, overcome." Exergue, "Stony Point stormed, 15th of July, 1779."

*** This identical silver medal was found by a boy while digging in a garden at Princeton, New Jersey, toward the close of April, 1850, and was deposited in the bank at that place for the inspection of the curious. How the medal came there is uncertain. Do Fleury returned to France before the medal was struck, and it probably was never in his possession. Congress was afterward in session at Princeton, and the medal may have been lost by the secretary, in whose custody it properly belonged until delivered to the recipient of the honor.

Promised Rewards for the bravest Men.--Division of the Spoils among the Troops.--Medal awarded to Major Stewart

750troops by whom it was reduced, in such manner and proportions as the commander-in-chief shall prescribe." *

* See Journals of Congress, v., 226, 227. The following rewards were promised: To the first man who entered the enemy's works, five hundred dollars; to the second, four hundred; to the third, three hundred; to the fourth, two hundred; to the fifth, one hundred: being fifteen hundred dollars in the aggregate. The ordnance and other stores were estimated at one hundred and fifty-eight thousand six hundred and forty dollars in value, whieh amount was divided among the troops in proportion of officers and privates.--Sparks's Washington, vi., 540.

** This represents the medal the size of the original. The device is America personified by an Indian queen, who is presenting a palm branch to Major Stewart. A quiver is at her back; her left hand is resting on the American shield, and at her feet is an alligator crouchant. The legend is, "The American Congress to Major John Stewart." On the reverse is a fortress on an eminence. In the foreground an officer is cheering on his men, who are following him over abatis with charged bayonets, the enemy flying. Troops in single file are ascending to the fort on one side; others are advancing from the shore; ships are in sight. The inscription is, "Stony Point attacked 15th of July, 1779."

** I believe there is no biography of Major Stewart extant. Professor Wyatt, in his Memoirs of American Generals, Commodores, &c., says he was killed by a fall from his horse, near Charleston, South Carolina.

** Lieutenant James Gibbon, who commanded one of the "forlorn hopes," was finally promoted to major. He died at Richmond, Virginia, on the first of July, 1834, in the seventy-seventh year of his age. His remains were interred with military honors.

King's Ferry.--Jolly old Waterman.--Stony Point.--Evening walk toward Haverstraw

751

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