Historic Morristown, New Jersey : the story of its first century, Part 22

Author: Sherman, Andrew Magoun, 1844-
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Morristown, N.J. : Howard Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 576


USA > New Jersey > Morris County > Morristown > Historic Morristown, New Jersey : the story of its first century > Part 22


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31


Thanks to the Rev. Dr. Joseph F. Tuttle; to his worthy successor, as a county historian, the late Hon. Edmund D. Halsey, and to the more recent investiga- tor, Emory McClintock, LL.D. (whose "Topography


296


THE STORY OF ITS FIRST CENTURY


of Washington's Camp of 1780 and Its Neighborhood" contains the results of his careful investigations), the site of the camping grounds of the New Jersey brigade is definitely located.


From the Cook spring, so-called, situated somewhat to the northwest of the camping grounds, the New Jersey soldiers procured water for brigade purposes. The brigade parade ground seems to have been on the northeastern side of the brook running through the camp, comprising an almost circular piece of cleared land.


In the spring of the year 1905, the writer, in com- pany with the Rev. Joseph F. Tuttle, D. D., LL.D., visited, for the first time, the site of the camping grounds of the New Jersey brigade during the winter of 1779-80. Lest the reader infer from the foregoing statement that the writer is a victim of what many regard as the modern delusion of spiritualism, an ex- planation may be desirable; this he proceeds to give. The results of Dr. Tuttle's examination of the camping grounds of the New Jersey brigade, made in the year 1852, are extant in the form of a somewhat lengthy article, to be found among the collections of the New Jersey Historical Society. With increasing interest the writer had read and re-read this article, until the desire to verify, by a personal visit, Dr. Tuttle's excel- lent description of the grounds in question, fruited in the resolution to do so. Starting early on a beautiful May morning of the year above mentioned, with two well-filled kodaks, a carefully prepared lunch and a


297


HISTORIC MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY


bound copy of the New Jersey Historical Collections containing Dr. Tuttle's article, the writer, thanks to his favorite exploring horse, "Prince," from the stable of Charles H. McCollum, of Morristown, found him- self in about an half hour's time at the famous Wick House. Leaving his conveyance at the place men- tioned he set out with kodaks and lunch basket and the book alluded to, the latter under his arm, for what had to him come to seem like enchanted ground. With great difficulty, by the aid of a "big stick" employed to beat down the heavy growth of bushes, of which a lib- eral share were blackberry, he forced his way across the intervening meadow, through which ran the brook on either side of which Maxwell's Jersey soldiers built their huts in the winter of 1779-80. It seemed at times, so stubbornly did the blackberry bushes resist his ad- vance, as if, like the man in the Nursery Rhymes, he would scratch out his eyes and then scratch them in again. But the objective-the slope of Blachly's hill- must be reached at all hazards; and, not to weary the reader with further reference to the obstacles sur- mounted, the writer, with Dr. Tuttle at his side, reached the westerly side of the piece of meadow, weary and hand-sore and hungry; but exultant. It was then near noon by the watch, and fully so, judging from gastronomical intimations. Selecting for table and chair a pile of hut-chimney stones he had eagerly sought and rejoicingly found, the writer thoughtfully partook of his lunch, with a relish such as only a genu- inely hungry man experiences. As he sat there alone


298


THE STORY OF ITS FIRST CENTURY


upon the grounds occupied, a century and a quarter ago, by men engaged in the struggle for national inde- pendence, and re-read the article of Dr. Tuttle to assist him in "getting his bearings," it seemed, at least in the realm of an awakened imagination, as if the place was once more peopled with the patriot soldiers, the re- mains of whose temporary habitations in the winter of 1779-80, lay all about, as almost speaking witnesses to their former presence. But of the strange workings of the writer's imagination on the occasion alluded to, he can only say, with another: "What I can fancy, but can ne'er express."


Lunch completed, and the grounds carefully exam- ined for purposes of verification, the writer set out for Blachly's hill. Here again imagination was active, as pile after pile of hut-chimney stones, some of them apparently undisturbed since they fell with the collapse of the hut in which they had been built by patriot hands. On the slope of the hill and about one-third the distance up from its base, could be distinctly traced the former alignment of the huts which once sheltered living soldiers. Of the resuult of his examination of the camp-site of Maxwell's Jersey brigade, the writer can only say, that even after careful reading of Dr. Tuttle's excellent description of these grounds, "the half has never been told." Since that first visit in the month of May, 1905, the writer has twice gone over the grounds, each time making new discoveries indi- cating the presence of the patriot soldiers of 1779-80. Some of the results of these visits may be seen, by the


299


HISTORIC MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY


reader, within the covers of this volume. Freedom- loving Morristonians could scarcely render a more patriotic service, to the rising generation particularly, than by organizing occasional local pilgrimages to some of the historic grounds "down the Jockey Hol- low road," for the Fourth of July, including the Jersey camp-site of the winter of 1779-80. With a good band to discourse national airs, an historical address by some person acquainted with local annals, the reading of the Declaration of Independence by other than a political aspirant, the Day set apart for the celebration of the anniversary of our national independence would be much more suitably and profitably spent, than by a vain attempt, through politico-patriotic celebrations, concocted in a corner, to gather the people and gal- vanize them into a patriotic frame of mind. Such at- tempts can but remind a thoughtful American citizen of the words of Lincoln, of which the following is a substantial quotation: "You can fool all the people part of the time, and you can fool some people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."


"Then none was for a party; Then all were for the State; Then the great men help'd the poor, And the poor men lov'd the great;


"Then lands were fairly portion'd; Then spoils were fairly sold; The Romans were like brothers In the brave days of old."


300


THE STORY OF ITS FIRST CENTURY


Early in the year 1780 the New Jersey brigade re- moved to the vacated quarters on the Jockey Hollow road of the Maryland brigades, which had been or- dered to march to the southward. The excellent dia- gram, showing not only the relative positions of the ten brigades of the American army during the winter of 1779-80, but the location of several Revolutionary houses and other points of great historic interest, is, by permission of Emory Mcclintock, LL.D., pub- lished in connection with the present chapter. To one unacquainted with the latest conclusions concerning the sites of the camping grounds of 1779-80, this dia- gram, as a guide, is simply invaluable, and when con- sulted in connection with the most admirable "Topog- raphy of Washington's Camp of 1780 and Its Neigh- borhood," by the same authority, it becomes luminous with reflected information concerning the locations of historic buildings and spots now justly famous in Rev- olutionary annals.


-


301


CHAPTER XVI.


"Ev'n to the dullest peasant standing by Who fasten'd still on him a wondering eye He seem'd the master spirit of the land."


y


ASHINGTON'S army, during its second encampment in Morristown W and vicinity in the winter of 1779- 80, included, in addition to the ten brigades of infantry, the locations of whose camps were given in the previous chapter, a brigade of artillery in command of General Henry Knox, one of the most brilliant officers in the Continental army.


Knox's artillery brigade was encamped about half a mile to the northwest, by direct line, from the Morris- town Green, on the road then and now leading toward Mendham, and was composed of three regiments of artillery and a regiment of artificers, the latter in com- mand of an officer named Baldwin. In addition to the light mounted field pieces composing the various bat- teries of his brigade, General Knox had in charge sev-


302


THE STORY OF ITS FIRST CENTURY


eral heavier guns designed for siege purposes. As may be inferred from the fact of a regiment of artifi- cers, or mechanics, there were in the artillery camp several forges and machine shops for the repair of dis- abled guns. The encampment of Knox's brigade was spoken of in the military parlance of the day as the "Park of Artillery."


On the slope of the hill, on the right as one goes toward Mendham from Morristown, and commencing at the point where the road turns abruptly to the left (this point being the terminus of the present Washing- ton street, and the beginning of the Mendham road), and extending nearly a third of a mile parallel to the road, is the site of Knox's brigade encampment. One of Morristown's lawyers recently informed the writer that when a boy he frequently heard his father (a Rev- olutionary descendant), who resided near the site of the camping grounds, speak of the hill slope in ques- tion as "the park." From this same well-known law- yer it was ascertained that during his early years, bay- onets, firelocks and other evidences of the years of "mad war" were found on "the park," probably on or near the sites of some of the field forges or machine shops of the brigade artificers alluded to.


To the south of the brigade camp grounds, and on the opposite side of the road, were two pieces of level ground, then in grass, where, in the spring of the year 1780, the artillery horses were turned to graze. It is probable that the tract of land, until recently dammed and covered by "Burnham's Pond," was a portion of


303


HISTORIC MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY


the meadow land used as a parade ground by the artil- lery of Knox's brigade. A resident of Morristown, whose fondness for nature is a conspicuous trait, says: "I have picked daisies and buttercups on the meadow once, and, until quite recently, covered by 'Burnham's Pond.'" This pond, as already suggested, has been drained, and the land will once more become meadow. Whether this is in line of progression or retrogression is a debatable question.


General Knox's quarters were a short distance to the westward of the brigade encampment, in a farm- house, a portion of which, at least, still survives as part of a modern residence, to be seen from the Mendham road. It will doubtless be interesting, more particularly to local readers of our story, to know that access to the "Park of Artillery" was chiefly, so far as foot travelers during the Revolutionary period were concerned, across intervening fields, then included in one or more farms, Washington street not then having been opened up. Mounted travelers, and travelers in the primitive vehicles of that day, could reach the "Park of Artillery," from the Morristown Green, by way of "town hill," thence up the present Spring street hill, sometimes called Sander's hill, into the present Early street, and through its former extension into what is now known as the Mendham road, all of which route, from the foot of Spring street, was, in Revolutionary days, known as the Mendham road.


The attention of the reader has already been di- rected to the fact that each brigade of the American


304


THE STORY OF ITS FIRST CENTURY


army encamped in Morristown had its own parade ground, frequently in front of the respective camps. Indeed, this was the case whenever the formation of the adjacent grounds permitted. Then, for the use of the entire army, there was what has been termed the "grand parade," which was situated on the right of the Jockey Hollow road, as one goes from the Morristown Green toward the Mendham road, and within about one and one-half miles from the latter. On the "grand parade" the daily guard mountings for the army took place; the various detachments for the daily relief of the outposts, picket posts and hospital guards here rendezvoused, and here, also, military executions were performed, sometimes in the presence of the entire army, the graves of the condemned soldiers having been previously dug at the foot of the gallows.


On the southeastern slope of Sugar Loaf hill, which lies just off the Jockey Hollow road to the right as one goes from Morristown, and about three miles from the last named place, there stood, during the winter of 1779-80, a log building. This building was used by the Pennsylvania division for courts martial; and it may also have served as a guard house. From an order book kept by Colonel Francis Johnston, of the Second Pennsylvania regiment, commander of the Pennsyl- vania division, from February tenth, of the year 1780, - until April twenty-ninth of the same year, it is ascer- tained that among the military trials conducted during the period referred to, which were probably held in the log building mentioned, were the following:


305


HISTORIC MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY


"On the eighteenth of February, Sergeant Mitchell, of the ninth Pennsylvania regiment, was tried and convicted for concealing stolen goods, and was sentenced to receive 100 lashes 'on his bare back well laid on.' James Hammel and Samuel Crawford, of the fifth Pennsylvania regiment, were tried on 'suspicion of robbery and found guilty of the charge.' They were sentenced to be hung on the next day, between the hours of three and four o'clock in the afternoon, on the grand parade. It was ordered that the officers of the day attend the executions; and that the corps of artillery (Knox's) 'will send a band of music to attend ye criminals to the place of execution.' The Pennsylvania Division was ordered to furnish an escort of officers, two drums and fifes and fifty privates; and each of the other divisions was to fur- nish two hundred men. The corps of artillery was to furnish one hundred men, properly officered. Hammel was exe- cuted; but Crawford, as the following order from Headquar- ters shows, was pardoned by. Washington. 'The Commander- in-Chief is Pleased to remit the Sentence against Samuel Crawford. The frequent occasion the General takes to Pardon where strict Justice would compel him to Punish ought to operate in ye minds of Offenders to the Improve- ment of their morals.'"


"For attempting to force a falsehood on Colonel Craig, of the Pennsylvania division, respecting his attendance on the regimental parade, Lieutenant John Armstrong was tried by court-martial. He was found guilty and discharged from the service. Washington, however, restored Armstrong to his former rank and command, saying: 'From the general good character of Lieut. Armstrong he hopes what he was charged with proceeded rather from a want of Recollection than any ill design.' Incidentally it may be said that among the entries in the order book of Colonel Francis Johnston, is the following: 'On February twenty-third (1780), Colonel Craig loses a silver epaulet in the rear of the Pennsylvania encampment, and offers a reward of thirty dollars.'


306


THE STORY OF ITS FIRST CENTURY


"On the sixteenth of March, of the year 1780, Washington issued a general order concerning the observance of St. Patrick's Day in the army. On the next morning the follow- ing division orders were issued by Colonel Francis Johnston: 'March 17, 1780. The commanding officer desirous that the Celebration of the day should not Pass by without having a little Rum issued to the Troops, had thought proper to direct Commissary Night to send for a Hogshead which the Colonel has purchased for this Express purpose in the Vicinity of Camp. While the Troops are celebrating the anniversary of St. Patrick in Innocent Mirth and Pastime he hopes they will not forget our worthy friends in the King- dom of Ireland, who, with the greatest unanimity, have stepped forth in Opposition to the Tyranny of Great Brit- tain, and who like Us, are determined to be Free. The Col- onel expects the Troops will conduct themselves with the greatest sobriety and good order.'


The courts-martial general of the American army during its encampment in Morristown in the winter of 1779-80, were held at several different places, among which were Dicker- son's Tavern, and the residence of Quartermaster General Joseph Lewis, on Morris street; and the log building on the slope of Sugar Loaf may also have been used for this pur- pose. In the early part of the month of February in the year 1780, one John Beaty, esq'r., "commissary of prisoners," was tried by general court martial on a charge of "improper intercourse with the City of New York," in having written there for and introduced sundry articles from thence con- trary to the resolve of Congress. Beaty was found guilty. Washington in speaking of Beaty's offense, says: "The Gen- eral thinks Mr. Beaty's Conduct in this Instance exceedingly reprehensible; in his situation he ought to have observed a peculiar Delicacy; the whole tenor of the Evidence Intro- duced by himself show that he was well aware of the Impro- priety of the Intercourse, & though he may have generally discountenanced it, it is not an excuse from the present


307


HISTORIC MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY


deviation, etc., etc." Mr. Beaty was, however, released from arrest. Lieutenant Porter, of the seventh Maryland regi- ment, who at the same time and place was tried for "unoffi- cer, unsoldier, & vilainous Conduct on Staten Island, Rob- bing & plundering a Woman of Money," was summarily cashiered. At the intercesion of officers of the third New York regiment, Edward Burk was pardoned by Washington, the Commander-in-Chief taking occasion to say: "The case of Burk ought to be a Striking example to the Soldiery of the dangerous Excesses and Fatal Consequences to which the pernicious Crime of Drunkenness will frequently betray them."


By no means the least interesting bits of information to be gleaned from the order book of Colonel Johnston, are the following: On the sixth of March a corporal and four pri- vates were sent to build an oven for "Mr. Ludwick the baker in Morristown." Two men were also sent to " Mr. Gamble's in Morristown" to assist in securing hides and tallow. On the fifteenth of March a sum of money, "less than 500 dollars, was found between Headquarters and the Church in 'Morris- town."


On the twenty-second of March Lientenant-Colonel How- ard was tried by court-martial, on the charge of not parading with his battalion, not having it in a state fit for action, and kindred breaches of discipline. The court condemned him; but the Commander-in-Chief came to the rescue, and after extenuating the officer's alleged misdemeanors, dissolved the court-martial. Among the causes cited by Washington for excusing Colonel Howard was "the extream severity of the weather at that period, *


* * while the men were walk- ing to keep themselves warm." It was on the twenty-third of March that Major Moore was tried by court-martial on several charges, of which the fifth was that of "speaking in a very dishonorable and disrespectful manner of his Excell- ency, the Commander-in-Chief, and Generals of the Army." The court, however, "fully and clearly" acquitted Major


308


THE STORY OF ITS FIRST CENTURY


Moore of the charge above specified. In commenting on the sentence of the court-martial Washington said he was happy in the acquittal of this officer on the fifth charge, which he was "sorry was ever made a matter of Publick discussion."


For sending out two sleighs and horses with John Van- Winkle and others to bring back some ladies from "Bergen Town," Lieutenant-Colonel Hay was sentenced by court- martial to be reprimanded in general orders. He was released from arrest by Washington, with the following com- ments: "Lieut. Col. Hay, not having the command on the lines in the quarter where he was, had no right to grant the permit he did, as Bergen Town was out of our lines, and within, or very contiguous to, those of the enemy. At the same time the General is Perfectly satisfied that in doing it, he was actuated merely by humane & benevolent motives, to facilitate the return home of two Ladies on their way from New York, where they had been permitted to go, & who, it appears, required assistance."


On the twenty-fourth of March, the officer commanding on the lines was directed in case of any "sudden & serious movement of the enemy in that quarter to Cause the Alarm Gun on the Height above Springfield to be fired, to be answered by the alarm guns in camp upon which the bri- gades are to form on their respective parades."


On March thirty-first, Ensign Spear was discharged from the service for disorderly conduct in a "publick house." "The General confirms the sentence against Ensign Spear because there was a Shameful combination of a number against a Single Person who seems to have given no provo- cation."


Thomas Brown, of the second New Jersey regiment, was charged with desertion. By a division court-martial con- vened by order of Major General Lord Sterling, Brown was declared guilty; and the court upon ascertaining that he was an old offender, having repeatedly deserted, "do unanimously


309


HISTORIC MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY


sentence him to be hanged by ye neck till dead, & the com- mander-in-chief approves the sentence."


"Sobriety, Fidelity and a good temper are essentially necessary, as are cleanliness, genteel shape & small Size," were the qualifications mentioned by General Maxwell, in his announcement for "a servant understanding the care and management of horses."


Charged with saying he was sick, when he was only indis- posed; and with attending a "Morristown ball" without leave, Lieutenant Hoops was tried by court-martial, and hon- orably acquitted.


General Irvine informed the troops in April that the "Honorable House of Assembly in Philadelphia had voted each officer and soldier at the expiration of the service cer- tain quantities of land, free of taxes. The allotment was as follows: "A Major General, 2,000 acres; A Brigadier, 1,500; A Colonel, 1,000;" and so on down to the privates who were to receive 200 acres each.


On the twenty-fifth of April Washington issued the follow- ing message to the troops: "The commander-in-chief at the request of the minister of France has the pleasure to inform Major General the Baron Steuben & the officers & men of the four battalions that the appearance & manoeuvres of the troops yesterday met his entire approbation & afforded him the highest satisfaction." In the general orders from Head- quarters of the twenty-sixth of the same month, appear the following words: "His excellency the minister of France was pleased to express in the warmest terms his approbation of the Troops in the review of yesterday. Applause so honor- able cannot but prove a new motive to the emulous exertions of the army."


On the twenty-seventh of April, Augustine Washington was made an ensign in the second Virginia regiment, and he was to do duty in the commander-in-chief's guard "till furth- er orders."


It is possible that the entries in the order book of Colonel


310


THE STORY OF ITS FIRST CENTURY


Johnston, from which the foregoing extracts and informa- tion are taken, were made at the Headquarters, and at the "small, ink-stained stand which bears the name of Gen. Washington's dispatch table."


Almost startlingly interesting is the fact, that upon "these ancient and blotted relics" of the Revolution-Colonel John- ston's order book- appear the names of Colonels William DeHart, Elias Dayton, Jacob Ford, Livingston, Ogden- "with Fullerton, Craig, Lyttle, Kinney, Kline, and the com- manding officers Clinton, Stark, Sterling, Maxwell and the rest."


The officers of the patriot army, many of them at least, including even regimental and company com- manders, instead of sharing quarters with the rank and file, sought more comfortable accommodations in the farmhouses surrounding the camps. As a means of protection against marauding by the soldiers, the pres- ence of these officers was welcomed by the families in which they found a home.


The soldiers of the patriot army were quartered, after temporary use of tents immediately following their arrival in camp, in huts, those of the officers each accommodating three or four persons, while those of the rank and file accommodated ten or more soldiers each. In accordance with the orders of the command- er-in-chief through Quartermaster-General Greene, the huts were of uniform construction and size, and were arranged in rows with the exactness of a well- laid-out modern city. At one end of the huts was a plastered wood chimney with spacious stone fireplace, and at the other end were bunks. In some of these


3II


HISTORIC MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY


huts there were apologies for windows, and in all of them facilities for ventilation. As illustrative of the extreme care of Washington for the health and com- fort of his soldiers, it may be said that in his instruc- tions for the erection of their winter quarters he ex- plicitly ordered that "any hut not exactly conformable to the plan or the least out of the line shall be pulled down and built again." It is a most interesting cir- cumstance, and one that merits mention, that the huts in question were constructed without the use of nails, and probably without the use of hammers, axes being about the only tool required. Mention of the fact should not be omitted that most, if not, indeed, all, the brigade camps of the American army were established upon grounds covered with trees, which were expedi- tiously cleared away to make room for the huts which were to furnish shelter through what proved to be one of the severest winters, as regards both the tempera- ture which prevailed and the immense quantity of snow, ever experienced in this region.




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.