USA > New Jersey > Morris County > Morristown > Historic Morristown, New Jersey : the story of its first century > Part 27
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
Cocking his pistol and pointing it toward some of the leaders of the revolt, Wayne threatened to shoot them if they did not, with the body of troops, return at once to their camp on Kemble Hill, and then and there was enacted a scene which might well engage the artist's skill in depicting upon canvas what occurred. Wayne's threat had scarcely escaped his lips when scores of bayonets were at his breast.
"General," sternly spoke one of the revolters, "we respect and love you; often have you led us into battle, but we are no longer under your command; we warn you to be on your guard; if you fire your pistol or attempt to enforce your com- mands, we shall put you instantly to death."
Suddenly impressed, as the writer conceives, with
375
HISTORIC MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY
the justness of the cause which could impel men to open revolt against their superior officer, Wayne re- solved to join his brave soldiers in their endeavor to secure an adjustment of the grievances they had so long and so patiently borne for freedom's sake. The brigade quartermaster was at once ordered by General Wayne to furnish the revolters with a supply of pro- visions. No finer evidence of the popularity of Wayne could be adduced than the fact that even after the oc- currence just mentioned, the revolters, acting upon the advice of their beloved general, concluded to march to Princeton by way of the Basking Ridge road. Led by their former commander, General Wayne, ac- companied by other officers, the Pennsylvania troops reached Princeton, where they laid their grievances before a committee of Congress, appointed for the pur- pose. Ever will it stand to the credit of the intelligent manhood of these troops that the justice of their cause was recognized, and their demands satisfied.
Sir Henry Clinton, on being informed of the mutiny of the Pennsylvania troops, sent a sergeant of the Brit- ish army, and a Jersey Tory by the name of Ogden, to offer them the protection of the British Government; holding out flattering inducements by way of persuad- ing them to this desertion of the cause of freedom. The offer was not only indignantly spurned, but the two British emissaries were delivered over to General Wayne, who had them tried as spies. They were con- victed, and promptly executed.
376
THE STORY OF ITS FIRST CENTURY
"See! comrades," said one of the leaders of the mutineers, "he takes us for traitors. Let us show him that the American army can furnish but one Arnold, and that America has no truer friends than we."
As a well deserved tribute to the patriotism and efficiency of the Pennsylvania troops, an account of whose mutiny has been given, the following extracts from two letters of General Wayne, written, one of them, at least, to Washington, but a few weeks pre- viously, are here appended:
"I forgot to mention to your excellency, that the Ist and 2nd Brigade (Pennsylvania) marched at a moment's warning, leaving our tents standing, guards and detachments out, pushed with rapidity to secure this pass, where it would be in our power to dispute the ground inch by inch, or to proceed to West Point as occasion might require, which was effected in as little time as ever so long a march was performed in. *
The Ist Pennsylvania Brigade moved immediately, and on the arrival of the 2d express I was speedily followed by our gallant friend, Gen'l Irvine, with the 2nd Brigade. Our march of sixteen miles was performed in four hours, during a dark night, without a single halt, or man left behind. When our approach was announced to the General, he thought it fabulous, but when assured of his Ioth Legion being near him, he expressed great satisfaction and pleasure."
General Anthony Wayne, or "Mad Anthony," as he had already come to be known, is a unique figure in the annals of the Revolution. His father, or grand- father, it is not clear which, was a native of the Emer- ald Isle. Chester County, Pa., was the birthplace of Anthony. The year of his birth was 1745 or 1746;
377
HISTORIC MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY
hence at the time of the mutiny among his troops, he was but about thirty-six years of age. At the outbreak of the Revolution he organized in his native State a volunteer corps. In the year 1776 Congress appointed him to the command of a regiment. He participated in the operations in Canada. At Ticonderoga he was in command of the patriot army. Later he was commis- sioned a brigadier-general by Congress. At German- town, Wayne commanded a division of Washington's army; and at the battle of Monmouth he greatly dis- tinguished himself. By one of the most brilliant as- saults of history he recaptured Stony Point from the British, receiving a wound during the assault. A vote of thanks and a gold medal were bestowed upon Wayne for his famous act at Stony Point. In the cam- paign resulting in the surrender of the British at York- town he was again wounded.
General Wayne was with the patriot army during its first encampment at Morristown and vicinity in the winter of the year 1777. He was quartered in the house of Deacon Ephraim Sayre, at Bottle Hill, now Madison. His body-guard were quartered in the kitchen in the rear of the main house. General Wayne occupied a room, known as "the front room," situated on the northerly end of the Sayre house. He was ac- companied by a small mulatto servant, whose martial spirit was stimulated by the carriage of a wooden sword, with edges finely sharpened. Wayne did not accompany the American army to Morristown in the winter of the year 1779-80. On the way from his post
378
THE STORY OF ITS FIRST CENTURY
to Pennsylvania late in the year 1779, however, he passed through Morristown. He may have rejoined the patriot army at Nyack, in the summer of the year 1780, and late in the same year he came to Morris- town, and established his quarters at the Kemble house on the Basking Ridge road. Of his connection with the mutiny of his troops we have already spoken at sufficient length for present purposes.
Consideration for fondly cherished local tradition, on the part of the present writer, is responsible for the version of the "Tempe" Wicke episode previously given in these pages. There is, however, another ver- sion which seems to be more in accord with reason, and which is not without a good basis in extant docu- mentary evidence; this version of the episode is as fol- lows: During the mutiny of the Pennsylvania troops down the Jockey Hollow road, which, as our readers have seen, ocurred on the opening day of the year 1781, the mutineers had in some way found access to a liberal supply of alcoholic drinks; whether rum or applejack, the writer is unable to say. Judging from the evidence furnished by fragmentary records of the mutiny, there was, to employ a modern phrase, "a hot time," in the vicinity of the Wicke house, on the first day of January, in the year 1781. The intoxication, and consequent rioting, were continued for several days after the departure of the main body of General Wayne's troops for Princeton, by detachments of sol- diers left behind to guard the camp equipage and offi- cers' baggage. Doubtless there were, also, not a few
379
HISTORIC MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY
stragglers, who had, without orders, remained in the vicinity of their former encampment.
Mrs. Wicke, who was in poor health at the time of the mutiny of Wayne's troops, was greatly annoyed by the noises attending the unbridled carousals of the drunken soldiers. "For on January Ist, 1781, there came the mutiny in General Wayne's command so near his (Mr. Wicke's) home that the sounds of the shots that killed Captain Bettin must have reached the ears of its inmates;" such is the statement to be found in No. III, of "A Branch of the Woodruff Stock," by our talented townsman, Francis E. Wood- ruff. Mr. Wicke-again we quote from the above named authority-"was Captain of a company of Mor- ris County cavalry that did good service in the war and engaged in at least one sharp fight, though fre- quently detailed as guard for Governor Livingston"- was absent from home, and Mrs. Wicke and her daughter, "Tempe," seem to have been the only adult occupants of the house. During the day, Mrs. Wicke had an ill turn, induced, perhaps, by the excitement incident to the unusual occurrences about the place. The immediate attendance of a physician became necessary. Upon "Tempe" Wicke, therefore, de- volved the duty of going for Dr. William Leddell, the family physician, who lived about a mile to the west- ward. As a means of insuring more completely the safety of her mother during her absence, "Tempe" carried her into the cellar. Saddling and bridling and mounting her favorite horse, the devoted daughter
380
THE STORY OF ITS FIRST CENTURY
sped away down the hill toward Dr. Leddell's. Her errand accomplished, she again mounted her horse for a hasty return home. In front of the Leddell house she encountered two or three intoxicated soldiers- some of the mutineers, perhaps, but more likely some of the stragglers alluded to, whose too free use of in- toxicants (procured, possibly, from the officers' bag- gage) had made them reckless. Rudely seizing the horse's bridle, they commanded "Tempe" to dismount, and allow them to take the animal. Mr. Francis E. Woodruff says, in one of his carefully compiled pam- phlets. "It was nearly in front of Dr. Leddell's that she ('Tempe' Wicke) refused to give up her pet (saddle horse) to our disorderly soldiers and galloped away from them." On reaching home "Tempe" hastily dis- mounted from her foaming horse, led him through the kitchen and front room into the spare bed cham- ber, secured him and closed the wooden window shut- ter. Here he was kept three of four days; by the end of which time the mutineers had entirely disappeared from the neighborhood.
In a communication to the writer, written while the series of articles on "History of Moristown, N. J. The Story of its First Century," were running in the Sat- urday issues of The Newark Evening News, a well in- formed local historian, said: "I read your horse story the same evening. It is very well told. Would advise your shading two or three points. (1) Some report '3 days,' not '3 weeks.' One possible, the other incred- ible; mutineers did not hang about so long. (2) Not
381
HISTORIC MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY
1780, but 1781. Discipline good in 1780, except for fowls. Farmers' round robin, end of 1780, made much complaint of fowls, fence rails, and bad manners, none about horses. No order to draft horses. (Drafting of horses always orderly and serious busi- ness, anyhow). (3) If mutineer fired, he certainly fired wild to scare girl. They were not murderous."
In reply to the query-"Did you ever hear of a ring in the room where the horse ("Tempe" Wicke's) was kept, to which the horse was tied?" recently submitted in writing to Miss Mary E. Leddell, by the writer, she says: "I have heard of a hole in a timber in which a ring-bolt was inserted for the tie-strap." Miss Leddell was the former owner and is the present occupant of the historic Dr. William Leddell place. Of Dr. Led- dell she is a lineal descendant.
In view of the frequent references in these pages to the "Wicke house" and the "Dr. Leddell house," it will doubtless be interesting to readers to learn something of their history, in addition to what has already been said in these pages concerning them. "The Wicke Tract was purchased in 1746. Our first record of Henry Wicke as of Morris County, was in 1748. We suppose the house was built in 1747"-such was the reply of Miss Mary E. Leddell, to the query. "Do you know when, or by whom, the Wicke house was built?" sub- mitted to her by the writer in the month of July, of the present year. To the query, "Did you ever hear where the 'magazine' of General Wayne was situated; how far to the east of the Wicke house?" she replied: "In
382
THE STORY OF ITS FIRST CENTURY
the orchard half-way between the house and the Jock. ey Hollow road." While the following query and re- ply are not strictly Apropos, their importance will, it is thought, justify their introduction here. "Did you ever hear whether the oak tree now standing at the head of Captain Bettin's grave was there when he was buried?" Reply: "I have never heard that it was stand- ing. I suppose it was, as oaks are of slow growth, and that is a large tree."
It may have been in the latter part of the month of June, of the present year, that a letter of inquiry con- cerning the appearance and history of the Dr. William Leddell house, was mailed to Miss Leddell; her reply is of such great interest to lovers of local annals, that it should not be permitted to fall into "the swallow- ing gulf of dark forgetfulness and deep oblivion." It is, therefore, given verbatim:
"Basking Ridge, Somerset County, New Jersey, July 5th, 1905.
"Rev. Andrew M. Sherman, Morristown, N. J.
Dear Sir :- "My knowledge of the Revolutionary home of Dr. Wm. Leddell is limited. I never heard it accurately de- scribed, but know that it was a frame building which covered a good deal of ground. The kitchen and sitting room were at the western end of the dwelling; kitchen at the back with its outer door opening near the well. Beneath these rooms a basement room was used as a store, in which a thriving busi- ness was conducted by furnishing various articles to the sol- diers.
383
HISTORIC MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY
"Tradition states that the grounds about Dr. Leddell's dwelling were the most tastefully arranged and neatly kept premises in the vicinity. The terraces which Dr. Leddell had constructed, and on which he located his botanical and kitchen gardens, may be seen today.
"Tradition states that the soldiers located themselves on the mountain east of the Leddell home one afternoon of the last week of November, 1779.
"Dr. Leddell was not at home when they arrived and lighted their first line of camp fires. When the Doctor returned, he saw that these fires were too near his buildings for safety, and sent his body servant-one of his slaves, named 'Sam'- to bid the officers of the company to come to his house. When they came, the Doctor requested them to have the camp-fires extinguished, and other fires lighted, at a safe distance from the buildings. The officers complied with this request and the buildings saved from harm.
"In a memorandum book of Doctor Leddell's we find a note telling of a journey, made July, 1781, when he visited Colonel Pickering, who was Quartermaster and located at New Wind- sor, on the Hudson. The colonel appointed a committee to adjudge the damage wrought by the army while camping on the Leddell and Wick lands. As both estates were stripped of wood and timber, the loss was heavy. We have no record of this government debt being paid, and it is a pleasure to the members of the present generation to know that their ances- tors had the privilege and ability to make admirable sacrifice on the altar of Liberty.
Yours respectfully,
(Miss) MARY E. LEDDELL."
Replying to the inquiry as to the date of the burn- ing of the dwelling of Dr. William Leddell of the Rev- olutionary period, Miss Leddell said:
384
THE STORY OF ITS FIRST CENTURY
"After making inquiry I find no date of the time when Dr. Leddell's dwelling was burned, but my knowledge of some circumstances leads me to think it was burned prior to 1818. The fire was caused by flames from the oven-flue. The Dutch oven in the kitchen was being heated, preparatory to baking. The soot in the flue taking fire, blazed above the chimney top, and sparks falling on the dry roof caused it to ignite."
Reference has been made to the encampment, in the late fall of the year 1779, of a portion of Washing- ton's army on grounds to the east of the Dr. Leddell house. Having been informed that John W. Melick, of Morristown, had, when a boy, seen some of the traces of the camping grounds alluded to by Dr. Led- dell in his memorandum book, the writer procured from the former the following written statement:
"In the summer of the year 1877, the First Presbyterian Church Sunday School, of Mendham, held a picnic in the woods on the Leddell farm. The grounds were reached by leaving the main road and taking a by-road that passed between the saw mill and the stone house. We then skirted the lake, and, passing into the woods at the right, reached the grove which had been cleared of underbrush. This grove was situated about half a mile northeast of the stone house (Dr. Leddell's), and about midway between the house and an open field, which was said to have been one of the parade grounds of the Revolutionary soldiers (one of the Pennsyl- vania brigades). After we had eaten our dinners, my father climbed the hill at the south which at that time was heavily wooded, and, at a distance of about one-fourth of a mile from the picnic grounds, discovered some of the stone fire-places, which we concluded had been used by soldiers in the Revo- lution. After removing the leaves and some of the dirt, traces
385
HISTORIC MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY
of the ashes could be seen. I was only 14 years of age that time, but it was a very interesting experience for us, and especially for the older members of the Sunday School, to see those reminders of our country's struggle for liberty. "Very respectfully yours,
JOHN W. MELICK.
"Morristown, N. J., October 2, 1905."
"Sun of the moral world ! effulgent source Of man's best wisdom and his steadiest force, Soul searching Freedom! here assume the stand And radiate hence to every distant land."
386
CHAPTER XIX
F the mutiny of "Mad Anthony" Wayne's Pennsylvania troops down I the Jockey Hollow road, a concise account of which has been given in a previous chapter, may be spoken of as an "ill wind," then there may very appropriately be quoted, at this point of our story the familiar and significant lines:
"Except wind stands as it never stood, It is an ill wind turns none to good."
In consequence of this mutiny, and that of the New Jersey troops encamped near Pompton, which oc- curred on the twenty-seventh day of the same month, and year, the American Congress so far awoke to the gravity of the situation and to the recognition of the justice of the claims of the patriot soldiers, as to move that national body to the prompt employment of meas- ures for the relief of the long-suffering American army. By means of taxation, and by other meas-
387
HISTORIC MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY
ures adopted by the National Legislature, money was soon raised for the prosecution of the war for inde- pendence. The establishment of the Bank of North America, upon the recommendation of Robert Morris, the masterful financier of this critical period of our national history, proved an invaluable aid in conduct- ing the Revolution to a successful issue.
The complete rout of the British troops under Tar- leton, and the capture of more than five hundred pris- oners, at the Cowpens, on the seventeenth day of Jan- uary, in the year 1781, by the American force, com- manded by Morgan; the virtual defeat of Cornwallis at Guilford Courthouse, on the fifteenth day of the following March, by the combined forces of Morgan and Greene; the retreat of the patriot forces under Greene from Hobkirk's Hill, on the twenty-fifth day of April of the same year, after a severe engagement; and the drawn battle of Eutaw Springs, on the eighth day of September, in the year 1781, in which Greene captured 500 prisoners, closed the campaign in the Carolinas.
Passing over a few of the minor operations of the two armies, conducted mainly in Virginia, it may be said that in the month of August, in the year 1781, we find Cornwallis concentrating his forces at Yorktown, where he threw up strong fortifications. With a large land force Washington invested Yorktown, while the York and James rivers were effectively blockaded by a French fleet in command of Count de Grasse. A cannonade commenced by the American forces on Oc-
388
THE STORY OF ITS FIRST CENTURY
tober 9, 1781, and continued until the nineteenth day of the same month, resulted in the unconditional sur- render of Cornwallis, with 7,000 soldiers, to Washing- ton.
Among the participants in this last and decisive bat- tle of the Revolution, it should be said, was the Jersey Brigade, then in command of Colonel Elias Dayton. The three regiments composing the brigade of Jersey troops, having been employed in all the labor incident to the siege, were present at the surrender of Corn- wallis.
The surrender of the British army at Yorktown was the death blow to British hopes in America. A pre- liminary treaty signed at Paris on November 30, 1782, was followed by a proclaimed cessation of hostilities on April 19, 1783. On September 3, the same year, a final and definite treaty of peace was signed at Paris, by the terms of which Great Britain acknowledged the independence of the United States. After a seven- years struggle the American people were politically free, and "The greatest glory of a free-born people, is to transmit that freedom to their children."
Less than a decade ago, there were discovered in the State Library, at Trenton, some papers, so old and musty as to render the deciphering of them somewhat difficult. To J. Frank Lindsley, then editor of the Morris County Chronicle, belongs, in part, at least, the credit of this discovery; and in the newspaper edited by him, copies of the papers discovered were published.
389
HISTORIC MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY
"A Copie of the Inventories of such Property as has been damaged or destroyed by the Continental Army & Militia in the County of Morris, together with the Appraisements thereof done agreeable to an Act of the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey passed at Trenton, December 20, 1781." Such is the heading of old and musty papers, a few extracts from which are here presented :
"No. 20.
Inventory of sundry Articles taken from Ellis Cook by the Continental Army, (Viz.)
1780 I Ox Chain. £o 15
Dec'r. I Narrow Ax
7
3 Sheep, at IOS
I IO
20 Fowls, 9d
15
10 Bushels Potatoes, 2s. 6d.
I 5
ELLIS COOK.
4 12 6 "No. 23.
Inventory of sundry Articles taken from Uzal Kitchel by the Continental Army (Viz)
1777 3 Hives Bees, 20S.
£3 0
£ 0
Feb'r. 2 Hogs (12 months) 30S.
3 0
0
I Sheep Keeping Cattle on hay 7 1-2 months 3 15
IO
10 15 "No. 28.
UZAL KITCHEL.
Inventory of sundry Articles taken from Joshua
Guren by soldiers of the Continental Army (Viz) 1779 Sheep 20s .; I Calf 5 months old 25s. .. £2 5 0 Decem'r I Great Coat (Blanketing) 15
390
THE STORY OF ITS FIRST CENTURY
I Linen Peticoat (new) 15
2 Good Shifts (half worn) 10
1780 2 Bushels Rye 4s. 0
8
Aug. 2 Sheep 20s .; 2 Narrow Axes 5s. I 15
6 Bushels Potatoes 2s.
I2
£7
JOSHUA GUREN.
"No. 29.
Inventory of sundry Articles taken from Phine- has Fairchild by the Continental Army (Viz)
1777 I Hive Bees 20s .; I Beever Hat, new 45s .;
£3 5
Jan. 4 pr. woolen Stockings 5s .; I pr. worsted Do. 7s.
12
1779 3 Sheep & six Lambs 90s .; 2 bus Wheat I2s. 5 2
Dec'r I Bag & 19 Fowls 18s. Id .; pewter quart & pint I 5 7
PHINEHAS FAIRCHILD.
10 4 7 "No. 30.
Inventory of sundry Articles taken from Jo- seph Lindsley by the Continental Army (Viz) 1777 I Vest Broad Cloath
£I 5
Jan. I pr. Striped Cotton Trowsers
IO
I fine Shirt
15
3 Linen Aprons
I
2
6
1779 I Woolen Cover lid
I
Dec. 3 Hives Bees 20S.
3
3 Geese 2s. 6
1780 I woolen Cover lid
I
39I
HISTORIC MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY
Dec. 4 Sheep IOS. 2
1782 6 Bushel Potatoes 2s. 6d. 15
June I Calf 3 (Months old)
I 2 6
JOSEPH LINDSLEY.
Inventory of sundry Articles taken from Eb- enezer Stiles by the Continental Army (Viz)
1783
Sept. 26 Pasture furnished a Brigade of Teams Appraised £I IO
1780 2 1-2 days cutting wood 45. IO
Feb. 4 2 Ox Chains 15s. I IO
6
6
I Shoemakers Hammer
I 6
2 Axes 15s .; I Hive Bees 20S.
I I5
Pasturing 6 Cattle I day
5
Quartering at his house Lighthorsemen 20 days I
EBENEZER STILES.
7 9 0 "No. 32.
Inventory of sundry Articles taken from Jo- seph Beach (Viz)
1777
May 25 I Horse
£20 0 0
I Worsted Coat & Vest 2
I Flannel Vest 5
9
6
March I Lindsey Peticoat 15
I pewter porringer
2
I Japan'd qt. Mug 4
392
1780 I Linen Do.
£13 0 O "No. 31.
7 Fowls 7s .; I pr pinchers 2s. 6d.
THE STORY OF ITS FIRST CENTURY
I Diaper Table Cloth
IO
I Window Curtain
I2
100 Fowls 3 15
28 12 6
JOSEPH BEACH.
"No. 34.
Inventory of sundry Articles taken from James
Miller by the Continental Army (Viz)
1778 I Cover lid £I
Dec'r.
1779 2 Hive Bees
2
Dec'r.
Jan. I pr. Small Steelyards
7
6
I Bridle (good) 6 5
1782 I Calf 18s .; I Cow Bell 7s. I
June 2 Calves (3 months) 40S .; I Tuky (Turkey) 2s. 6d. 2
2
6
6 Sheep 60; I Pillow 7s. 6d.
3
7 6
IO Bushel Potatoes 2s. I
JAMES MILLER.
II
8 6
"No. 35.
Daniel Freeman had a Horse impressed in the service of the United States & kept three Years £5 0 0
DANIEL FREEMAN.
"No. 38.
Inventory of Articles taken from Joseph Peir- son Jun'r by the Continental Army (Viz) 1780 I Calf Dec'r I Do.
£o
18 0
18
393
HISTORIC MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY
Oct. '83 I Heifer (3 y'r old) 4
Nov. I Barrel Cyder 7 6
6 3 6 "No. 39.
JOSEPH PIERSON JUN'R.
Inventory of sundry Articles taken from John Day (Viz)
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.