USA > New Jersey > Middlesex County > New Brunswick > Historical discourse delivered at the celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the First Reformed Dutch Church, New Brunswick, N.J., October 1, 1867 > Part 5
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Many of the citizens were compelled to abandon their residences; all business was suspended; public worship broken up, and the whole town under the control of the enemy. The British army immediately appropriated to their own use all the public buildings of the city. The pews were taken out of our church, and it was converted first into a hospital, and after- ward into a stable. The Presbyterian church was burned under the following circumstances : On the re- treat of the American army from New-Brunswick, Captain Adam Hyler, with a small force, was the last to leave the town. Hotly pursued through the streets by the enemy, he defended himself for a short time behind the walls of the building; when, overcome by a supe- rior force, he was compelled to abandon his position, and the British fired the edifice, which, being constructed of wood, was partially consumed. Colonel Taylor was in this engagement, and for about an hour was retained as a prisoner in the hands of the enemy; but by a bold
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charge, he was rescued from the guard, and returned to his own party."
The British remained in possession of the city for about six months, and during this period they sent out frequent foraging expeditions into the country. During the months of January, February, and March, they were shut up in the town, being cut off from their base of supplies at Amboy. The army was short of pro- visions, and a fleet was sent up the Raritan to replen- ish their exhausted stores. Lord Cornwallis, who was the military commander of the post, was apprised of this expected relief, and watched eagerly for the ap- proaching boats. Just as they rounded the point below the city, a battery of six cannon, which had been put into position during the preceding night, opened upon them, when five of the boats were immediately dis- abled and sunk, and the remainder returned in a crip- pled condition to Amboy. It was at this time that General Howe in person made an attempt to open com- munication by land ; but the expedition failed, and he came near falling into the hands of the Americans.+
The farmers throughout this whole section of country were compelled to deliver over their stores into the
* The records of their church are supposed at this time to have been destroyed. They were in the hands of an elder, Dr. Moses Scott, who was compelled to take a sudden flight, leaving his property in their hands, and barely escaped capture. He was just sitting down to dinner when the ene- my entered the town, who made a feast at the doctor's expense. He was Surgeon-General of the Army of New-Jersey, and procured a valuable supply of medicines from France, stored away in boxes, all of which fell into the enemy's hands. But they were of no advantage, for a neighbor told them that the doctor had poisoned the medicines on purpose to destroy the British, who at once emptied his boxes into the streets .- Dr. David- son's Historical Sketch, pp. 17, 31, which see, as also for other facts connect- ed with the Presbyterian church.
t See Whitehead's Amboy, p. 341. Also for other incidents of the Revo- lution in this country. Local traditions are still abundant and distinct. The city which suffered so greatly has an unwritten history which should be preserved. Would it not be well to gather together these items before they perish beyond recovery ?
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hands of the British." At Three Mile Run the build- ings were all plundered, and frequently fired. Barns were torn down to supply timber for the construction of a temporary bridge over the Raritan, and some of the most wanton cruelties were inflicted.
But they were not allowed to remain in the undis- turbed possession of the town. Colonels Neilson and Taylor gave them constant trouble; Captain Guest was on the watch for a favorable opportunity to pounce upon the Hessians ; James Schureman, who had learned something of war at the battle of Long Island, gave them no rest; while Captain Hyler, whose adventures with his whale-boats around Staten Island seem almost romantic, and who could fight on land as well as on water, kept them in constant apprehension. These officers watched every movement of the enemy, drove back their foraging parties into the city, and often skirmished with their outposts.
Deeds of personal valor were of frequent occurrence, and traditions are preserved in the families of the town of heroism unsurpassed in the whole history of the conflict. Colonel Neilson organized a secret expedition
* The following schedule of property taken from Mr. John Van Liew, of Three Mile Run, will illustrate the ruthless spirit of the enemy, and the hardships encountered by the inhabitants of this region during the war. The list is valuable as exhibiting the price of different articles at the com- mencement of the Revolution, a pound representing $2.50 of our currency. I only enumerate the more important articles taken by " the Regulars :"
£. s.
£. s.
1 span horses. 36 00
38 Albany boards. 4 15
1 colt, two years old
12 00 700 thin Albany boards. 2 09
50 bushels corn 12
1 house burned. 80 00
28 bushels wheat. 10 00
15 bushels potatoes 1 17
Riding chair and harness. 15 00
300 cwt. flour 14
30 tons of hay 105 00
9 cows 51 15
8 turkeys. 1 00
100 fowls. : 15
25 head of sheep 17 10 50 pounds of pork, 5d. per pound.
Floors of house and barn taken up. 1 negro, 23 years old, smart and active, £105.
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against the outpost of the British on Bennet's Island, now known as Island Farm. With a picked command, numbering two hundred men, he stealthily approached the works on the morning of February 18th, some time before daybreak. It was a clear, cold night, and a fresh fall of snow rendered the undertaking extremely hazardous. But they reached the works without being discovered, and Colonel Neilson was the first man to leap the stockade. Captain Farmer saved the life of his commander at this moment by aiming a well- directed blow at the sentinel, who was in the act of discharging his musket into his breast. The short engagement lasted only a few minutes, when the works were surrendered by Major Stockton, who was the acting commander of the post in the absence of Colonel Skinner. One captain, several subordinate officers, and fifty-five privates were taken prisoners, and a quantity of munitions of war were captured. The British knew nothing of the event, as only a few guns were fired, until some time during the morning, when the Ameri- cans with their prisoners and booty were far on their way toward Princeton, where General Putnam was stationed, into whose hands they delivered their spoils. Colonel Neilson and his men received from General Washington a very high compliment for the wisdom with which he had planned, and the secrecy with which he had executed, this most successful expedition.
On the 28th of May, Washington, who had spent the previous winter at Morristown, marched his army of 7500 to the heights of Middlebrook. Here he lay for two weeks watching the movements of the enemy at Brunswick, from a position which has since been called " Washington's Rock." In the mean while the route to Amboy had been opened, both by land and water, and
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troops had been pushed forward to this point in large numbers, until by the 12th of June an army of 17,000 British and Hessians was assembled, under those veteran commanders, Generals Howe, Cornwallis, and De Heister. Both the English and German com- manders were agreed that they had never seen a more splendid army, or one so well disciplined and equipped, and in better spirits." On the 14th, they marched out of the city in the direction of Mid- dlebush, with the design of drawing on an engage- ment with Washington if they could induce him to leave the strong position which he occupied. Re- mains of the fortifications which they hastily threw up are still visible on the farm of Mr. John Wilson. Here the enemy remained until the 19th, when, failing in their design, they returned to Brunswick and made immediate preparation to evacuate the State. They were pursued by the Americans, and so greatly har- assed on their retreat that it was not until the 1st of July that they were able to cross over from Amboy to the place of their destination on Staten Island. -
After their evacuation of the city, the inhabitants returned to their homes and found every thing in a most desolate condition. The work of destruction had been carried on indiscriminately and ruthlessly. The devotion of the inhabitants to the cause of their country had exposed them to the special wrath of their enemies. We have the authority of Governor Livingston for the statement that there were very few whose sympathies
* "For its numbers, that army had not its equal in the world. Every soldier was eager for a battle."-Bancroft, vol. 9, p. 351. The time was eventful and critical. About the time when these two armies confronted each other, namely, June 14th, Congress adopted the flag of our country. The historian remarks: "The immovable fortitude of Washington in his camp at Middlebrook was the salvation of that beautiful flag." P. 352.
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were with the royal cause. In a letter to Governor Bowdoin, of Massachusetts, on behalf of the Presby- terian church, who solicited aid from abroad to rebuild their church edifice, he writes: "With respect to the political principles of the inhabitants of New-Bruns- wick, it may be proper to do them the justice of add- ing that they have, through the whole course of the war, approved themselves firm and distinguished Whigs, and inflexibly persevered in their attachment to the cause of America in the most gloomy and peril- ous times of her conflict with Great Britain."
This, as we may well suppose, was a gloomy summer in the town, as well as a dark day for the country. But nothing could discourage the hearts of patriots, and they immediately addressed themselves to the work of rebuilding. Our church edifice underwent a temporary repair, and for some time was occupied on alternate Sabbaths by the Presbyterian congregation, the blackened walls of whose building were left stand- ing below Lyle's brook." Mr. Leydt was immediately at his post, and preached for his people two Sabbaths in the month of July, the first service which he had been able to hold in the city since the beginning of December. This long interruption had a very sad effect upon all the interests of the church, and the troubles of the times prevented the growth of the con- gregation.
Indeed, during the whole subsequent part of his ministry, which was brought to a close in 1783, the town was kept in a constant state of alarm. Captain
* The building was not entirely destroyed, but, as the congregation con- templated removing to another part of the city, instead of repairing the old edifice it was sold to Mr. Hassert, who removed it to New street and con- verted it into a dwelling-house. This building is still standing, and is now No. 21.
ʻ
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Hyler, to whose romantic exploits I have referred, made this place his rendezvous. He had under his command one gun-boat, the Defiance, and several large whale- boats, with which he would proceed down the Raritan and annoy the trading vessels, transports, and plunder- ing parties of the enemy around Staten and Long Islands, and in the neighborhood of Sandy Hook. He selected only the bravest men, so expert in the use of the oar that, when rowing at the rate of twelve miles an hour, they could be heard only at ashort distance. He had the faculty of infusing into his men his own spirit of adventure and daring. On one of his excur- sions he captured five vessels, two of them armed, in about fifteen minutes, within pistol-shot of the guard- ship at Sandy Hook. In another enterprise he cap- tured an eighteen-gun cutter, which he was forced to blow up, after removing a quantity of stores and ammu- nition. His plan was to sally out of his berth near the upper lock, pass rapidly down the river, make his cap- tures, and dash back again often pursued by the enemy, who made slow progress with their heavier vessels, and dared not to follow him along the tortuous channel of the Raritan.
The annoyance was so great that an expedition of three hundred men, in several boats, was fitted out to proceed to Brunswick, and destroy his whale-boats and recapture some of the ammunition. The plan was car- ried into effect January 4th, 1782. The river was clear- of ice, and, proceeding cautiously up the Raritan, they had nearly reached the town, when at midnight Mr. Peter Wyckoff was awakened by the barking of a watch-dog; and, holding his ear to the ground, he heard the measured stroke of muffled oars, and at once con- cluded that an attack was to be made upon the city.
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Mounting a fleet horse, he gave the alarm to Captain Guest, and spread the word from house to house, warn- ing the inhabitants of danger. A scene of great excite- ment now ensued. Lights flashed through the town, and in a short space of time all the able-bodied men were under arms. But the enemy had reached the whale-boats and set them on fire, when our men came up, and, driving them off, prevented them from accom- plishing their purpose They now found that their only safety consisted in a hasty retreat. The night was dark, and a running fight took place in the streets. The British endeavored to reach their boats by passing down Queen street to their rendezvous at the foot of Town lane. But they were intercepted at the Dutch church, from behind the walls of which a volley was fired as they pressed on, eager only to escape. The principal skirmish took place near Mr. Agnew's; but they succeeded in reaching the river, and made their way back to Staten Island. The enemy's loss in this encounter was four men killed and several wounded. On the side of the Americans there was the loss of six persons wounded, none proving fatal, and five or six prisoners. A ball was shot through the body of John. Nafey in this skirmish, but the prompt attention. of Colonel Taylor saved his life. The enemy completely failed in the object of their expedition, and Captain Hyler was on the water in a few weeks, more daring than ever. He died in this city in 1782; but, strange to relate, no one knows the place of his burial.
Some of the members of our congregation took a very active part in this contest, and their names are honor- ably mentioned in the history of the State. Of this number the Elder Hendrick Fisher was most devotedly interested in the cause of his country. Perhaps there. 5
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was no man whose influence was greater, or counsel more sought after, during the whole progress of the war. He had been long at the head of the affairs of the church, and was the acknowledged leader in the congregation. He was born in the year 1697, emi- grated to this country when quite a young man, and was received into the membership of this church in 1721, shortly after the settlement of Mr. Frelinghuysen. His election to the office of deacon was resisted by the party opposed to the minister; but their objections were overruled, and he was accordingly ordained. He was a mechanic by occupation, but a man of great in- telligence, who deservedly commanded the respect and confidence of his fellow-citizens, and occupied a very prominent place in public estimation. In his private character he was irreproachable, and for nearly sixty years he was a consistent, useful, and active member of the church. The confidence which was reposed in him is indicated by his reelection to the office of elder on several occasions, and his appointment to re- present the church in all ecclesiastical courts. He was a zealous supporter of the Coetus party, a member of the first convention in 1738, and an attendant at each one of their subsequent meetings. On the adop- tion of the Plan of Union, in 1771, his name appears among the delegates; and, as a member of one of the important committees, he was instrumental in the in- auguration of that new era of reconciliation and har- mony in the church. With all his other attainments, he was thoroughly versed in the science of theology, and became a lay preacher and catechist. Some of his sermons were published and circulated among the people, and are said to have been rich in their doc- trinal statements and pungent in their application of the truth.
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In civil life he took a very honorable and important stand. He was elected a member of the Assembly of this State, and was serving in that capacity at the com- mencement of the Revolutionary war. Although he was at this time quite advanced in life, yet he entered into the contest with great warmth and decision, and is justly reputed to have contributed largely to the suc- cess of our struggle for Independence. He was a dele- gate to the Provincial Congress of New-Jersey, which met at Trenton in May, 1775, of which important body he was elected president, and in an opening address set forth in a forcible manner the grievances of the Ameri- can Colonies. He was chairman of the Committee of Safety, exercising legislative authority during the re- cesses of Congress, and held other offices of honor and trust. In his public life, as in his private character, he was without a blot, and evinced in all his acts the
spirit of a Christian patriot. While he made himself obnoxious to his tory neighbors on account of his un- compromising loyalty to the cause of his country, and had to go constantly armed in his journeys, yet he was a man of great courage, as well as of integrity. The scattered materials of his history should be gathered together, and his name preserved among the honorable men of our State. The residence of Hendrick Fisher was about five miles above the city, on the road to Boundbrook, and the farm which he occupied is now in the possession of Isaac Brokaw. In an obscure burial-ground, overgrown with a dense thicket, stands a plain brown slab, with the simple inscription, “In memory of Hendrick Fisher, who departed this life August 16th, 1779, in the eighty-second year of his age."
Hon. James Schureman was at this time a young man,
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and was in active service during the war. He had gradu- ated at Queen's College about the year 1773, and was an accurate scholar. Chiefly by means of his example and eloquence in pleading at public meetings, a company was formed in the town, who enlisted in the army, and served with great credit at the battle of Long Island. He had a command as captain in the early part of the war, and was offered a high position in the regular army. But he preferred to serve as a volunteer, and held himself ready to go out at a moment's warning against the enemy. In the daring expedition of Lieu- tenant-Colonel Simcoe, at the head of the Queen's Rangers, from Amboy to Somerville, and thence to Millstone-one of the most brilliant exploits of the war -October 25th, 1779, Captain Guest intercepted him on his return about two miles beyond Brunswick, and attacked the party. One man was killed and several wounded ; Simcoe's horse received three balls, and, fall- ing on him, wounded him severely, when a militia-man was on the point of piercing him with his bayonet, when Schureman knocked up his musket and took him prisoner. Among the pursuers of the party was a Cap- tain Peter G. Voorhees, a grandson of the Elder Minne, and a brother-in-law of Colonel Neilson, who, in his zeal, got in advance of his men, and was assaulted by the enemy. In his effort to leap a fence at the. inter- section of George's road and Town lane, his horse be- came entangled, and the British, on coming up, with great cruelty wounded him with their swords, although he was a prisoner in their hands, and left him senseless in the road. He was brought into the city, and sur- vived only a few hours. He was a young man very highly esteemed, a brave officer in the regular army, and the rage of the inhabitants at the brutal murder
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was so great that, during the night, the town was searched for Simcoe, threatening revenge on his person. He was concealed in the old stone house on the corner of Neilson and Albany streets, from whence he was re- moved to Burlington, where he remained a prisoner until honorably exchanged.
Mr. Schureman was taken prisoner during the war near the Mills on Lawrence Brook, and, after being confined for a few days in the guard-house near the Neilson mansion, he was removed to the notorious sugar-house, in the rear of the Middle Dutch Church, New-York, from whence he made his escape to the American army at Morristown. After the war was closed, he was elected a member of Congress, in 1789, after which he was chosen to the United States Senate for a full term, and again returned to the House of Rep- resentatives in 1812, as colleague with Richard Stock- ton. He served several terms as Mayor of the city, and as a citizen was held in high esteem. He was a grandson of the school-master, Jacobus Schureman, and an influential member of the church. He died January 22d, 1824, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. The confidence in which he was held by the community is attested by the offices of trust to which he was ap- pointed, both in church and state, and, to perpetuate his name, one of the streets of the city was called after him, Schureman street.
The ministry of Mr. Leydt was brought to a close by his sudden death, June 2d, 1783, in the sixty-fifth year of his age, and thirty-fifth of his pastorate. He preached on Sabbath morning, the day preceding, and was smit- ten down by paralysis about noon. His funeral was attended from his residence, and he was buried in the
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yard at Three Mile Run." He was the pastor of this church for thirty-five years. He left two sons, both of whom graduated from Queen's College, and subse- quently entered the ministry. Matthew was pastor of a church in Bucks county, Pa., and died November 24th, 1783.+ Peter was settled at Ramapo, and died at that place June 12th, 1796.2 None of the descend- ants of Mr. Leydt are now living.
He is described as a short, stout man, of dark fea- tures, very quick in his movements, and in his dispo- sition kind and affable. As a pastor he is said to have been highly esteemed, and to have had a peculiar fac- ulty of drawing around him the young people of his charge. His dress was the clerical costume of the times, and in his manners he was a gentleman of the old school and made himself agreeable to all classes. His preaching was in the Dutch language, during the early part of his ministry, exclusively; in his latter years he preached in English one half the time. His sermons were instructive, and always delivered with a full voice and an earnestness of manner that held the attention of his hearers. He was a good man and uni- versally beloved, and his death was a public loss. The
* The graveyard had no connection with the old church at this spot, as it was not used as a place of burial until some years after the building was removed. Mr. Leydt's tombstone stands immediately in front of the gate, with an inscription stating the day of his death and age. His wife, Treyntje Sleight, died December 2d, 1763, aged thirty-six, and is buried by his side. Two other stones mark the graves of his children-Elizabeth, died October 27th, 1760, aged twelve; and Anna, died June 10th, aged seven months.
t He is buried in the old ground, at a place familiarly known as " The Buck," near which stood the first church building of the congregation of North-Hampton, Pa. His tombstone bears the inscription, "In memory of the Rev. Matthew Light, who died the 24th of November, 1783, aged twenty-nine years."
# In the family burying-ground of Andrew Hopper, on the margin of the river Ramapo, is a plain stone, with the inscription, "In memory of Rev. Peter Light, who was born the 6th of November, 1763, and departed this life the 12th of June, 1796."
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total number of additions to the membership of the church during his ministry was one hundred and twenty-four. The names of several are omitted from the record, and we have no means of ascertaining the actual number of communicants. The times were un- favorable for religious growth, and the War of Inde- pendence effectually checked the prosperity of the con- gregation. But during all these years he had around him a strong body of active and praying men, and a goodly company of helping women. That there were no revivals in his ministry is not a matter of surprise ; that the church continued in existence during all these troublous times is owing to the grace and power of her Head.
While his time was very much occupied with the public affairs of the church and the nation, in his par- ticular charge he was always diligent. He has left be- hind him the reputation of being a great peace-maker. The fact that he carried the two congregations through the perilous time of church-building in a spirit of har- mony-one previous to 1766 at Six Mile Run, the other at New-Brunswick completed in 1767, in both instances selecting new sites at a considerable distance from the former localities-would go far to confirm the record.
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