USA > New Jersey > Mercer County > Trenton > History of Trenton, New Jersey : the record of its early settlement and corporate progress. > Part 6
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THE CITY OF TRENTON.
commission. In further discussing this subject, General Stryker states that soon after the passage of the law a lot was purchased of Mrs. Sarah Chubb, at a place on the west end of Front street, where the River road entered Trenton. The purchase-money was $40, and the lot contained about one acre. Joseph Peace, the father of Mrs. Chubb, purchased this lot, in a tract of thirty-six acres, from James Trent, son of William Trent, March 10th, 1732, for £170, silver money.
It will thus be seen that the Barracks occupied all the large tract of land that faced the west termination of Front street. Upon the east, the Barrack lot was bounded by the River road, now South Willow street, and Peace street, which was the later name of the River road south of Front street. On the south, the property adjoined the lands of Stacy Potts; on the north was the property of Joseph Peace. To the west, the line extended nearly to the lands now occupied by the Capitol. Delaware avenue later separated the Barrack lot from the State property.
The erection of Barracks commenced on the thirty-first day of May, 1758, and it was pushed on so rapidly that we find that more than one-half the building was filled with soldiers on the sixth of November following. It was, however, not fully completed until March, 1759, as appears by an inscription on the building. Joseph Yard had charge of the erection of the walls of the Barracks and of procuring the furniture therefor. On the second day of October, 1759, we find the Barracks was occupied by a regiment of Highlanders, whose peculiar dress created much interest among the people of the town. In December, 1759, a small addition was built to the Bar- racks for the use exclusively of the officers in charge of the English troops. The building was originally designed to hold about 300 men, but we find at one time 450 men quartered therein. The first appropria- tion had to be supplemented by other moncys from time to time, and it is quite evident that the Barracks cost at least £500 more before it was fin- ished. It was built entirely of stone, undressed, two stories in height, the main building 130 feet in length and 182 feet in PORTION OF BARRACKS AS IT NOW APPEARS. width, with two wings, each 58 feet in length, at either end thereof, and projecting at right angles from the front of the Barracks. For several years after the Barracks was finished it was constantly filled with troops. During the year 1765, peace having been fully established with France, the buildings seem to have been unoccupied, and the attention of the General Assembly was called to the fact in May of that year, and they ordered that the perishable articles thercin should be sold, that the building should be simply kept in repair, and, if possible, rented. William Clayton and Abraham Hunt were appointed Commissioners to carry out the orders of the Legislature of the Province. They immediately sold all the furniture in the Barracks, the "two substantial ladders and twenty leather bucketts excepted." The building and premises were rented, a clause in the lease requiring them to be given up at any time on suitable notice from the Governor of the Colony, that they were needed for the use of British soldiers. From the year 1766 to the breaking out of the Revolutionary War, Abraham Hunt and Alexander Chambers, the two leading merchants in the town, had charge of the building, and were called Barrack-Masters, and received £10 per annum for their services in looking after the property.
During the Revolutionary War the Barracks was occupied at various times by companies of British troops, the Hessian mercenaries and recruits for the American army en route to join their
F
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THE CITY OF TRENTON.
command. For the two weeks prior to the battle of Trenton a party of English dragoons and some German Yagers occupied the building, with a large number of Tory refugees from Monmouth and Burlington counties, who were trying to place themselves under the protection of the arms of the English King. A week after the battle the building was filled with American militia, and so con- tinued until the end of the war as a place for quartering the soldiers of either army.
For three years after the war the Barracks remained in disuse. On the first day of June, 1786, the General Assembly of the State, sitting at New Brunswick, directed the Commissioners of this State to sell all the Barracks and all the lands attached and turn the proceeds into the treasury. Moore Furman, of Trenton, one of the Commissioners for the State, sold the property February 18th, 1787, to William Ogden and William Paterson, for £3, 260.
In the year 1813 Front street was opened westward one block, and forty feet of the building was taken down, and this detached the north wing of the Barracks from the main building. This north wing, on the north side of Front street, was turned into three residences. The porches on the main building were taken down, and in the year 1855 it was occupied by the Widows' and Single Women's Home Society, which organization still uses it for philanthropie purposes.
The Barracks is one of the few buildings in Trenton which carries us to colonial times. A commemorative tablet, marking the date of the erection of the building and the salient facts of its history, will soon be placed in position, probably upon the Front street side of the building.
CHAPTER VI.
THE BATTLE OF TRENTON.
ADJUTANT-GENERAL WILLIAM S. STRYKER AND HIS RESEARCHES-CONDITIONS LEADING TO THE BATTLE-LOCATIONS OF BRITISH AND REVOLUTIONARY TROOPS-THE CROSSING OF THE DELAWARE-THE ATTACK-THE DEATH OF RALL-THE SURRENDER-THE DISPOSITION OF HESSIAN TROOPS -- THE EFFECT OF THE BATTLE UPON AMERICA-WASHINGTON'S CALL TO ARMS.
T HAS remained for one man to present in its entirety the causes and effects of that one battle which was the turning point of the American Revolution. William S. Stryker, the Adjutant-General of the State of New Jersey, has devoted many years to this task. The following description from his pen, although an outline picture, is the result of his patient labors. Its elearness and accuracy leave nothing to be desired :
" The disastrous battle of Long Island had been fought. Fort Washington and Fort Lee on the Hudson river had been surrendered, the retreat through the Jerseys by the American army, followed by a large British force, had been made and the outlook for the patriot cause for the winter of 1776 and 1777 was dark and fore- boding. General Howe had ordered a line of winter cantonments to be formed in December, 1776, at Brunswick, Princeton, Trenton and Bor- dentown. The posts at Trenton and Bordentown, the most important positions nearest the American army, he garrisoned with German troops.
"In Trenton, three regiments of Hessian Infantry, a small detachment of Artillery, fifty Hessian Yagers and twenty Dragoons were quar- tered, in all about fourteen hundred men. The infantry regiments were those called the Grena- dier Regiment Rall, the Fusilier Regiments Von Knyphausen and Von Lossberg. Colonel Johann Gottlieb Rall was the senior officer commanding the brigade.
"General Washington had divided his army into three separate corps. One detachment was stationed at Bristol under Colonel John Cadwala- der ; the second corps had headquarters at Colvin's
5
8. House where Col. Rall died, now Ca- thedral.
9. Hessian headquarter's guard-house.
to: English Church used as a barracks.
11. Methodist Church used as a barracks and a hospital.
14
12. Presbyterian Church used as a barracks and . grave yard where Col. Rall was buried.
13. Place where Col. Rall was shot.
14. Hessian picket.
Delaware River
Assunpink
16 :
Creek
Front
St.
THE Battle Monument AND A MAP OF TRENTON IN 1776.
Second
Street
1. The monument in Mon. . ument Park, the place where the American artillery opened on the fue.
Fourth St.
River Road
10
2. Pennington Road- Greene's division en- tered the town.
9
15. Apple orchard where British army surrend- ered
3. Where Gen. Washington stood during the fight.
16. Bridge over Assunpink Creek where some Hessians escaped.
4. Where Americans pre-
"vented British escape ..
Queen
17. Hessian picket on River Road where Sul- livan's division enter- ed the townl.
6. Old Barracks.
2
18. Hessian picket on Pennington Road.
7. House where Col. Rall became intoxicated, now Masonic Temple.
Brunawick
Road
19. Friends Meet'g House used as a barracks.
Rond
Pennington 19
9
MAP OF REVOLUTIONARY LANDMARKS.
16
-12 Third St.
13
5. Trenton Ferry.
8
Road to Ferry
Road to Bordentown
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THE CITY OF TRENTON.
Ferry, now Morrisville, and consisted of the Pennsylvania militia of the Flying Camp and the New Jersey militia, under command of Brigadier-General James Ewing, of Pennsylvania. The third and largest corps extended from Yardley's Ferry northward seven miles on the Delaware river and the contiguous region and back some six miles from the river.
"The inspection-return of December 22d, 1776, shows that Washington had at that time enrolled about six thousand effective troops. These troops were ill-clad ; they greatly needed stockings and shoes ; few of them had blankets, and many regiments were without camp equipage.
"Washington now prepared for a simultaneous attack upon the commands of Von Donop and of Rall. It was ordered at the council of war, held on the evening of December 24th, that Colonel Cadwalader should cross the river from Bristol to Burlington on Christmas night and beat up the posts of Mount Holly and Bordentown ; that General Ewing should cross at Trenton Landing and take position south of the Assunpink ereck, so that Rall's men could not escape to Von Donop and that General Washington, with a detachment of the main army, two thousand four hundred strong, with eighteen pieces of artillery, should make a direct attack on the garrison town of Trenton.
COLONEL LAMBERT CADWALADER.
"By two o'clock on the morn- ing of Christmas some regiments of the main army were moving towards MeKonkey's Ferry ; and by three in the afternoon all those detailed for this service were on the march, ting- ing, it is said, the light snow which had fallen with blood from their feet. Each soldier had three days' cooked rations and each carried forty rounds of ammunition.
"The men were placed in Dur- ham boats, in row-galleys and in every kind of craft which could be collected in the upper waters of the Delaware. The jagged ice floated swiftly by, struck the boats severely and they had to be handled with the greatest care. It was after three o'clock when the Americans reached the New Jersey shore, and the order for the expected attack on Trenton, nine miles distant, was five o'clock in the morning. This could not now be carried out.
"The password for the day was 'Victory or Death.' The wind that day was cast-northeast, and the storm, at least for a part of the march, beat rather more on the left shoulders than in the faces of the patriotic army. The ground was very slippery from the sleet and snow, and their miserable want of clothing made their condition truly pitiable.
[Tradition has it that General Washington, on the march, drank from the spring which bears his name. It is located on Cadwalader Place.]
"The column of General Greene first came within sight of the alarm-house of the Pennington road. The advance party of the Americans instantly charged toward the house, but the guards ran out shouting 'Der Feind ! Der Feind ! Heraus! Herans !' and, giving the patriots a volley, they retired.
"According to instructions, General Stephen charged with great spirit on the retreating out- post. The picket fell back on the reserve, but they too gave way before the rapid dash of Stephen's troops.
"It was nearly eight o'clock in the morning when General Greene's column forced the picket station on the Pennington road, and it was just three minutes afterward when General Sullivan's
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THE CITY OF TRENTON.
advance struck the Yager pieket post on the River road. Both pickets were overwhelmed, of course, by superior numbers, and the Americans rushed 'pell-mell,' as Colonel Knox said, into the town. By the rapid firing it was clear that each column vied with the other to be the first in the attack on the main body of the Hessians.
"As soon as Rall's Grenadiers heard the firing on the Pennington road they hurried out of their quarters on King street and formed in front of what is now the American House. The Von Loss- berg regiment made their formation under the poplar trees in Church alley, on the north side of the graveyard in the rear of the English church. The Von Knyphausen regiment organized on Queen street and began to march westward along Second street.
"Colonel Rall, when he heard the noise in the town, opened his window and called out to know what was the matter. Although he had not recovered from his earousal of the previous night, at Abraham Hunt's house, he hurriedly dressed himself and appeared on the street on horse- back to assume command. Seeing his own regiment already formed a few rods down the street, he started them on a run up King street.
"At this time General Washington had taken position on the high ground on the northwest corner of property now owned by Mr. John S. Chambers, just at the junction of what is now
PHOTO ENG.CO
THE WASHINGTON SPRING. (Near Edgewood avenue.)
Fountain avenue and Princeton avenue. From this point he could, with his glass, overlook the whole open village and direct the fight.
"Then Captain Thomas Forrest opened his battery down Queen street, while Captain Alexander Hamilton fired down King street from the very spot where the Battle Monument is erceted. The Hessian eannon had been run up the street ahead of the Rall regiment to the little stone bridge which then covered Petty's run, and the third shot from Hamilton's guns disabled their battery. Imme- diately the brigade of General Lord Stirling began to charge down King street. Captain William Washington, his Lieutenant, James Monroe, and their company of Colonel Weedon's regiment were on the right of Stirling's brigade. These two officers were wounded in the charge, but they took two field-pieees and drove the Rall regiment off the street into the gardens between King and Queen streets, pushing them back in great confusion on the Von Lossberg regiment, which was just eoming out of Church alley into Queen street. Then both organizations started off together from Queen street across the fields in the direction of the place where Montgomery street now crosses the feeder.
"Colonel Rall joined the Rall and Von Lossberg regiments as they were marching in a north- easterly direction and had left the town, and he ordered them to right about and attack the village.
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THE CITY OF TRENTON.
- -
This they promptly did. They had again reached the junction of Queen street and Church alley when they found themselves sorely pressed by Stirling's men, who fired from houses and fences on King street and the alley, and saw General Mercer's brigade charging down Queen street on their broken ranks. But Rall was still shouting, 'All who are my Grenadiers, forward !' when a bullet struck him. He fell from his horse and was carried into the Methodist church on the northeast corner of what is now Broad and Academy streets, while the column of the Americans pushed the rem- nant of the two demoralized regiments through Third and Fourth streets (respectively Hanover and Acad- emy streets) into the orchard.
"While these charges were being made, General Stephen's and General De Formoy's brigades, by Washington's orders, hurried toward the Fox Chase tavern, on Brunswick road, to prevent the escape of the enemy to Maidenhead (now Lawrenceville). This they succeeded in doing.
"General Sullivan's division, as has been said, drove in the picket on the River road. The cry was then raised, 'These are times that try men's souls,' and down the road the Americans ran, pushing all before them. The whole town was now in an uproar. Colonel John Stark, afterward the hero of Bennington, HOUSE IN WHICH COL. RALL WAS ENTERTAINED NIGHT BEFORE BATTLE OF TRENTON. swung round the northeast corner of what is now State and Willow streets and, as Major Wilkinson wrote, 'Dealt death whererer he found resistance, and broke down all opposition before him.'
"General Sullivan, with Colonel Glover's brigade and Neil's and Sargent's batteries, sent a party to take the people in the old Barracks and then ran their headlong raee around into Front street, and so on to the bridge over the Assunpink ereck, to prevent, if possible, the escape of the enemy. In this they were only partly successful. Colonel Glover's brigade crossed the bridge and was instantly posted on the high ground on the ercek just east of the bridge. The re- port shows that four hundred and seventeen men escaped and joined Colonel Von Donop as he was making his retreat northward to General Leslie, at Princeton. Quite a number of stragglers from the Hessian regiments tried also to reach the bridge. Many of them escaped, but some were From Harper's Magazine Copyright, 1889, by Harper & Brothers. hemmed in on Queen street be- tween the force of Colonel Stark ANSUNPINK BRIDGE, BUILT IN 1760. on Second street and the Ameri- can brigade then in possession of the bridge. They surrendered in front of what is now the Taylor Opera House. As Sullivan's division came in front of the Presbyterian church on Second street, a show of resistance was for a moment made, and Major Von Dechow determined there to make a stand with the veterans of the Von Knyphausen regiment. But the dauntless Stark would brook no resistance, and he charged them with relentless fury. This Hessian regiment, too, was then pushed back into the orchard.
"The Rall and Von Lossberg regiments had been huddled in the orchard. The three remaining field officers held a brief council and determined to break through the American force and march to Princeton. They noticed, however, the double lines of Stephen and De Fermoy on the Brunswick
47
THE CITY OF TRENTON.
road, and Captain Forrest's six-gun battery was just then placed in position near the Friends' meeting-house on Third, now Hanover, street. The order to fire was about to be given when the Hessians, seeming for the first time to realize that they were surrounded by superior numbers, lowered their standards and grounded their guns, while the officers put their hats on the points of their swords. General Lord Stirling rode forward and Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Scheffer, then the senior officer of the Hessian brigade, surrendered his sword and his command to him. This ceremony took place on the edge of the apple orchard, east of what is now Montgomery street -- we may correctly say, on the two blocks north and the two blocks east of the corner on which the Post-Office stands.
"The Von Knyphausen regiment essayed first to march down along the low ground of the creek from the orchard to the stone bridge, and so to escape, but they found the bridge guarded by the Americans. They tried also to ford the creek, and in this a few succeeded. Their commander, Major Von Dechow, had been badly wounded, and had given himself up a prisoner of war. The two guns they had with them were mired in the marshy shore of the creek, and could not be got out. They heard also that the other Hessian regiments had surrendered, and they saw Lord Stirling, with his brigade, pushing on through the orchard toward them. Then they, too, grounded their arms near where the Montgomery strect bridge crosses the creek.
"The news of the surrender was taken to Washington by his aide, Colonel Baylor. A few moments afterward, Major Wilkinson, St. Clair's THE DOUGLAS HOUSE, WHERE GEN. WASHINGTON HELD COUNCIL OF WAR. aide, rode up, and Washington pressed the hand of the boyish soldier, with the remark, 'This is a glorious day for our country, Major Wilkinson.'
"The tide of the misfortunes of the war had now been turned, and the Declaration of Independence had been made a reality by this first brilliant stroke of victory. Rall was now carried from the Methodist church to his own quarters, dying. Generals Washington and Greene called on him during the morning and took his parole, and promised him kind treatment for his men. He died on the evening of December 27th, and was buried in the Presbyterian graveyard.
"The loss of the Americans was two officers and two enlisted men wounded. None were killed. The Hessians lost five officers killed and five wounded ; sixteen enlisted men killed and seventy-five wounded. Twenty-four Hessian soldiers were known to have been buried in this village. General Washington reported that nine hundred and eighteen men had been made prisoners of war. The American army also took six brass three-pounders, forty horses, one thousand stand of arms and fifteen colors.
"A council of war was ealled at noon, and although General Greene and Colonel Knox urged a rapid pur- suit of the foe, General Washington decided to recross COL. RALL'S HEADQUARTERS, 1776. the river immediately, and thus secure his prisoners and the trophies of victory. The march was then taken up by the River road to McKonkey's Ferry. The weary patriots stepped along the road with glad hearts, and minded not the hail and rain which they had borne for so many hours, although more than one thousand of Washington's army were reported unfit for duty the next day.
"The Hessian officers were taken to the Bucks county jail, at Newtown, December 27th. On December 30th and 31st, the prisoners were sent to Philadelphia, being paraded through that eity
48
THE CITY OF TRENTON.
for the purpose of inspiring the patriots, and showing them that the warlike Hessians could be captured. Lord George Germain, the Colonial Secretary of State of King George III., voiced the opinion of the people of Great Britain on this disastrous fight when he wrote, 'All our hopes were blasted by that unhappy affair at Trenton."
The effect of this battle was electrical. The eyes of the Colonies had been turned upon the retreat through Jersey, and had the results been other than they were, the British, holding New Jersey-the key to the situation-would have eut the Colonies in twain. At this time, many people in New Jersey were "disaffected" and, at best, indifferent. The English government awaited the moment when they could thoroughly organize the Loyalists, who had scattered through " The Pines" or had betaken themselves to the northern hill country, and could give carte blanche for raids and depredations upon the farms of those who had been true to the patriotie cause. New Jersey, lying between the North and South, plundered and devastated by guerrilla soldiery ; the Colonies divided ; the Continental line and militia butchered or hung, and the leaders of the Revolution dying as traitors in a rebellion-such would have been the result had not Washington, at a critical time, saved the Confederation and the hopes of an infant nation.
WASHINGTON'S CALL TO ARMS.
William R. Weeks, Esquire, of Newark, a member of the bar of New Jersey, and the owner of a collection of Jerseyana, which is in itself unique, furnishes to this History of Trenton a document which for the first time in this form appears in print. The original, which is priceless, now in Mr. Weeks' possession, is thus accurately transcribed, and is self-explanatory :
"To the Friends of America in the State of New Jersey
"The Army of the American States under my Command, being lately greatly reinforced, and having again Entered the State of New Jersey, I most warmly request the Militia of Said State at this Important Crisis to Evince their love to their Country, by boldly Stepping forth and defending the Cause of Freedom. The Inhabitants may be assured that by a manly and Spirited Conduct they may now relieve their Distressed State from the Depredations of our Enemies, -I have there- fore dispatched Coll Neilson, Majors Taylor, Van Emburgh and Frelinghysen together with some other Gentlemen of your State to call together and Embody your Militia, not doubting but Success will attend their Endeavours,
"Go : Washington.
"Trentown 31 Decr 1776" }
This document, which is a sheet 8 x 10 inches, was originally folded through the center in both directions, making a small, compact parcel. This leads to a supposition that it may have been given to an express rider, who read it to the people of the State as he went along. The active stimulus of the battle of Trenton was thus materially increased by a personal message from the Commander-in-Chief, and its effect must have been to have materially aided the cause of the Colonies. Whatever may have been the uses to which the document was put, it was returned in due time to General Washington, where it was found among his private papers.
CHAPTER VII.
THE ATTEMPTS TO MAKE TRENTON THE SEAT OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
THE PREPARATIONS IN 1783 FOR A PERMANENT CAPITAL-CONGRESS MEETS IN TRENTON, ON THE SITE OF TIIE MECHANICS NATIONAL BANK BUILDING, IN 1784-TRENTON SELECTED, BUT CONGRESSIONAL ACTION DEFEATED BY THE SOUTH-LAND SPECULATION-TIIE COMPROMISE BETWEEN NEW ENGLAND AND THE SOUTH-GENERAL LAFAYETTE'S TWO VISITS TO TRENTON -- THE CITY THE TEMPORARY CAPITAL OF THE UNITED STATES IN 1799-TRENTON MAKES AN OFFER IN 1801.
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