USA > New Jersey > Passaic County > Paterson > History of the city of Paterson and the County of Passaic, New Jersey > Part 106
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From her son, Henry C. Doremus, who lived on the same farm (now part of Cedar Lawn cemetery), they stole:
6 Sheep, £4, 10S .; 1 Small Swine, 16s .; Pair of leathern breeches with 14 Silver buttons, {2, 12S .; Pair of leathern breeches partly worn, 15s .; Watch Coat, 30S .; 2 Watch Coat partly worn, 30S ; I Pair of New Shoes. & brass buckels, 1Is .; 1 Pair of New Shoes, 6s .; 2 Pair of trousers at 5s .; II Pair of Men's Stockings at 7s., 63, 17s .; 1 Pair of Linen breeches & Waistcoat, 8s .; I Waistcoat partly Worn, 4S .; 4 Homespun Shirts at IOS. Total, £19, 9S.
Ann Bassett, widow of Stephen Bassett, was robbed of these goods:
6 Long Gowns, 49; 100 Ells of homespun linen at 2s., gd., {13, 15s .; 12 New Shifts & fine Sleeves, £9; I Counterpane, {2, ros .; I Velvet Cloak, £4; 2 Bags, 6s .; 1 Mare 6 Years Old, {20. Total, £58, 1IS.
Henry T. Speer, living next south of the Doremuses, 2 had his house carefully ransacked, as appears by this list of his losses:
New Sheet, 15s .; 2 New fine linen Shirts, {1, 14S .; 3 Homespun linen Shirts, {1, 16s .; 3 New Women's Shifts, {1, 16s .; I New Cambric Apron,. £1; I New Short Gown, 6s .; I New Linen Handkerchief. 4S .; 3 Silk Linen
1 Conversation with Cornelius H. Post (grandson of Mrs. Henry Post), May, 1881.
2 See p. 192.
417
BRITISH DEPREDATIONS IN ACQUACKANONK.
Handkerchiefs,{1, 2s. 6d .; 1 Pair Silver Shoe buckels, 15s .; r Cambric Cape with Lace, Ios .; I New Scarlet Waist Coat, 20s .; 6 Pewter table spoons, 3S .; 5 Knives & forks, 2s .; 7 lb. Sugar, 5s .; I New Wool hat, 7s., 6d .; 10 New Ribands, Ios .; r Pair Woollen Stockings, 3s., 6d .; I Cambric Apron, I5s .; I Lawn handkerchief, 6s. Total, {13, ros., 6d.
As the soldiers went on down the Wesel road they paused long enough to steal from Paul Powleson these articles of property: "I Sorrel Stallion 14 hands 3 Inches high 12 . . Years old, worth £12; I Bay horse 14 hands & II Years old, ¿Io; I Saddle, 20s .; 2 Sheep, 24s .; 12 Bush. Oats, at 2s. 6d. pr bus'I, £I, Ios .; I Load of hay, £1; 2 Sheets, 20s .; 2 Blankets, 18s." Total, £28, 12s. This was on November 26, 1776.
Peter Garritse, in the same neighborhood, was robbed of a "New Set of Pettiauger Sails, £25."
A man of such prominence and such conspicuous devo- tion to the American cause as Henry Garritse could not expect to go unscathed by the British, and the soldiers had a merry bivouac fire with his movable property available for that purpose, to wit: "500 Rails, at 4os. pr. hund, £10; 100 Posts at 8 pr post, £3, 6s., 8d .; 500 Shingles at £4 pr thousd, £2; 50 Bushels of Indian Corn at 4s. pr bus'], £10; 2 Ton of English hay at £3." Total, &31, 6s., 8d. They also stole a mare 6 years old, worth £16. He was destined to suffer repeated losses of much greater amounts during the War.
John Elias Vreeland got off lightly, comparatively, losing only "I Bay horse 14 hands high & 3 Inches 5 years old, £20; I Bay Stallion 15 hands & 3 Inches 4 years old, & half blooded, £30; I Load of Good hay, LI."
They got a larger variety from John Vreeland, including "two horses, 7 Cows with Calf, 4 Swinc at 30s., 9 Sheep at 15s., 3 Barrels of Cider at 12s., 3 Hives of bees, £3 (what a pity the bees could not have been aroused out of their winter sleep to sting the thieves !), 16 Shirts & Shifts at 6s., £4, 16s .; II new Pillow Cases at gs. pr Pair, £2, 9s., 6d .; 2 Sheets at 14s." John's good wife Gouda certified to this list, and no doubt she knew to a penny what was taken.
Jacob Vreeland attested that on this same eventful No- vember 26 he had property "taken & destroyed by the Brit- ish troops or their adherents" as follows:
I Mare 4 Years old, {20; I Mare 6 Years old, 630; 3 Horses 7 Years old, {62 ; 1 Horse 6 Years old, {12 ; 2 Saddles & 2 Bridles, £8 ; 2 Work- ing Stears, {20; I Waggon, £17; 31 Sheep, {21, 14S .; I Bed, bolster, Pillows, 2 Rugs, blanket & Coverlet, & 2 Sheets, {20 ; 2 Set of Geers, 40s .; 2 Pair Stockings at Ios .; 3 Swords, 30S .; Bullet Mould, 6s .; 5 Calves, Lio; I Negro Man, 495; 20 Ells tow Cloth, 6os .; Tub & Milk Vessel, 8s .; 2 Aprons & Short Gown, 18s .; 5 Caps & handkerchief, 20S.
Two days later he had another visitation, when the men carried off or destroyed :
6 Tons English hay, 49; 600 Sheaves of Oats, &5, 5S .; 500 Do. Wheat, £5 ; 9 Hives of honey, {9 ; 8 Shirts, 96s .; 5 Barrels. Cyder, 64; 30 Bushels Turnips, 30S .; 3 Bushels Potatoes, 7s. 6d .; 13 Gallons Metheg- lin, {2, 12S .; 100 Cabbage Heads, 25S .; 50 Barn fowls & 7 Geese, {3, 4S .; Cash, 44, 8s .; 3 Shirts & 2 Pair Stockings, 62, 16s .; 3 Handkerchiefs, IOS .; I Gun, 40s. Total for the two days, £381, 9, 6.
Lucas Wessels also had cause to remember November 26, as on that day he lost "100 Cwt of flax, £5; 7 Tons of Eng- lish hay, £21; 100 Chestnut rails, £2; 20 fivc hole Posts, I3s., 4d. ; I Horse, 4 Years old, £20; I Mare, £20." Total, £68, I3s., 4d.
Cornelius E. Vreeland unwillingly furnished forth many a camp mess with "2 Loads of Cabbage, £1, 15s., 4d. ; 6 Tur- keys, 15s .; IO Barn Fowls, Ios .; " besides "1 Pair of Buck- skin breeches with Silver buttons, &2, Ios .; New Broad Cloth Coat, Vest & breeches, £9."
As the soldiers marched down the River road below Pas- saic, in the neighborhood of the present Brook avenue they came to the modest home of Captain Daniel Neil, then with Washington's army, and here they stole a horse worth £15; 2} tons English hay, worth £7, Ios .; half a load of flax, worth &£2, and 120 panels of fence, worth £6, 12s. Two years later Mrs. Neil had another horse stolen from her, worth £25.
Just below Mrs. Neil lived Richard Ludlow. . His dock at Acquackanonk Landing was piled up with loads of staves, etc., which all went for fuel for the soldiers, who de- stroyed "20,000 Staves & Heading, £100; Io Cords of Wal- nut Wood, ££15; I Boat with Sales &c., £60." At his house they destroyed or carried off three copper kettles, worth £7; a brass pie pan, 2os. ; an iron pie pan, Ios .; a brass tea kettle, 20s., and a "Washing of Linnen," valued at &3. That visitation of the British cost him £187, IOS.
The farm of Derrick Vreeland, next below Ludlow's, was called upon that same November 26 to supply many a camp fire with a sumptuous repast, thus : "2 Fat Oxen, £14; 2 Fat Cows, &8; 6 Calves, £6; 34 Sheep, £27, 4s .; I Bull 5 Years old (tough provender, that), £5; 7 Hogs at 20s." He also lost two mares, at £To each.
Halmagh Sip, who lived near Vrecland, was robbed of these goods and chattels : "I Waggon, £18; 5 Horses, £76; 30 Sheep, £18; Barley & Wheat destroyed, £4; I Calf, 16s .; I Pair Silver Shoe buckels & Shoes, £2." Total, £118, 16s.
Christopher Vanoorstrand, a merchant shipper, a neigh- bor of Ludlow's, suffered heavily, as appears by this inven- tory of his losses:
Boat almost New, {225 ; 2 Negro Men, {90; 2 Negro Women, {roo; 4 Horses & Mates at Cro, 640; 2 Saddles, 64; 15 Darrels Cyder, £9; I Pair leather breeches, 40s .; Cloth Coat, 6os .; r Waist Coat, 20S .; 2 Yd Streaked Holland, 8s .; Pocket Book With sundry Accompts, [6; 2 Water Pots for bleaching, 15s .; 2 Bellows, 7s .; 2 Cases with Sundry flasks, ros .; 2 Small trunks, 6s .; 2 Teakettles at 15s .; 3 Pans at 4s .; Pewter, Ss .; 50 Bushels Corn at 4s. pr Bus'1, {10 ; 40 Bushels Apples, 64; 1 Sheep, 20s ; 2 Hogs, 40s .; Potatoes, Turnips, Cabbage, &c., L2; Tobacco, 15s. Total, £540, IIS.
Adrian H. Sip, son of Halmagh Sip, contributed To sheep and 14 geese for soldiers' dinners, and was also robbed of "2 Horses, Good Waggon & Geerc, ¿40, Ios .; Cash taken, £13; I Woollen Blanket, I, Ios .; 100 Pannels of Fence, £10; 18 Ells Linen, LI, 16s .; Indian Corn, Rye, Wheat, hay & Hemp, £3, Ios." He also lost a negro, who was subsequently recovered in Pennsylvania, at a cost of £20.
Hermanus Van Wagoner's farmn, west of the Acquack- anonk church, was probably camped on by some of the troops, who used up 4318 of his chestnut rails and 900 of his posts, besides destroying 125 bushels of wheat and as much of rye, and 5 tons of Irish hay, worth &£2 per ton. In the way of provender, the soldiers got from him a cow, and 6 swine, besides taking a young horse worth £20, so that his total losses footed up £142, 12S.
52
418
HISTORY OF PATERSON.
The adjacent farm of Merselis Post was probably similar- ly occupied, and as a consequence Mr. Post suffered these depredations: "2800 Chestnut Rails at 20s. pr Hund; I New Waggon & Geers, £19; 2 Tons of English Hay, £6; 5 Cwt of Rye Meal at 14s. pr Cwt; 5 Head of Cattle at £4 apiece; 2 Yearlings at 30s. Each; 20 Bushels of Indian Corn at 4s .; I Broad Axe, 6s .; I Mare & Colt, £3 Each; 18 Sheep at I5s., £13, IOS .; 700 White Oak posts, £12." Total, £115, 6s.
John Sip, senior, suffered losses of a like character, on his farm next south of Post, namely: "2900 Rails, £39, 15s .; 360 Posts, £9; 4 Horses, £46; 4 Cows, £25; 3 Sheep, 45s .; 9 Hogs at 20s. ; 12 Loads Hay, £15; 2 Guns, 40s .; 32 Hives of bees, 40s. ; 30 Bushels of Rye and 30 do. of Indian Corn, £15; I Negro Mans £60; I Negro boy, £40; 3 Negro Wo- men, £130." Total, £395.
Francis Van Winkle, in the same vicinity, lost at this time and subsequently, property thus described:
3250 Chestnut rails, 648, 15s .; 730 Chestnut & White Oak Posts, {18, 5s .; I Negro Man, {85; I Horse, {20; I Horse, {12; I Set of New Geers witb Iron traces, 63; 16 Sheep, {12 ; 8 Ton English hay at £3, {24; Wbeat, barlcy, Oats about 100 Busb'l at 3s. pr bush'1, {15; 6 Bags with about 6 cwt of flower, 55, 25 .; 5 Milk Vessels & Churn burnt, {1, 3s .; Pots, kettles, knives, forkes, dishes, &c., {4 ; Featber bed, &c., £6; 2 Bed blankets, 30s .; 2 sheets, 30s .; 2 Green Rugs, 63; 2 Woollen Sbeets, {1, 15s .; I Clock, {15; I Load of flax, {4. Total, £281.
The foregoing details of losses on the farms of Hermanus Van Wagoner, Merselis Post, the Sips and Francis Van Winkle all point to a temporary sojourn, an encampment for at least a night, and tend to confirm the tradition pre- served by the late Henry P. Simmons, of Passaic, that the British encamped on the heights now occupied in part by the Passaic city hall.
The invaders proceeded still further down the River road on that twenty-sixth day of November, and visited Marinus Van Riper, who lost in consequence a partly worn wagon, worth £10; 28 bushels of oats, worth £3, IOS., and 125 oak rails, worth £1, 5s.
Jacob Van Wagoner's losses are thus enumerated: "30 Bushels of Oats, at 2s., 6d. pr Bush'l, £3, 15s .; 20 do. of Potatoes, at 2s., 6d., £2, IOS .; 12 do. of Apples, at 2s .; IO do. of Turnips, at Is. ; 3 Tons of English hay at £3 pr Ton; 500 Cabbage heads, £3, IOS .; 100 Sheaves of Wheat, I5s .; 4 Geese, 8s .; One Duck, Is. & 13 fowls at Iod .; Gallon Bottle, 2s .; Cash, 15s .; I Shift, Ios .; 3 Pair of Stockings, 2IS. ; 2 Jugs, 3s .; Cash, 2 Doll. & half, 18s. 9d."
Garret Van Riper had stolen from him two horses, at £15 each, and a Negro man, worth £80.
Richard Van Riper's losses on November 26 were inven- toried as follows: "New Iron bound Waggon, £18; 2 Oxen 6 Years old, £4; 24 Sheep, £18; 4 Tons English hay at 3 per ton, ££12; 3 Milk Cows at £6 Each; I Steer 3 Years old, £4; 3 Steers & One heifer 2 Years old at 40s. Each, £8; 2 Swine, 170 Wt. Each, £5, IOS., 2d .; 2 do. 50 Wt. Each, £1, 13s., 4d .; I Mare 5 Years old, £2; I Horse 7 Years old Saddle & bridle, £12, 8s."1 .
Richard J. Van Ryper's losses make a list more curious than pecuniarily important:
I Pair of Oxen 4 years old, {12; I Fatted Swine Wt. 220 Ibs., about £3; 1 Beaver hat, 45s., {2, 5s .; Copper tea kettle, {1, 75 .; 2 Gold rings, 45S., 62, 5S .; I Pair of silver Shoe buckels, {1, 4S .; I Pair of silver knee buckels, 14s .; 5 Silver tea spoons, {1, 5s .; I Pair of silver sleeve buttons, 3s .; I Dutcb Psalm book Clasped & bound with silver, {2, 16s .; I Pair of buckskin breeches with silver buttons, {1, 10s .; I New broad- cloth coat, {2, Ios .; Black Callimaoco Quilt, {2, ros .; Scarlet short Cloak, £2, 6s .; New dark Chintz Gown, 63; Bombasin Gown, 63; I Purple Gown, {2, 8s .; 12 Linen Shirts new & 6 Good homespun Shifts, £12 ; 2 Homespun Sheets, 30S .; 4 Pillow Cases, 215., {2, 1rs .; Lace for 2 pair of Pillow Cases, 6s .; 2 Cambric Aprons, {2, 5s .; 2 Cambric, 2 Silk, 2 Check'd, I Chintz & I Striped bandkerchief, {2, 18s .; 2 Check'd Aprons, 175 .; 2 Pair of Men's Woolen Stockings, {; I Chain of pearls, 3s .; 2 Bordered Cap, 26s., & Hankerchief blue & white, {1, 10s., 6d. Total, £68, rs., 6d.
On November 27 the British advanced to and through the Third River neighborhood and despoiled Peter Jacobussen of these articles:
Cash, fro ; 140 Ells Linen Clotb at 35., 6d. pr Ell, {24, 10s .; I Castor hat, 28s .; I Pair hreeches with Silver buttons, {2; 1 Pair buckskin Breeches, 30s .; 4 Pair Stockings & Pair of Shoes, {1, 125 .; 7 Shirts, 63, IOS .; Cloak, 35s .; Silk for 2 bonnets, 24s .; 6 New Sbifts, £3; 3 New Sheets, 45S .; 2 White Aprons, 12S .; 4 Check'd Aprons, 20s .; 3 Good Sbort Gowns, 22S .; 2 Cambric Handkerchiefs, 16s .; 2 Silk Do 15s .; 4 Cbcck'd Handkerchiefs, 18s .; & Silver Snuff box, {2, 135 .; 12 Silver buttons, 12s .; I Pair silver Shoe & knee buckels, 20s .; 5 Women's Caps, 25s .; 122 Yd Chintz, 125., I Calloco Gown, 20s .; Pair small Silver buck'1, 6s .; 1 Pair trousers & 2 Pair Stockings, 18s .; I Waggon, {12. Total, 674, 55.
It would seem that a column of the troops must have marched through Speertown and the Stone House Plains neighborhood, for on November 27 John Speer, son of "Jacobus Speer, was plundered thus:
I Close bodied Broad Cloth coat, {2, 10s .; I Castor bat, 28s .; Pair of buckskin breecbes, 15s .; 5 Linen Shirts, {2; 2 Pair of Stockings, 14S .; Cash, 63, 4S .; I Half-silken Gown, £3; One Chintz Gown, {2, 6s .; I Calloco Gown, {1, Ios .; I Calloco Gown, {1; 2 White Aprons, 25s .; I Laced Handkerchief, 16s .; 2 White Handkerchiefs, 125 .; 3 Silken Hand- kerchiefs, 18s .; 2 Check'd Handkerchiefs, 4S .; 3 Cbeck'd Aprons, 15s .; I Cloak, 40s .; Silken bonnet, 16s .; 4 Shirts, 40s .; 4 Caps, 20s .; I Gold ring & silver snuff-box, {2; 1 Pair of Sboes, 5s .; 2 Short Gowns, Ios .; I Pair of Cotton trousers, Ios .; 1 Pair of Silver knee-buckels. 8s .; Leading lines & bits, 5s. Total, 632, 1IS.
Rinier J. Speer lost 5 sheep, a gun and a sword, one shirt, 2 pair of stockings and a pair of mittens, which might better have gone to the half-clad American soldiers. His losses footed up £7, 13S.
Jacobus Speer was robbed this November 27, of 14 sheep, 18 geese, one watch coat, one gun, one pistol, a silver neck- clasp, worth Ios., and £3 in cash. He also had 350 chest- nut rails and 70 posts destroyed, doubtless used for camp fires.
Cornelius Degraw had a cow, worth £5, taken.
The farm and house of John Sip, junior, were pillaged of these goods: "I Good Saddle, £3; 2 Hives of bees (what a sweet tooth those soldiers seem to have had!), £2; Leath- ern breeches with Silver buttons, £2, IOS .; 9 Pair of thread stockings (not good for much on a long march, one would suppose), £3, 12s .; I Pair of Woollen Stockings, 8s .; I Coat partly Worn, £1; I Iron Pot, Ios .; Pair of Shoes, 8s .; 30 Barn fowls, 30s .; I Silk Handkerchief, Ios .; Shirt, 8s .; 14 1b. of Sugar, 7s .; I Ib. of Tea, 3s .; 20 1b. of butter, at IS. pr 1b. ; I Pair of Gloves, 2s., 6d." Total, £17, Ss., 6d.
1 On January 7, 1777, Mr. Vao Riper lost "I Negro Man 30 Years old, {70; I Bay borse 11 Years old, {8; I Brown borse, 8 Years [old], {16." His total losses were £217, 11S., 66.
·
419
BRITISH DEPREDATIONS IN ACQUACKANONK.
From Theunis Speer they carried off: "I Negro Man about 30 Years of age, £80; 3 New Shirts, 36s .; 4 New Shifts, 48s .; I Cambric handkerchief half worn, 4s .; I Waistcoat, half worn, Ios .; Pair of new shoes, 7s., 6d .; 6 New Pewter table Spoons, 3s .; I Ib. of Tea & Canister, 6s." Total, £85, 145., 6d.
A SECOND HESSIAN INVASION.
While Britain's forces in New-Jersey staid, The Hessians did the people's rights invade. The British, to excite their vengeful rage, That they more fiercely might in war engage, Said they were not like the European train, Christians, who would compassion entertain, But were mere cannibals, a savage crew, That nothing was too bad for them to do; Who would a Hessian tomahawk, and take His hide, a drumbead for his drum to make; And as a pig they would him barbacue, And after all of that would eat bim too!1
The precise composition of the British army that marched through Acquackanonk at this time is somewhat uncertain. It probably consisted of the First and Second Battalions of Light Infantry, two battalions of the Guards, two companies of Chasseurs, two battalions of Grenadiers, the Thirty-third and Forty-second Regiments, a battalion of the Seventy-first Highlanders, and a detachment of Light Dragoons, and two other British brigades. Besides these there were two battalions of Hessian Grenadiers and the Hessian Jägers, thèse mercenaries being under the command of Col. Donop.2 The latter formed the advance guard on the march, and kept the flanks covcred, so that these men were often under fire, 3 which naturally did not tend to im- prove their disposition toward the natives.
When this invading army had disappeared toward the South, the people of Acquackanonk began to breathe more freely. But alas, their sensation of relief was of short dura- tion. On November 28 Gen. Howe sent across the Hud- son, into New Jersey, Rall's (formerly Stirn's) brigade, com- prising the regiments of Rall, Knyphausen and Lossberg, 4 who camped for the night at Fort Lee, and the next day marched to Hackensack, "a small town, consisting of about 160 old houses, and there the inhabitants, mostly Holland- ers, were favorably disposed toward the King," says one of the Hessian officers, "so the troops were quartered there."5 Thence they followed the forces of Cornwallis, marching through Acquackanonk, Second River, Newark, Elizabeth- town, and so on to New Brunswick (which the Rall brigade reached December 8 6) and Trenton, where they were des- tined to fall into the hands of Washington on the following December 26. They were sorely disappointed to find how thoroughly their comrades in arms had stripped the country
the week previous. Still, they managed to pick up a few trifles here and there. Jacob Berdan had to surrender a gun and a sword, valued at £3, together with other portable property. Peter Post, below Dundee dam, was robbed of a horse and a silver snuff-box, to his damage, £48, 125., 4d.
As they marched down the Wesel road they came to the house of John Enoch Vreeland. He had been visited by their fellow. soldiers, who had wrought sad havoc in his fields, barns and house. This band completed the work, his total losses being thus enumerated:
ro Bushels of Indian Corn at 4s. pr Bus'1, {2 ; 10 lb of Cheese at 6s. pr Ib., 5s .; 1 Barcelona handkerchief, Ios .; 5 Steers 6 years old, £7 each, £35 ; I Silver teaspoon, 6s .; Cbeck'd linen Handk'f, 4s .; 1000 feet White- wood boards, 63, IOS .; I Black Horse 14 hands higb 3 years old, £15; I Black Horse 14 hands high 9 years old, {15; 1 Black Horse 14% hands higb, 8 years old, {15; 1 Red Mare 14 hands 6 years old with a Sucking Colt, {20; 1 Mare 14 hands 3 years, fro ; 1 Mare 13 hands 8 years, £8 ; I Gelding 13 hands 8 years, £8; Saddle & bridle, £3; I Surtout Coat almostnew, {2, Ios .; Gun 32% feet barrel, {1 ; t New Pair of buckskin breeches with silver buttons, 63; I Swanskin Waistcoat, {1 ; Looking Glass, 63; 12 Pair of Woolen Stockings, 64, 12S .; 4 Check'd New handkerchiefs at 4s .; 4 Cbeck'd Aprons at 4s .; 8 sbirts at Ios., £4, 16; 1 Nedle Work'd Pocketbook, 8s .; Cash, 20s .; 6 Silver teaspoons. 36s .; Silk Apron, 20s .; 8 Pillow Cases at 6s., {2, 8s .; I Dutch testament & the Psalms, 8s .; I Latin Bible,1 {1; I Coverlet, {2; Infants Apparel, £3; Negro Girl aged 14 Years, {60; Negro Man aged 25 Years, {85." Total, £314, 95.
The female camp-followers no doubt rejoiced in the ac- cumulation of the stores of wearing apparel and finery thus gathered up by their male relatives and friends in the army. Tradition asserts, indeed, that they often stood at the door- ways of private dwellings, and urged the men on in their plundering forays.
Uriah Garrabrant, doubtless of Stone House Plains, was robbed of a new wagon, worth £16, and a calf nine months old, worth 40s. He was probably overtaken at Acquack- anonk Landing, or in the vicinity of Christopher Vanoor- strand's.
These ravages are but specimens of what the Americans suffered all along the line of march of the British and their Hessian allies. Lieut. Col. Stephen Kemble, of the British army, but himself a native Jerseyman, prophesied this evil conduct by the invaders in his Journal, on November 24: "His Lordship [Cornwallis] will not be able to restrain the troops from Plundering the Country; their Excess in that respect carried to a most unjustifiable lengtlı."2 Washing- ton seldom criticised or censured, but even he was con- strained to comment : "If what they [the New Jersey mili- tia] have suffered does not rouse their resentment, they must not possess the common feelings of humanity. To op- pression, ravage, and a deprivation of property, they have had the more mortifying circumstance of insult added; after being stripped of all they had, without the lcast compensa- tion, protections have been granted them for the free enjoy- ment of their effects." And again: "The militia are re- sorting to arms in niost parts of this State, and are exceed- ingly exasperated at the treatment they have met with, from
1 A History of the Revolutionary War ... in Verse, by Israel Skin- ner, M. D., Binghamton, N. Y., 1829, 114. The quotation given is a fair specimen of this amusing curiosity of American literature.
2 Am. Archives, 5th Series, III., 925 ; v. Eelking, 97 ; Stedman, 219.
3 v. Eelking, 99.
4 Ib., 99.
5 Ib., 99. The number of houses is a gross exaggeration ; 60 would be nearer the fact.
6 v. Eelking, I., 100.
1 The only one yet listed in the possession of any resident in this vicinity.
2 N. Y. Hist. Soc. Coll., 1883, 102.
420
HISTORY OF PATERSON.
both Hessian and British troops."1 Gen. Greene reports: "The enemy spread desolation wherever they go. The British and Hessian troops plunder without distinction; Whig and Tory all fare alike."2 Says another contempo- rary writer: "The progress of the British and Hessian troops through New Jersey has been attended with such scenes of desolation and outrage as would disgrace the most barbarous nations. . . Scarce a soldier in the army but what has a horse loaded with plunder. Hundreds of fam- ilies are reduced from comfort and affluence to poverty and ruin, left at this inclement season to wander through the woods without house or clothing."3 Stedman, the British historian of the War, naturally attempts to put the blame on the mercenary German troops. He says: "The Hessian troops, understanding nothing of the lan- guage of the country, were unable to obtain proper intelli- gence, and, instead of conciliating the affections, made themselves particularly disagreeable to the natives, pillag- ing them, and taking from them the necessaries of life, with- out making them an adequate compensation."4 Von Eelk- ing admits that the Hessians were held in especial aversion, and were denounced as veritable bloodhounds and despoil- ers ("wahre Wütriche und Zerstörungssüchtige"), but he claims that another opinion of them was entertained when it was found that they were acting under the written orders of Gen. Howe to plunder and destroy.5 Still, this did not lessen the sorrows of those who saw their property vanish before their eyes. Fortunately for the people of Ac- quackanonk, they do not appear to have suffered those nameless, grosser outrages which were perpetrated on scores of innocent families, regardless of age, sex or condition, at and south of Newark. The story of these atrocious barbarities spread like wildfire throughout the country, and more than aught else aroused the fierce indignation of the people, inspiring them with new
1 Sparks, IV., 255, 268. The practice of plundering was common in all armies in those days, but was none the less reprehensible. Washing- ton denounced the practice in his own army in far severer terms than he applies to the enemy. Writing to the President of Congress, Sept. 24, 1776, he says: "Of late a practice prevails of the most alarming nature, and which will, if it cannot be checked, prove fatal to the country and army, I mean the infamous practice of plundering. For, under the idea of Tory property, or property that may fall into the hands of the enemy, no man is secure in bis effects, and scarcely in his person. . . I have or- dered instant corporal punishment upon every man, who passes our lines, or is seen with plunder, that the offenders may he punished for disobedience of orders; and I enclose to you the proceedings of a court- martial held upon an officer, who, with a party of men, had robbed a house a little beyond our lines of a number of valuable goods, among which (to show that nothing escaped) were four large pier looking- glasses, women's clothes, and other articles, which, one would think, could be of no earthly use to him."-Sparks, IV., 118. Under date of Jan. 21, 1777, in his general orders, he says: "The General prohibits, in both the militia and Continental troops, in the most positive terms, the infamous practice of plundering the inhabitants, under tbe specious pre- tence of their heing Torics. . . . It is our business to give protec- tion and support to the poor, distressed inhabitants, not to multiply and increase their calamities."-1b., 289; VI., 361.
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