History of the city of Paterson and the County of Passaic, New Jersey, Part 110

Author: Nelson, William, 1847-1914
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Paterson : Press Printing and Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 466

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At nine the next morning they informed me that his Excellency was come down into the parlour. This room served at once as audience chamber, and dining room ... [After breakfast Gen. Washington rode with de Chastellux and an escort to review the army, and although it rained heavily they rode] to the camp of the Marquis; we found all his troops in order of battle on the heights to the left, and himself at their head expressing, by his air and countenance, that he was happier in receiving me there, than at his estate in Auvergne.

CAMP-LIFE AT TOTOWA AND PREAKNESS.

Other glimpses of life in the camp at Totowa and Preak- ness are afforded by the General Orders issued from time to time, and by extracts from letter-books, etc .:

Oct. 9. The Grand Parade is assigned for the present near the Great Falls, where the guards and piquets are to parade at six o'clock this afternoon ; the troop to beat at 8 o'clock till further orders, and the guards to be on the Grand Parade at nine, precisely . .. As the Army is encamped very conveniently for wood, the destruction of fences will be without excuse, and must be prevented at all events . .. The General wishes, also, that all possible care may be taken to prevent in- jury to the fruit trees; in which he includes the chestnut, many of which he has seen cut down in order to come at the nut.

Oct. 10. "A very fine morning. The First Pena Brigade passed our encampment at ten o'clock, on their way to the main army from Stony Point."

Oct. II. "A very fine morning. The second Penna Brigade passed

1 Hundreds of such relics, picked up at Wagaraw and the Goffle, in the Valley of the Rocks, and on the Heights of Totowa, at Preakness, Little Falls and "the Rifle Camp," were carefully collected and pre- served by Peter Archdeacon, in his Museum, on the northeast corner of Main and Smith streets. At his death they were removed to Montclair, where they were gradually dispersed.

Artillery

Col. Wyllys

Gen. Huntington

Maj. Gen. Baron Steuben

2d Penn., Gen. Irvine, Ist Penn. ,

432

HISTORY OF PATERSON.

our encampment, on their way from West Point to the main army at Totowa."

Oct. 11. Major Parre's Corps of Riflemen are permitted to try their Rifles hetween the hours of 3 and 5 in the afternoon.

[Division Orders.] A fatigue party of 20 men, under the direction of a Regimental Quartermaster, is to repair in an effectual manner the fence that encloses the field of wheat near the encampment, leaving con- venient passages to the springs.

Oct. 13. Two suhs., 2 sergt. and six rank & file for fatigue tomor- row to repair the roads and Bridges to he furnished with 2 days pro- vision.

Oct. 13. "The want of provisions is a clog to our operations in every quarter. We have several times, in the course of this campaign, heen without either Bread or Meat and have never had more than four or five days beforehand."1

Oct. 14. [Saturday] The troops will attend Divine Service at 4 o'clock in the afternoon tomorrow.

Oct. 15. The Issuing Commissarys are to deliver all their sheep and calves' skins to the Field Commissary of Military Stores with the Post [Park] of Artillery who will have them properly dressed for drum heads.

An alarm will he communicated from the Park hy two guns as usual.

As Headquarters are somewhat remote from Camp & it is inconven- ient for the officers of the day to attend as heretofore the General dis- penses with their attendance while we remain in the present position. When there is nothing more than common in the report. He hopes & expects to have the pleasure of the company of the relieved officers as usual at dinner, at which time their 1 eport may be handed him.

Oct 16. Regtl Surgeons are requested to send such sick as are proper suhjects for Hospitals, to the Flying Hospital at George Dore- mus', Lord Stirling's former Quarters, on the Pompton Road.

"To Cash paid Mr. Inº Mercereau of Woodhridge in New Jersey (in- cluding 5 Guineas to Baker Hendricks) pr. rects. for Exp & rewards of himself & others (whom he was obliged to employ) to open & carry on a Correspondence with persons within the Enemy's Lines hy the way of Staten Island, 3276 Dollrs & £179 Ios. Specie.

"To Ditto paid Majr. Talmadge towards the Expences of the Com- munication with New York hy the way of Long Island, £56 specie."2

Oct. 17. "The weather hegins to pinch-hard necessity ohliges us to he economists-our Soldiers uniforms are much worn & out of re- pear, we have adopted the Idear of Curtailing the Coats to repair the Elhows & other defective parts for which we shall Immediately want needles & thread."3

Oct. 18. [A soldier convicted of desertion sentenced to receive 100 lashes on his naked hack.]

Oct. 17. Two soldiers "were tried for stealing tanned Leather from the tanfats of Simon Vanwinkele.4 The Court are of opinion they are guilty, & sentance each of them to receive roo Lashes on their Bear Back, well Laid on. The Col. Comdt approves of the ahove sentance & orders the same to he put in execution to-morrow at troop heating."5

Oct. 19. A private soldier "was tried at ye Request of Genl. Wayne for heing out at an unseasonahel Hour in the night from his Quarters," and heing convicted was sentenced "to receive 50 Lashes on his haer Back, at ye head of ye Regt. to which he Belongs, at roll Call this evening."6

Oct. 20. "Do you know what our army have done this summer ? The answer is easy. Nothing ... As far as depended on us, every measure was taken to induce the enemy to settle the matter genteely in the field."7

· 1 Washington to Col. Brodhead.

2 Washington's Accounts.

3 Gen. Anthony Wayne to Joseph Reed, Reed's Reed, II., 213; Penn. Archives, VIII., 588.

4 On the river hank, at the foot of Willis street. See p. 96, note.

5 2d Penn. Archives, XI., 606.

6 Ih., 608.

7 Letter from Major Samuel Shaw, in Shaw's Memoirs.

Oct. 25. "A very fine morning. Built a chimney to our tent."

Oct. 26. "On the [26th] instant Monsiere the Minister Plenopoten- tiary who lately arrived from Francel and on his way to Head Quarters, when he approached the Park of Artillery was saluted with the Discharge of thirteen pieces of Ordinance. On the 26th Instant I was invited with a number of others to Dine with Major J. Moore and the Field Officers of the Brigade-we spent our time verry agreeahly, for the afternoon, suped, and spent the Evening as jovally as we could wish. Ahout 12 o'clock at Night each as great as a Lord, Reel'd home in a state to his own tent."2

Oct. 28. All the arms that are not stamped on the harrel with the mark of the United States are to he immediately marked with the let- ters U. S.

"The whole Army paraded for Review, and just hefore the Review hegan, came hy Express some good News from the Southern Army S His Excellency General Washington and the Minister Plenopotentiary from France came on upon the Right of the front Line and was saluted hy the discharge of thirteen pieces of Cannon from the Park. They passed down the Line and was saluted hy the different Regiments and officers in Rotation as usual. They made an elegant appearance, at- tended hy their Aids and Moyland's Regiment of Light Dragoons."4

[Penn. Division Orders] Mrr Lytal will pleas to issue one G. [ill] Rum, this afternoon to each Non-Comsd officer & privat entitled to re- ceive the State stores.

Oct. 29. The grand parade is Altered to ye field Neare the artificers ..

Oct. 31. While we continue in the present position the post rider will leave camp at noon every Thursday instead of Friday morning. Letters therefore must he handed to the post office (at the Park5 ) in time for the mail to he made up hy that hour.

Nov. J. "Snow this morning ahout 2 inches deep; turned to rain ahout Io o'clock."

Nov. 2. A Detachment to parade to-morrow morning on the grand parade, with 6 Days Provision & 40 Rounds pr man. The troop, till further orders, to heat at 9 o'clock & ye guards to he on ye grand parade at Io o'clock.

Nov. 3. [A soldier for desertion ordered to run the gauntlet through the Connecticut division, naked from the waist upward.]

Nov. 6. It is with infinite regret that the General is ohlig'd to take notice of the disorderly conduct of the soldiers, arising in a great meas- ure from the ahuse of passes. The whole country is overspread with straggling soldiers, who, under the most frivolous pretences, commit every species of rohhery and plunder. In a ride he took the other day, he found soldiers as low as Aquakanack Bridge, on hoth sides of the river, and as far as he has ever yet gone, around the environs of the camp, the roads and farm-houses are full of them.

Nov. 7. "We have never stood upon such perilous ground as the present. The period is fast approaching when America will have only the skeleton of an army to oppose the British, and even that destitute of almost every comfort and necessary of life."6

Nov. 8. Such of ye prisoners leatly exchanged as helong to ye troops now at ye -, are to be atatched to ye park untill the arieval of Capt. Brown's Company of artillery from fort Schyler, when they preseed with it to their respective Corps.

Nov. 9. The G. C. M.,7 whereof Col. Bealy is President, to assemhel tomorrow, at 9 o'clock, at ye widow Godwin's, for ye trial of such pris- oners as may Com hefore them, all persons Concerned to attend.

1 The Chevalier de la Luzerne.

2 Extracts from the Letter-Books of Lieutenant Enos Reeves, Penn. Mag., XX., 458 ; 2d Penn. Archives, XI., 578.

3 The victory at King's Mountain, N. C., over Col. Ferguson, com- manding the British troops, including the New Jersey Loyalists, some of whom were from Acquackanonk and Totowa.

4 Reeves, as cited, Penn. Mag., XX., 459.

5 The Park of Artillery. .

6 Gen. Anthony Wayne to Joseph Reed, Reed's Reed, II., 213.

7 General Court Martial.

433

PLUNDERED BY FRIEND AND FOE.

Nov. II. A fatigue party to parade to-morrow moroing at guard mounting with their arms, packs, & three Days' provisions, to Repair the roads.

Nov. 14. A soldier tried for "imbezeling & seling publick stors, found guilty, & sentenced to receive 100 lashes." Another "was also tryed for selling a peace of Beef, the property of the publick, found guilty, & sentenced to 100 lashes." Another "was lakwise tried at ye same Court for stealing tea & Sugar while on the State store guard, found guilty & sentanced to receive 100 lashes."

Nov. 14. The left wing of the army under marching orders.

Nov. 15. The Invalids ... set out for winter quarters.

Nov. 15.

"To Major Gibbs-Hd Exp 1000 DolIrs. recd. from Colo Pickering. "To Taylers Acct, for my servants 745 Dollrs."1

Nov. 16. "Between seven & eight hundred of the New England States troops (Iovalids) passed our encampment, on their way to winter quarters. Rain in the afternoon."

Nov. 19. Writing from "2d Brigade of Lt Infantry, near the Great Falls," to Col. Lamb, J. Fleming says: "A few days ago, a couple of Scoundrels, Corpl Butler & Peter Scurry a Matross, deserted from me ; I presume they are gooe to the Enemy."2

Nov. 21. The General having received intelligence that the enemy mean to make a Forage in this State, the Army is to be held in readi- ness to move at a moment's warning. It will keep two days' provisions cook'd before hand.

Nov. 23. The Army will march to-morrow at Ir o'clock. The Gen- eral will beat at 10 ; the assembly at Xe past 10 ; and the march will com- mence precisely at II . . . The Troops will have two days' provisions cook'd.

Nov. 26. The Army will march tomorrow morning. The Gencrale will beat at 9; the Assemblee at half past 9 o'clock, and the march will commence precisely at 10. The Quarter-Master-General will furnish the Route and Order of March. The Troops are to draw and carry 3 days' bread or flour, as there are not enough wagons for the purpose. The General ... cannot forbear remarking that this campaign, as well as the former, has exhibited proofs of the patience and patriotism of the Troops, in cheerfully supporting those wants and distresses which the peculiar situation of our country has at different times ren- dered inevitable.

Nov. 27. "The next morning all the General's baggage was packed up, which did not hinder us from breakfasting, before we parted, he for his wioter quarters, and I for my journey to Philadelphia."3

"Marched from our encampment at Totowa at 10 o'clock, & joined the Penna Division on their parade near the little Falls-of Passaic ; the different companies of Light Infantry joined their respective regiments. The Division marched from their encampment at Ir o'clock, by the right, crossed ooe of the two bridges."4

PLUNDERED BY FRIEND AND FOE.

The necessities of the patriot soldiery were so severe that it is not to be wondered at if the men sometimes succumbed to the temptation when a fat sheep or calf would persist in getting in their way. The uniform testimony of tradition, however, is to the effect that the American troops were well-behaved while encamped at Totowa and Preakness. The soldiers frequently came to the house of Roelof Van Houten, just west of the present Laurel Grove cemetery, and asked for milk, but they always treated the inhabitants respectfully. Under all the circumstances the moderation

of the Continental troops is quite remarkable. Their dep- redations were few, and of little consequence. The follow- ing are the only instances recorded: John Hennion, of Preakness-two hogs, seven shoats, one sheep, a bag of salt, and 150 posts, probably for firewood to cook the ani- mals withal. John Doremus, also of Preakness- a two- year-old heifer, a shoat, a beehive full of honey bees, "one table cloth of toe and flax good." John Van Houten, of Totowa-14 sheep at 12s. each. Roelof Van Houten, of Totowa-5 sheep, a hcifer and 5 bushels of turnips. Sam- uel Van Saun, of Preakness-2 sheep and 3 calves. Martin Ryerson, of the Goffle-17 sheep, a steer, one hog "supose- ing to waigh roo wt. ; " damage done to stone fences, £15. Hal- magh Van Houten, of Totowa-one calf, 5 sheep, 2 shoats, 150 bushels of turnips, two beehives with bees, and a hay- fork. Robert Van Houten, of Totowa-one steer and bull, 2 heifers, 2 hogs, one colt, 4 beehives, 2 sheep, 5 bushels of turnips, potatoes, in all, £20, Ios. Garrabrant Van Hou- ten, who lived where the West Side park now is-£6, 14S. worth of sheep, hogs and a calf. Adrian Van Houten, who lived in Water street-sheep to the value of &5, 35. 6d. Isaac Vanderbeck, Adrian's next-door ueighbor, who occul- pied the Doremus homestead in Water street, had sheep, a calf, a hand-vise, gridiron, ax, and bridle taken, his barn burned, and a horse and stable destroyed, to his total dam- age £9, 13s. 6d. John Van Winkle, who lived about where St. Mary's orphan asylum is located, opposite the Lincoln bridge, lost £9 worth of sheep and a calf. Cornelius R. Van Houten, who lived a short distance southwest of Van Winkle, had cattle to the value of £31, 14s. taken. John Van Giesen, who lived near Totowa and Redwoods avenues, lost £7, 9s. worth in like manner.

Let us hope that these good people endured such depre- dations willingly, realizing that they were for the benefit of the men who were periling their lives that the inhabitants might be the more secure against the ravages of a cruel and relentless foe.

When complaints were made the punishment was severe. Four soldiers of the artillery were tried by court martial on Nov. 26, "for stealing two sheep and a pig. All found guilty, and sentenced to receive a hundred lashes each on their bare backs, and to pay Captain Vanblaragin one hun- dred Continental dollars," which would be about $1.50 in good money. The aggrieved owner was doubtless Capt. Henry Van Blarcom, of Willis street, near East Eighteenth street. 1

The British did not attempt any raids through this part of the country in 1780, but their Tory adherents plundered the inhabitants frequently, as appears by the following inven- tories of losses: Jan. 4-Martin Ryerson, of the Goffle, a horse, £20. Jan. 25-Capt. Francis Post, in the Bogt, 4 horses of his own, and one of Dr. Philip Dey's, 117. Feb. 25-Adolph Waldron, of Preakness, a "Neagro Wench Named Isabel aged 38 years," £85; "A Neagro Child aged tow years," £15; a "Neagro man Named Sancho, aged 35 ycars A house Neagro and cook," ££90; "one Da Named Jo

1 Washington's Accounts. Major Gibbs was the commandant of his Life Guard.

2 Lamb Papers, N. Y. Hist. Soc.

3 Chastellux, I., 136.

4 2d Penn. Archives, XI., 583. 54

1 See p. 216.

434

HISTORY OF PATERSON.

aged 40 years," £40; one Do Named Jack, aged 19 years, £90; one Do Named Wan aged 12 years, £60. On August 17 he lost seven horses. On Dec. 4, 1782, Alexander P. Waldron swore that he was "known to the Horses in the in- ventory of Adolph Waldron and has Resons to believe the Negroes are Now in the Posestion of the enemy." In April, 1780, Henry Garritse, on the Wesel road, was plundered of two horses, four milk cows, a yoke of oxen and a negro man, in all £180. Cornelius E. Vreland lost, about the same time, several horses and two fat calves. Garrabrant Van Houten, of Totowa, lost a horse worth £14; he had been robbed of two others at an earlier date. Richard Van Houten, his son, testified (the spelling is that of the officer who administered the affidavit) that "he was known to the horses in the inventory of Garibrant V houten and By the Surcumstances Beleives they ware taken By the Enemy." On June 22 Edo Merselis, of Upper Preakness, was robbed of 14 horses, valued at &230.1 On another occa- sion he had sixteen cows carried off in the night by a gang of "Refugees," or Tories. He and a number of his neigh- bors turned out in pursuit, and found that the thieves had their headquarters in a sort of cave formed by a projecting rock, on the south side of the present Little Falls road, a short distance west of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railroad bridge. He recovered his cows, and the Refugees were driven out of their mountain lair, which was thenceforth known as the "Refugees' Cave." The project- ing roof is much worn away since those days.

THE COURT MARTIAL OF J' SHUA HETT SMITH, AT TOTOWA.

On the same day (Sept. 25, 1780) that Major John André was arrested, Joshua Hett Smith, who had brought him ashore from the British Vulture, to meet Gen. Arnold, had harbored him at his house, and escorted him to the neutral ground, was seized by order of Washington, and on Sept. 30 was placed on trial by court martial, charged with complic- ity in Arnold's plot. When the army moved from Tappan to Totowa, Smith was brought along, and was placed under strong guard at a public house-doubtless the Widow God- win's inn, a captain and two sentinels keeping watch with- out, and another sentinel within his room. Through the good offices of Gen. Robert Howe his wife and family were permitted to visit him. The court martial sat at Gen. Howe's headquarters, on the northwest side of the river, on Oct. 12, 13, 14, 19, 20 and 24, on which last-mentioned day Smith read his defence, as he says, "to the court martial, and a large part of the army, in the presence of a great con- course of the inhabitants." On returning to his tavern, he found that someone had informed the landlady that he had been condemned by the court martial, "on which the good housewife, in a furious rage, refused me admittance, and

another place was found for my reception."1 The court sat the next day in conference, and on October 25 announced the peculiar verdict, that it appeared to them that Smith did do all that he was charged with, but that the evidence was not sufficient to convict him of guilty knowledge of Arnold's designs; they therefore acquitted him.

IIe was immediately re-arrested, however, on the author- ity of the State of New York, and hurried off to a new im- prisonment at Goshen. Escaping thence on the night of May 22, 1781, he passed through the mountains to Sterling Furnace and the Ringwood Iron Works, and so to a tavern in the vicinity of Pompton or the Ponds, kept by a Tory, who was famed among the Dutch inhabitants for being double-jointed and ambidexterous. This fellow brought him safely by night to within sight of Totowa Bridge. He lay concealed all day, and toward evening his guide re- appeared with two other men, who escorted him down a steep hill, which brought them by a short cut to the bridge, which they passed in safety,2 and then took a road over Garret Mountain, and so on to Acquackanonk, where they lodged in the house of one of the guides until the following evening, when, June 4, 178I (Smith says 1782, a manifest error), they crossed the river in a small cedar canoe, and ultimately reached Paulus Hook, whence the passage to New York was easily accomplished. 3

SOME PLANS THAT FAILED.

The enforced idleness of his army, under discouraging circumstances, was exceedingly irksome to Washington, and he was ever on the alert to strike some blow at the enemy. When Arnold's treason was discovered and insidious efforts were made to spread the belief that other general officers were implicated, the commander-in-chief conceived the dar- ing project of sending a trusted agent into New York to discover whether Arnold had any army accomplices, and to carry off the arch traitor himself. The scheme was en- trusted to Major Henry Lee, while he was still at the Light Camp, at Wagaraw, and Washington conferred with him at Lafayette's quarters, by appointment, on October 13. Lee induced sergeant major John Champe, of his Legion, to undertake the hazardous adventure. On the night of Oct. 20, Champe deserted, was hotly pursued by some of his fellow-troopers (not in the secret) to Bergen, where he man- aged to find refuge on board a British vessel in Newark bay.

1 We can readily conceive the repugnance with which the Widow Godwin would entertain under her roof, even as a prisoner, one whom she had been assured had been found guilty of aiding and abetting the enemy, in fighting whom her husband had already yielded up his life, while two of her sons were in the American army, and a third was then languishing in a British prison in New York.

2 "My reflections and sensations in passing this bridge, which I had so often crossed to and from my trial, were painful, from the various ideas that successively passed in my mind. One of the men, turning to the other, said in Dutch, 'he may now think himself safe, for the damned rebels don't often pass that bridge, except in numbers.' "-Smith's Nar- rative, etc., 282-3.

3 An Authentic Narrative of the Causes which led to the Death of Major André, etc., by Joshua Hett Smith, etc., London, 1808, passim ; Record of the Trial of Joshua Hett Smith, etc., Morrisania, N. Y., 1866, passim.

1 On July 9, 1781, a party of Tories carried off eight more of his horses. He pursued them to Second River, where he arrived early in the morning, just in time to see the fugitives swimming the river on his animals. A party of soldiers fired at them, and dropped several, and the horses were recovered ; but Merselis complained that the guard claimed {16 reward from him, which he had to pay.

435

SOME PLANS THAT FAILED.

He was taken to New York, was cordially welcomed by Arnold, and soon had all his plans laid to seize the traitor one night, and carry him across the Hudson to Hoboken. But the night before the scheme was to be executed, Arnold changed his quarters, and the next day Champe was shipped to the South, and was unable to rejoin his troop until a year or more thereafter. 1

Washington was particularly anxious to attack the British army in New York city. As the next most feasible project he planned a descent on Staten Island. In this Lafayette was to take a leading part, and the zealous Hamilton, about to be married, eagerly applied for the command of a battal- ion. Boats were provided, mounted on trucks, for trans- portation overland, to be hurried to the Sound in readiness for carrying the army across and so surprising the enemy. On Oct. 23 it was ordered that the Light Corps should re- move from their quarters at the Goffle, and take post "on the most convenient ground to the Cranetown Gap2 and the Notch, for the more effectual security of our right." The movement was really intended to bring Lafayette's Corps within striking distance of Staten Island. The next morn- ing the Pennsylvania Line marched across Totowa Bridge (at the foot of Bank street), and around the Wesel mount- ain to Stone House Plains, where they encamped for the night, the soldiers being under orders to sleep with their clothes on, ready to move at a moment's notice. Awaiting the arrival of the boats, the army lay quiet the next day, and on Oct. 26 advanced to Cranetown, and so on to a point near Elizabethtown, which they reached at midnight, Lee's Legion and Major Parr's Rifle Corps in the advance. But still the boats did not appear, and the movement was a complete failure. The next morning the retrograde march was begun, and on the 29th the men, tired and dis- pirited, were again in their old quarters at Totowa. 3

There still remained Washington's original plan of a direct attack on New York. The preparations were pushed diligently, silently. At last all was in readiness. The final orders were issued by the commander-in-chief on No- vember 21 and 22, from his Headquarters at Preakness. Col. Gouvion, the French engineer, was directed to proceed to the Hudson river, and make careful observation of the state of the roads from the Light Camp at the Goffle, to Fort Lee; to observe the river from Fort Lee to Fort Wash- ington and upwards, and to note the British forces when they turned out for inspection. Col. Stephen Moylan was ordered to parade with his regiment at nine o'clock on the morning of Friday, Nov. 24, at Totowa Bridge, furnished

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History of the city of Paterson and the County of Passaic, New Jersey, Part 110

Author: Nelson, William, 1847-1914 Publication date: 1901 Publisher: Paterson : Press Printing and Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 466

Author: Nelson, William, 1847-1914
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Paterson : Press Printing and Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 466