USA > New Jersey > Hudson County > Jersey City > Memorial of the centennial celebration of the battle of Paulus Hook, August 19th, 1879 : with a history of the early settlement and present condition of Jersey City, N.J. > Part 11
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without thanking the committee for the great honor they con- ferred in selecting me as Chief Marshal on this occasion, and still more, for the flattering confidence they displayed in leaving to me all the details of the parade.
It was a source of disappointment to all of us that the pres- sure of military duty prevented Major-General Hancock being with us to-day, but he was well represented by Brigadier-General Gibson cominanding the splendid body of United States regular troops which gave so great an effect to the procession, and by Captain Sinclair and his famous "Sherman's Battery." My thanks are dne to those distinguished officers for the help they afforded me in making the day's proceedings a snecess, as like- wise to Major Peloubet and the other officers of my staff.
These gentlemen, with myself, have endeavored to make the parade a success, and I think I may assure you in their behalf -- as I certainly can in my own-that we are amply rewarded for our efforts by the kind marks of your approbation.
Mr. Hardenbergh said there was one sentiment that should not be forgotten-a toast to ". The Ladies of Hudson county." Hle called, he said, on the most incorrigible bachelor of the county to reply -- the Hon. John A. Blair.
Mr. Blair spoke as follows :
MR. CHAIRMAN :
I cannot but regard myself handsomely complimented in being called upon to respond to this, the most interesting toast of the evening. It would be the affectation of an ability I do not possess to pretend to be equal to this subject, especially as I am before you in the unfortunate character (as the gentleman who announced the toast has said) of an "incorrigible bache- lor "-a condition which implies both ignorance and innocence. I am not surprised that I am so designated by my friend, and I find ample excuse for him in the very pleasant fact, that he was taken captive at a very early age by one of the "fairest of the daughters of Eve ;" and I suppose, from his standpoint, it appears
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: incomprehensible and unmanly to have attained my length of years withont submitting to that same sort of captivity which he has found so delightful.
Of course, his "coigne of vantage" furnishes an easy and rose-colored survey of the field, and I have little doubt that the wide prospect reveals to my eloquent friend every young man a mailed and plnmed cavalier, engaged in knightly tournament for the delivery of some fair captive, or in the still more inter- esting situation of receiving the warm thanks-perhaps the warmer heart-of the happy maiden whom his prowess has rescued ; in short, that there are none in sight but Ivanhoes and Lady Rowenas.
I need hardly say, sir, that his good fortune has reared' too high and too poetic a standard for general application, and I must remind him that the John Smiths are not yet all dead- neither are the Mary Anns; that they sometimes marry ; and that there is no romance in their lives except the romance of a most prosaic existence at the cost of hard and continuous labor.
I shall not now stop to demonstrate that I am not "incorri- gible ;" bnt the fact that I am a " bachelor " is, to my mind, a sufficient reason why another should have been chosen to dis- cnss this charming and complicated toast. I am free to say that, upon the subject now before us, I have only such informa- tion as has been gathered from a rather limited observation ; and whatever happy conclusions I have reached cannot be of . mnuch interest to you who are older, nor at all instructive to those of you who are younger than myself .. . Of course, I do not wishi to be understood as having no opinions upon this subject. It would, indeed, be most anomalous to have no ideas upon a theme so fascinating, and whose influence has shaped the course of human history from the hour when the first pair,
" Hand in hand, with wandering step and slow, Through Eden took their solitary way."
It would, indeed, be strange not to have given some consider- ation to that part of the huinan race which has monopolized most of the beauty and "all the fascination and the nameless
ابت لاع الحروق
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charms" of the whole; whose virthes brighten the noblest literature, and whose graces have given life to those splendid and enduring works which, for so many generations of men, have been the wonder, the admiration and the despair of the world of art. I have no sympathy for those whose alliances, formed in the lotus time of life, based upon impossible con- ditions, have proved disappointing; nor for those young, sad -. faced gentlemen whose ardor, outrunning their discretion, have had their lights extinguished in the first preliminary skirmish with some fair antagonist ; nor have I faith in the melancholly minstrel who sings :
" Woman's faith and woman's trust ! Write the characters in dust; Stamp them on the running stream ; Paint them on the moon's pale beam ; And each evanescent letter Shall be clearer, firmer, better, And more permanent, I ween, Than the thing those letters mean:"
I know, sir, there are those who judge of the toast before us by isolated and abnormal cases, and point you to the Trojan beauty whose caprices for so many years vexed the soft face and peaceful air of the Agean with the stern preparations and the hoarse shouts of war; to the fair " daughter of the Ptole- mies," in whose unfaithful lap Antony buried the hope of the Empire of the World; to a De Medecis or a Borgia, black with the secrets, superstitions and crimes of the Middle Ages ; or to the beautiful Mary of Scotland, every recital of whose way ward steps and tragic fate opens anew the fountain of our tears ; and to such other and similar instances as may chance to recur to them at the moment. I admit the force of the illustrations, and that the citations form but an inconsiderable section of the circle of those whose power and intrigue have sadly scarred and seamed the face of history ; but, sir, they might as well point to the Alpine peaks glittering in the splendid barrenness of eternal ice for evidence of the fertility of the rich valleys which sleep below in eternal summer, as to point to these lone,
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shining, widely separated instances to prove the splendid quali- ties or the richness of the wealth of womanhood.
I have not been led to seek in these high altitudes the best examples of womankind. I have not regarded woman as illus. trating her highest qualities in the open or secret conncils of the cabinets of nations, where the springs of history have so many of their. unknown sources, nor like the " Maid of Orleans," bearing a plume amid the shifting tides of battle ; but in the calm and sweet serenity of home, far from the noisy world, the gentle queen of fireside life, her voice mingling with the laughter of the children, like a "linnet in the pauses of the . wind." I would rather believe the impress which woman has left upon every age to have been that of a soft hand and tender heart, and that the broad and sweet philanthropy of Elizabeth Fry and Florence Nightingale, and " The Cry of the Children" of Mrs. Browning, have lightened more sad hearts than all the waywardness of their sex has burdened.
If there are no Raphaels or Angelos, no Mendelssohns or Handels, in all the sisterhood, they certainly have furnished the subject, and have given the highest and best interpretation to the masterpieces of these immortal artists. If woman has not written the sweetest and purest verses (and I am not certain she has not) she has at least been the inspiration of those who have. She may not be a discoverer in the diamond fields of science, but she polishes and turns into shapes of beauty and attractiveness with wonderful dexterity the rough, hard nuggets which the Newtons and Agassizes dig out of the miserly earth or wrench from the closed hand of the jealons elements. I doubt, sir, if ever the prow of a female Columbus had parted the waters of the " astonished sea " to the new world ; but the dis- covery made the Mary Brewsters, Rose Standishes and Elizabeth Winstons soon follow ; and the new earth sown by them with the seeds of hope, faith and charity blossoms into civilization beneath the watchful care of the " pilgrim mothers."
The lateness of the hour and attractions elsewhere admonish me to stop, but on some future occasion, perhaps when I shall have changed my present status in relation to the subject of the
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toast : when my name shall no longer appear in the sad cate- gory of the " incorrigible ; " when I have become as gray, perhaps as bald, and possibly as wise. as some of the distinguished gentle- men by whom I am surrounded ; when my opinion shall be heavy with the weight of experience, and finally, when I am capable of rising to the " height of this great argument," I shall be happy to enter, in extenso, upon the discussion of this fasein- ating and many sided topic. Until then I take leave of the subject collectively ; I do not say individually.
Capt. George H. Farrier was then called upon, and read an original poem on the subject of Major Lee's Victory.
Mayor Hopper proposed a toast to the press. Coloned Steele seconded the proposition. He said the thanks of the citizens and committee were due to the press as they had acted kindly and advocated the measure throughout.
Mr: Noonan, of The Argus staff, responded :
MR. MAYOR AND GENTLEMEN :
When a fellow is called upon to make a speech, he should do one of two things. Ile may either make the speech, or he may, with withering and reproving sarcasm, shoot the man who in- vited him to speak. For convenience sake, I prefer the former alternative.
This Battle of Paulus Hook is a very much mixed-up and intricate piece of business. That there was a battle, or a stab- bing affray, or a disorderly scene of some kind, around this vicinity about a century ago, must be obvious to the dullest intelligence. The exact nature of that disturbance was, until recently, the subject of the wildest and most reckless conjecture. When it became absolutely necessary for every educated per- son to possess a more or less intimate knowledge of the history of Paulus Hook, I borrowed the erudite work on Hudson County of my accomplished friend, ex-Senator Winfield, and set myself deliberately to the task of mastering the details of
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that engagement. The first record of anything in the sanguinary line that I struck, in connection with Paulus Hook, was a graphic account of how a few Hessians kicked the American forces ignominiously out of the Fort. Having progressed so far in my historical studies, I closed the volume in disgust, purchased a revolver, disguised myself as a bank burglar or midnight assassin, and proceeded, with a murderous gait, to the residence of Mr. Wolbert. I assured that gentleman, in a solemn and formal manner, that he had just ten minutes to live, unless he renounced his intention of publicly celebrating such a humili- ating event in our revolutionary struggle as the evacuation of Paulus Hook. He explained to me that there had been a second battle, and exhorted me to read further. I respited him for'an hour, hurried back to Winfield, discovered my error, and have ever since been in a condition of mental coma, resulting from the contemplation of an achievement so magnificent in its conception, so successful in its execution, and so prolific in its beneficent results. Among those results, permit me to en- numerate this very acceptable dinner of which I have just par- taken.
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THE FIREWORKS.
In the evening a general illumination begun and continued until midnight. So many of the private residences were re- splendant with lights and decorations that it would be invidious to particularize. Private displays of fireworks were given in many of the streets.
The public pyrotechnic exhibition which completed the pro- gramme and finished the public proceedings was given of the heights at the head of Montgomery street. This place was selected because it afforded better facilities than any other for witnessing the display. Soon after sunset people thronged the brow of the hill and the adjacent streets, and at 7:30 o'clock, when the band strnek up the Star Spangled Banner, a vast con- course of men, women and children were assembled.
The arrangements were in charge of the Committee on Fire- works, C. H. Benson and Win. R. Laird. The pieces were furnished by our old citizen, Isaac Edge, who was one of the first in the country to mannfacture fireworks, and the exhibition was the finest our city has ever seen. These were :
1. Six dozen 2-1b. Rockets.
2. Five flights of Shells.
3. Cascade.
4. Ten Batteries.
5. Six flights of Small Rockets.
6. Star of Independence.
7. Ten 8-Inch Shells.
8. Fairies Frolic.
9. Four flights of Large Rockets.
10. Liberty Tree.
11. The Old Wind Mill and the Bay.
12. Temple with equestrian statue of Light Horse Harry, and Mottoes.
And lastly, twenty- five pounds of col- ored fire.
An efficient corps of police, by their careful conduct, contri- buted greatly to the success of the display.
HenryLee
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HENRY LEE.
Henry Lee was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, Jannary 29th, 1756. He received his early education from a private tutor, and was afterwards sent to Princeton College, New Jersey, where he graduated in 1774.
Though young, at the breaking out of the Revolution, he at onee espoused the cause of the Colonists, and soon became noted, under the sobriquet of "Light Horse Harry," as one of the most vigilant, daring, and successful cavalry officers. His troop of horse, "Lee's Legion," were famed throughout the land for their fearless bravery, as well as for their sterling patriotism, and it was undoubtedly the most courageous and effective body of troops raised by the struggling patriots. In the famous retreat of General Greene before Lord Cornwallis, it formed the rear-guard, the post of honor, and covered itself and its intrepid leader with glory ; at the battles of Guilford Court House and Eutaw Springs the corps were particularly distinguished ; Lee's signal bravery at the sieges of Forts Wat- son, Grierson, Motte, Granby and Augusta, made his name con- spicuous where all were brave, and through Georgia and the Carolinas is, to this day, a synonym for fearless courage and intrepid leadership.
At the age of twenty-three he led the attack on Paulis Hook, one of the most daring and brilliant events of the war; so hazardous was the attempt considered, that Washington's prudence and caution gave but a half-willing consent to it. Lee's energy and skill carried it through successfully ; with less than two hundred men, he surprised the British works and brought off one hundred and sixty prisoners, although the forts
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were covered by the guns of the enemy's fleet lying in the bay, and was within a short distance of their headquarters in New. York. Congress quickly appreciated the value of the achieve- ment, and one month subsequently voted a gold medal and resolutions of thanks to Lee, and also thanked those engaged with him in the enterprise. (See page 81.)
After the war he was sent to Congress as a delegate from his native State ; he soon became eminent as a debater, and was instrumental in the adoption of the Federal Con- stitution. In 1792, he was elected Governor of Virginia, and his administration was marked by wisdom and pru- dence. He was an eloquent speaker, and was chosen to deliver the public oration at the obsequies of Washington, ex- tracts from which might, with impartial justice be applied to himself :
" How, my fellow-citizens," said he, " shall I signal to your faithful hearts his pre-eminent worth ? Where shall I begin, in opening to your view a character throughout sublime ? Shall I speak of his warlike achievements, all springing from obedience to his country's good ? * * % He commiserated folly, dismayed treason, and invigorated despondency.
* * * He was second to none in the humble and endearing scenes of private life. Pions, just, hmmnane, temperate and sincere .; uniform, dignified and commanding ; his example edifying to all around him, as were the effects of that example lasting. To his equals he was condescending, to his inferiors kind, and to the dear objects of his affection exemplary tender. Correct throughout, vice shuddered in his presence, and virtne always felt his fostering hand; the purity of his private character gave effulgence to his public virtnes."
He was also the author of the resolutions passed by Congress on the demise of Washington, in which originated the glowing eulogium which has since become so familiar, " First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."
To few men are given talents so varied, and fewer still use them so worthily. His whole life was devoted to his country. He was a deep thinker and trenchant writer, and in 1809 pub.
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lished a valuable work entitled Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United States, which had a wide circulation, and is now highly prized by all students of Revolu- tionary history. In 1812 he was lamed for the remainder of his life, while striving, during a riot in Baltimore, to protect the life and property of a friend, Gen. Lingan who was with him at the time being killed.
Lee's eventful life peaceably closed at Cumberland Island, Georgia, March 25th, 1818. He was a devout christian, a firm patriot, a brave soldier, a learned scholar, a wise states- man, and a kind parent ; not a meteor whose sudden brilliancy dazzles for a moment, and leaves the succeeding darkness more , profound, but a star whose radiance scintillates across the page of history.
Hirling
WILLIAM ALEXANDER, EARL OF STIRLING.
There are few of our Revolutionary generals about whom so little is known as Lord Stirling. To attribute a reason for this fact is difficult, unless it be explainable by his dying in the last year of the war; for his services to his native country and adopted State were so many and devoted as to entitle him to a far higher position than is accorded him.
His father, James Alexander, a native of Scotland, in conse- quence of being involved in the political disturbances of his time, came to this country in 1716, and shortly after received an appointment under the Crown in the office of the Secretary of the Province of New York. He soon became prominent, and with Benjamin Franklin, Francis Hopkinson, and others, founded the American Philosophical Society.
William Alexander, his'only son, the subject of this memoir, was born in New York City, in 1726. He received an ordinary school education, with private tuition from his father, com- mencing life as clerk to his mother, and subsequently entering into partnership with her. The firm supplied the king's troops with clothing and provisions, and he thus became acquainted with many army officers, acquiring by this association a know- ledge and love of the military art. Being offered the position of aid-de-camp and private secretary to General Shirley, then commander-in-chief, he accepted it, and served in that capacity during the French and Indian campaigns.
In 1756, he accompanied General Shirley to England, where he won the friendship of many of the statesmen and nobles of the kingdom, particularly the Duke of Argyle and the Earl of Bute, and was advised by them to assert his hereditory right to
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the vacant earldom of Stirling, in Scotland. We cannot, in this brief sketch, give the reasons why he failed to establish his claims; but, probably, his sympathy with the Colonists, who had begun to remonstrate against the arbitrary acts of the Crown, finally prevented his being awarded the title and estates which belonged to him.
Lord Stirling returned to America in 1761, and settled in New Jersey, making Basking Ridge, Somerset County, his home. Being elected to the Provincial Council of the State, shortly afterwards, he was one of the first to oppose the odious "Stamp Act," and warmly defended the rights of the Colonists. Upon the organization of the independent State government, two battalions of infantry were ordered to be raised, and Stirling was appointed to the command of the first, with the rank of Colonel. The language of his first "General Order," dated October 18th, 1775, is unique ; we extract the following from it :
"Every man to bring with him the best arms he can; and those who have no firelocks are, notwithstanding, desired to attend, as other arms will be furnished for them."
The arms were furnished at his own expense. He was soon after commissioned by Congress, and received orders to watch the British forces around New York city, during the per- formance of which duty he was in constant correspondence with President John Hancock. Congress, on January 29th, 1776, passed resolutions of thanks to him for capturing a British armed transport off Staten Island. The same year, while in command of 2,000 men, he was made prisoner in the disastrous. Battle of Long Island, but was exchanged for General Mont- ford Brown.
On February 19th, 1777, by recommendation of Washington, he was appointed Major-General, and commanded divisions at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown ; acting also under the Commander-in-Chief during the terrible winter of 1776-'77, at Valley Forge. He it was who made public the famous con- spiracy against Washington-called, in the language of the day, the CABAL-initiated by Generals Conway, Gates, and Mifflin,
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who secretly endeavored to influence leading members of Con- gress to remove the Commander-in-Chief, on the ground of what they were pleased to term, his " Fabian policy." At the Battle of Monmouth, fought June 28th, 1778, Gen. Nat. Greene com- manded the right wing of the American forces, Gen. Lafayette the centre, and Lord Stirling the left. The first attack was made by the British against the latter's command, who repulsed and drove them on Greene, he repulsing them in turn; and they retreated in hot haste, during the night, to Sandy Hook. After the battle, Stirling was detailed to preside over the court- martial which tried and condemned Major-General Charles Lee for disobedience of orders.
In August of the same year, he arranged the attack on Paulus Hook, in conjunction with Major Henry Lee, for which he received the thanks of Congress. (See page. 81.) In 1781, he was appointed to command the Northern Department, with headquarters at Albany, N. Y., Washington fearing a British attack from Canada. The second battle of Saratoga was fought by the forces immediately under his command, the enemy soon after retiring from that part of the country.
Lord Stirling died at Albany, on January 15th, 1783, while in performance of the active duties of his department. The whole country deplored the loss of so brave, and energetic an officer ; and the State of New Jersey, most especially, one of its firmest patriots. No man had rendered more efficient ser- vice in that grand struggle for liberty. He had commanded every brigade in the Revolutionary army, except those of South Carolina and Georgia. Hle placed his fortune and his life on the altar of his country, and sacrificed both. There are few who have done so much ; no man can do more.
Congress, npon being notified of his death, passed the follow- ing resolution :..
" Resolved, That the President signify to the Commander-in-Chief, in a manner most respectful to the memory of the late Major-General the Earl of Stirling, the sense Congress entertains of the early and meritorious exertions of that General in the common cause; and of the bravery, perse- verance, and military talents he possessed ; which, having fixed their esteem
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for him while living, induce a proportionate regret for the loss of an officer who has rendered such constant and important services to his country."
We cannot close our short memoir of this famous Revolu- tionary general without showing the estimation in which he was held by Washington: In his letter of condolence to. his widow, the Countess of Stirling, the " Father of his Country " states as follows :
"It only remains, then, as a small but just tribute to the memory of Lord Stirling, to express how deeply I share the common affliction, on being deprived of the public and professional assistance, as well as the private. friendship of an officer of so high rank, with whom I had lived in the strictest habits of amity; and how much those military merits of his Lord- ship, which rendered him respected in his lifetime, are now regretted by the whole army."
As an eminent author has remarked : "THE MAN THUS SPOKEN OF BY WASHINGTON, NEEDS NO OTHER EPITAPHI OR MONUMENT."
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THE LAY OF PAULUS HOOK.
" Uncunque placuerit Dco."
. Around this spot where now we hear the busy hum of toil, Was a battle fought for freedom-our city's hallowed soil ; Here patriots the foe repelled, and made a tyrant see That men will conquer soon or late who fight for liberty.
Where the noble Hudson yonder ebbs grandly to the bay, A strong fleet of British war-ships, at anchor proudly lay ; From the steeples of Manhattan St. George's banner flew- It had stood the storm for ages ; its might the whole world knew.
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