USA > New York > New York City > History of the New Netherlands, province of New York, and state of New York : to the adoption of the federal Constitution. Vol. II > Part 1
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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01105 6154
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/historyofnewneth02dunl 1
840
HISTORY
OF THE
NEW NETHERLANDS,
PROVINCE OF NEW YORK,
v. 2 AND
STATE OF NEW YORK,
TO THE ADOPTION OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
BY WILLIAM DUNLAP.
VOL.II.
NEW YORK :
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR'S REPRESENTATIVES
BY CARTER & THORP, EXCHANGE PLACE.
1840. 840
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ENTERED, According to Act of Congress, in the year 1840, BY JOHN A. DUNLAP, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of NEW YORK.
3
CONTENTS
OF
THE SECOND VOLUME.
CHAPTER L PAGE.
Capture of Ticonderoga-Ethan Allen -- Arnold-Montgomery-His 9 letters, . ..
CHAPTER II.
The Johnson3-Brant-Schuyler's Expedition to Johnstown-The state of the Valley of the Mohawk, - 25
CHAPTER III
Gates, a British officer-An American officer-At Cambridge-At New York-Disputes the command with Schuyler-Hancock's letter, 39
CHAPTER IV.
General Gates at Ticonderoga-Arnold-His efforts against Carleton, - 43
CHAPTER V.
England buys foreign troops to help to subdue America-Her army repairs from Boston to Halifax-After being reinforced, the army lands on Staten Island -- The troops of Washington -- Battle of Brooklyn, and retreat from Long Island, 56
CHAPTER VI.
Lord Howe meets a Committee of Congress, on Staten Island -- General Howe pushes his army to Hellgate -- Heath, and death of Henly-Hale is executed -- Affair of Kipp's Bay-Difficulties of evacuating the city -- Death of Leich and of Knowlton -- Fire of 1776 -- General Howe crosses to Frog's Point-White Plains -- Fort Washington -- Rawlins -- Prisoners, - 73
CHAPTER VII.
Retreat to the Delaware -- Lee's misconduct -- Affairs in the north-Colonel Meigs -- Vermont -- Starke, 89
4
CONTENTS.
.
CHAPTER VIII.
Plan of the Campaign -- Gates's intrigues-Efforts of Schuyler -- Ticonde- roga taken -- Affair of Miss McCrea -- Siege of Fort Stanwix -- Retreat of St. Leger -- Affair of Bennington-Transactions at Saratoga --- Daniel Morgan -- Death of General Frazer-Clinton's expedition up the Hudson Capture of Burgoyne-Gates's arrogance -- Wilkinson, 105
CHAPTER IX.
Intrigues against Washington -- France becomes a party in the war -- Alarm- ing situation of Washington -Noble conduct of Colonel William Duer- Conway-Lafayette -- Falsehood and meanness of Gates, 131
CHAPTER X.
Prisoners and Prison Ships,
136
CHAPTER XI.
City of New York from 1776 to 1780 -- Battle of Monmouth-Indian hostil- ities on the Mohawk-Massacre at Cherry Valley, 143
CHAPTER XII.
Sullivan's Expedition -- Van Schaick's Expedition against the Onondagas- Capture and re-capture of Stony Point --- Exploit of Major Lee-Other military operations-Hot summer -- Second great fire in New York -- Ex- plosion in the Harbour -- Severe winter -- Unsuccessful attempt on Staten Island, - 157
CHAPTER XIII.
Arnold commands at Philadelphia-ITis misconduct and trial-Commands at West Point -- Intrigues with the enemy, and treason --- Capture and'exe- cution of Andre-Escape of Arnold, 167
CHAPTER XIV.
Champe's Adventure -- Indian warfare -- Fate of Huddy-Further history of Ethan Allen -- New Hampshire Grants -- Controversies with Vermont- British attempts to seduce Vermont -- Independence of Vermont recog- nized, 202
CHAPTER XV.
Provisional articles of peace-Attempts to create revolt in the army-Arm- strong's letters -- Washington's opposition -- Peace concluded -- Evacua- tion of New York -- Convention to form Constitution-Washington, first President of the United States -- Attempts to ridicule him -- His reception in New York, 228
CHAPTER XVI.
Treaty of peace-Events intermediate between the peace and adoption of Federal Constitution -- Settlement of boundaries of New York -- Popula- tion of the State --- Shay's rebellion in Massachusetts -- Convention to form Constitution-Motives for it, and its origin-Constitution of the United States and its construction -- Parties for and against it -- Doctor's mob --- Convention to consider adoption of Constitution-Proceedings and de- bates in convention --- Constitution adopted -- Conclusion, 237
1
5- 6
CONTENTS.
APPENDIX TO VOLUME I.
APPENDIX.
PAGE.
A,
I
B.
II
C,
VI
D,
VII
E,
IX
F,
KIT
G
XVI
HI,
XVII
XXIV
XXVI
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XXIX
L
XXXIX
M,
XL
N
XLII
XLIV
P,
XLV
R,
XLVI
T,
XI.VII
U,
LI
V
LV
W,
LXIV
Appendix referred to,
LVI
Appendix referred to,
LIX
Treaty of Peace of 1763-Indian Hosti- lities after the Peace, LXLY
Review of Vanderdonck's account of New Netherlands, LXXII
Indian Circulating Medium-First Inter- course between the Dutch and New- England, . First Organization of Continental Army -- New York Regiments, ·
LXXXIX
XCVI
English settlement of New Jersey, .
C
MISCELLANEOUS MATTER,
CXV
Q,
S,
7
ADVERTISEMENT.
IT may be thought that an apology is due to the reader for the errours and imperfections, fewer however than under all circumstances might have been expected, which he will meet with in the perusal of these two volumes.
The greater part of the first volume was printed after the author was attacked with a disease, which ultimately proved fatal. For a time he was able to devote some attention to the correction of the press; but it finally devolved exclusively upon one, who had not by previous studies acquired an equal intimacy with the subject, nor was acquainted with the work itself, except as it came under his observation piecemeal while passing through the hands of the printer. For a considerable time after- ward, the author's situation was such that no application could be made to him to remove doubts or elucidate ob- securities. The second volume is literally a posthumous production, the materials of which have been selected and arranged according to the expressed design of the writer, or when that was wanting, pursuant to the most probable conjecture.
Hence have arisen in some few instances, an apparent confusion or involution of facts and dates, which to dis- entangle or evolve, requires it is believed merely a little
:
8
ADVERTISEMENT.
attention :- and also in two or three instances, the repe- tition of the same circumstances or ideas, in the same, or nearly the same language. These are indeed blem- ishes, but such as, it is conceived, cannot materially detract from the gratification and instruction to be, it is hoped, derived from the perusal of the work. Literal and ver- bal errours will occur to the reader ; in general, however, not of a nature to mislead or embarrass him. A table of errata concludes the present volume.
The editor begs leave to submit the work, now com- plete, to the kind and candid consideration of the publick.
NEW YORK, February, 1840.
9
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HISTORY OF NEW YORK.
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CHAPTER I.
Capture of Ticonderoga-Ethan Allen-Arnold-Montgomery -His letters.
THE controversies between New York and New Hampshire have been noticed in preceding pages,* but when the great struggle between the colonies and Great Britain had arrived at a crisis which superseded in the minds of the leading men of New York all other considerations, Tryon was placed in the position of an enemy to both the contending parties. The contest between England and America had another effect upon this quarrel for acres : many of those claiming under New York became open enemies to the general cause of liberty, and of course their in- fluence in urging the claims of that province to the New Hamp- shire grants ceased.
1775 As soon as open hostilities had commenced at Lexing- ton, certain persons at Hartford formed a design upon the fortress of Ticonderoga, and being joined by Ethan Allen and others of Massachusetts, they turned their thoughts and steps to Bennington, where they knew men were to be found ready to start upon a dangerous enterprize. On their arrival, a council was called, and Allen assumed, or was appointed, the leader. He despatched scouts to the northward to cut off communication be- tween Canada and the object at which they aimed, and then marched to Castleton, where they arrived on the evening of the 7th of May, 1775. Here they decided on their plan of operations. A party of thirty men was to march to the head of the lake and seize Major Skene, the son of the proprietor, who was then in England, and from whom the spot now called Whitehall was
* Vol. I, chap. 27, 20, 31.
VOL. II.
2
10
CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA.
then denominated Skenesborough. This party was to seize all the inhabitants and conduct them to the place Allen had fixed on for embarkation. As the main body was preparing to move to the lake, Benedict Arnold arrived with a commission from the Mas- sachusetts committee of safety, to raise men and proceed to the capture of Ticonderoga, unconscious of the previous movements in Connecticut and the Green Mountains. Arnold had appointed officers to enlist men for this object, but bearing of the previous movement, hastened on, thinking to take command by virtue of his commission from Massachusetts : this suited the disposition neither of Allen or his followers ; and Arnold, finding that the men refused to follow any other than the leader of their choice, agreed to join as a volunteer.
The whole force, amounting to 230, pushed for the shore of the lake opposite Ticonderoga, and were fortunate enough to find a boy for a guide, the son of a farmer, who was in the habit of crossing the lake in his father's boat to play with the lads of his own age belonging to the garrison, and who by this means was familiar with every path leading to the fortress. Nathan Beman, (this was the boy's name,) was permitted by his father to undertake the service ; and Allen proceeded to achieve the conquest of the place which had repulsed the flower of the British soldiery under Abercrom- bie, with a slaughter of ten times the whole number that now prepared to capture it. I will let Allen tell in his own way, the result of this expedition.
" The first systematical and bloody attempt at Lexington, to enslave America, thoroughily electrified my mind, and fully de- termined me to take a part with my country. And while I was wishing for an opportunity to signalize myself in its behalf, direc- tions were privately sent to me from the then colony, now state of Connecticut, to raise the Green Mountain Boys, and, if possible, with them to surprise and take the fortress of Ticonderoga. This enterprize I cheerfully undertook ; and after first guarding all the several passes that lead thither, to cut off all intelligence between the garrison and the country, made a forced march from Ben- " nington, and arrived at the lake opposite Ticonderoga, on the evening of the 9th day of May, 1775, with 230 valiant Green Mountain Boys; and it was with the utmost difficulty that I pro- cured boats to cross the lake. However, I landed eighty-thrce men near the garrison, and sent the boats back for the rear guard commanded by Colonel Seth Warner ; but the day began to dawn, and I found myself necessitated to attack the fort before the rear could cross the lake ; and as it was hazardous, I harrangued the officers and soldiers in the manner following : " Friends and fellow soldiers -- You have for a number of years past been a scourge and terror to arbitrary powers. Your valour has been famed abroad,
P
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11
CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA.
and acknowledged, as appears by the advice and orders to me from the general assembly of Connecticut, to surprise and take the garrison now before us. I now propose to advance before you, and in person conduct you through the wicket gate ; for we must this morning either quit our pretentions to valour, or possess our- selves of this fortress in a few minutes ; and inasmuch as it is a desperate attempt, which none but the bravest of men dare under- take, I do not urge it on contrary to his will. You that will undertake voluntarily, poise your firelock."
" The men being at this time drawn up in three ranks, each poised luis firelock. I ordered them to face to the right ; and at the head of the centre file marched them immediately to the wicket gate aforesaid, where I found a sentry posted, who instantly snapped his fusee at me. I ran immediately towards him, and he retreated through the covered way into the parade within the garrison, gave a halloo, and ran under a bomb proof. My party who followed me into the fort, I formed on the parade in such a manner, as to face the barracks which faced each other. The garrison being asleep, except the sentries, we gave three huzzas, which greatly surprised them. One of the sentries made a pass at one of my officers with a charged bayonet, and slightly wounded him. My first thought was to kill him with my sword, but in an instant I altered the design and fury of the blow to a slight cut on the side of the head ; upon which he dropped his gun, and asked quarters, which I readily granted him ; and demanded the place where the commanding officer kept. He showed me a pair of stairs in the front of the garrison, which led to a second story in said barracks, to which I immediately repaired, and ordered the commander, Captain Delaplace, to come forth instantly, or I would sacrifice the whole garrison : at which time the captain came immediately to the door with his breeches in his hand, when I ordered him to deliver to me the fort instantly ; he asked me by what authority I demanded it. I answered him, 'in the name of the great Jehovair, and the Continental Congress.' The authority of congress being very little known at that time, he. began to speak again, but I in- terrupted him, and with my drawn sword near his head again demanded an immediate surrender of the garrison ; with which he then complied, and ordered his men to be forthwith paraded without arms, as he had given up the garrison. In the meantime some of my officers had given orders, and in consequence thereof, sundry of the barrack doors were beat down, and about one third of the garrison imprisoned, which consisted of said commander, a Lieutenant Feltham, a conductor of artillery, a gunner, two ser- geants, and forty-four rank and file ; about one hundred pieces of cannon, one thirteen inch mortar, and a number of swivels. This
1
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12.
ETHAN ALLEN.
surprise was carried into execution in the grey of the morning of the 10th of May, 1775."
.
The prisoners were one captain, one lieutenant, and forty-eight non-commissioned officers and privates, besides non-combatants ; they were sent to Hartford for safe keeping. One hundred and twenty pieces of cannon, with mortars, swivels, small arms and stores, were made prize of.
Seth Warner, who led the second division of Allen's army, was despatched to seize Crown Point, which he effected, the place being only garrisoned by a sergeant and eleven men, who were taken with sixty cannon, and of course some small arms and stores.
1
Arnold again attempted to take command, but Allen and his men resisted, and after the party that had seized Major Skene and the vessels at Skenesborough had joined the main force, they de- termined to go down the lake and make an attempt upon St. . John's. They had now a schooner and several batteaux, and Arnold, who was accustomed to the sea, had charge of the larger vessel ; Allen commanding the batteaux. Arnold arrived first at the point of destination, took the garrison by surprise, (a sergeant and twelve men,) and secured them with a sloop of seventy tons, mounting two brass six pounders. After securing the stores and destroying such things as he could not bring off, the future British general sailed triumphantly up the lake and met Allen and his detachment, who could only join in triumph, salutes and congratulations. Allen, however, was determined to perse- vere, and he pushed on with design to hold possession of St. John's : with this intention, he landed and proceeded about a mile, when he was driven back to his boats with the loss of three of his men taken prisoners.
=
Allen returned to Ticonderoga, to the command of which he was commissioned by the authorities that were constituted by the people of Massachusetts and Connecticut. Arnold was stationed at Crown Point and had command of the fleet.
Allen now contemplated the conquest of Canada, and had the * merit of first suggesting what was soon after adopted as a national measure. Colonel Hinman, arriving at Ticonderoga with troops from Connecticut, the command of the place was yielded to him.
General Schuyler made use of Allen as a missionary, not of religion, but policy, among the Canadians and the Indians of that country, and he executed his mission at least to his own satisfac- tion, being convinced that if the Americans could advance in force, the people of the country would join them.
When General Montgomery, by Schuyler's illness, was obliged to take the command of the army designed for Canada, Allen was sent by Schuyler to raise a force of Canadians, and succeeded so
13
BENEDICT ARNOLD.
far as to have 250 men under arms and at his command ; with these he avowed to General Montgomery his intention of joining him to assist in the reduction of St. Johns, but while on his march up the St. Lawrence, having arrived opposite Montreal, he was induced either by the persuasion of a Major Brown who met him there, or by his own vanity and love of adventure, to undertake the capture of Montreal independently of Montgomery, whose orders he ought to have solicited and obeyed. According to the plan digested by Brown and Allen, the first was to cross above and the second be- low the town and make a simultaneous attack; Brown had 200 Americans : Allen crossed the river with eighty Canadians and thirty Americans, in canoes, on the night of the 24th of Septem- ber, and in the morning looked in vain for Brown's signal for attack. Finding that his consort had failed, Allen would willingly have recrossed the St. Lawrence, but it was too late. The British in the town had notice of his situation, and soon poured out upon him an overwhelming force of regular troops, Canadians and In- dians : after a skirmish, and the desertion of all his men but thirty-eight, Allen agreed to surrender upon " honourable terms." They were marched as prisoners into the town they had captured in anticipation, and Allen was received by General Prescott, the commanding officer, with language and treatment unworthy of any gentleman. After asking Allen if he was the man who took Ti- conderoga, and being answered in the affirmative, he threatened his prisoner a halter at Tyburn, and sent him in irons on board a vessel of war to be transported to England.
The appointment of Benedict Arnold as a colonel in the con- tinental army, and the choice made of him by General Washing- ton to co-operate in the attack on Quebec, which was intended to be conducted by General Schuyler, makes him so prominent an object that we must look back upon his previous history.
He was the son of Benedict Arnold, a cooper by trade, who emigrated to Norwich, in Connecticut, from Rhode Island, in the year 1730, and having accumulated property, engaged in the West India trade, and marrying, became in process of time the father of a man who has stamped his name indelibly on the pages of our history, as that of a gallant soldier and an unprincipled traitor.
Benedict the second, was born at Norwich, on the 3d of January, 1740. His father, then in successful trade, gave him as good an education as the place afforded ; and his father dying while he was yet a minor, he was apprenticed to two druggists. Young Arnold was a source of more trouble than pleasure or profit. He was noted for acts of daring, of perfidy and cruelty, as far as such qualities can be seen in boyhood. Tired of exhibiting his propen- sities for mischief on so small a scale, he, at the age of sixteen
14
1
BENEDICT ARNOLD.
years of age, ran away, and enlisted for a soldier. His mother's distress caused an application for his discharge, which was success- ful, but charmed with companions who would acknowledge his superiority, and with a licence suited to his-perverted faculties, he again absconded and joined the troops destined for Lake Cham- plain, where he became acquainted with the scenes of his future varied adventures. From this engagement he deserted, and fled back to Norwich-thus his first act of treason and flight from the colours he had engaged to fight under, was against George II, the grandfather of the master under whose standard he subsequently carried fire and sword into his native country.
He was received and protected by his masters, who sheltered him from the punishment his desertion merited ; but his conduct was a continued source of disgust to them, and of misery to his . mother, whose days were probably shortened, as well as embittered by his present conduct and her anticipations of the future. Happily she could not imagine the amount of his future infamy.
He, however, served out his time and commenced business as a druggist in New Haven. The slow increase of property could not content this grasping youth : he commenced trading to the West Indies, and from a port long noted for shipments of horses and mules to that market, Arnold carried on a profitable traffick, oc- casionally visiting Canada in the way of trade, and occasionally making voyages to the West India Island and commanding his own vessels. He is described by Mr. Sparks, as " turbulent, impetuous, presuming, and unprincipled." He was engaged in quarrels perpetually. That he should be a smuggler followed of course, and when informed against by a sailor, such was the pub- lick opinion of English custom house regulations and acts of par- liament, taxing the colonial trade, that Arnold with impunity in- flicted lashes on the informer at the publick whipping post, and banished him from New Haven.
Arnold's bold, not to say audacious character, with the qualities which marked him as a leader in whatever was dangerous, so far ontweighed his evil qualities and bad reputation as a man in the eyes of the military portion of the inhabitants of New Haven, that he was chosen captain of one of the independent companies, called the Governour's Guards ; and when the stirring news of the battle of Lexington arrived, Captain Arnold withont difficulty called out sixty volunteers from the guards and the students of the college, ready to march for the scene of strife. Arnold's troops had fire arms but no ammunition, and a refusal was returned from the select men to his demand for powder and ball. Drawing up his volun- teers in battle array, the captain sent word that if the keys of the magazine were not delivered to him, he would break down the doors and help himself. The threat produced the requisite am-
15
BENEDICT ARNOLD.
munition, and Arnold and his company were among the earliest of the gathering at Cambridge.
Scarcely had he arrived before Boston, when he proposed to the Massachusetts committee of safety, an expedition for the sur- prise of Ticonderoga, a place well known to him, when he, as a private soldier in the king's service, made one of its garrison. His plan was seen to be feasible, and he was on the 3d of May, com- missioned as colonel in the service of the province and appointed to command 400 men, for the especial purpose proposed by him. Furnished with money, ammunition, and authority to draw on the committee for the costs of stores and provisions for his troops, Colonel Arnold proceeded to Stockbridge for the purpose of en- listing men, when to his great chagrin he learned that men from Connecticut, had already gone into the Hampshire Grants to raise the Green Mountain boys for the same point of attack. Arnold appointed officers to recruit for him, but with his usual impetuosity pushed on, and overtook Ethan Allen and his organized force at Castleton : at once he showed his commission and claimed com- mand : but Ethan was a match for Benedict on such an occasion, and his mountaineers refused to follow any other than their own chosen leader. Arnold submitted to necessity and joined the ex- pedition as a volunteer. I have already given the result : Arnold entered the fortress side by side with the conqueror : but the post once in possession, he again demanded the command. Allen was as decided in denial as Arnold could be in requiring, and the Connecticut committee was appealed to, who immediately appointed Colonel Allen commandant of the conquered post and its de- pendencies.
Arnold again with an ill-grace submitted ; but four days after the surrender, his own enlisted followers arrived at Ticonderoga by the way of Skenesborough, (now Whitehall) where they had captured a schooner belonging to the British Major Skene, which brought them triumphantly down the lake : with this schooner and these men, Arnold again had a command and on an element fami- liar to him : he pushed down to St. John's, surprised the garrison, a sergeant and twelve men, captured a king's sloop and four bat- teaux, which loading with stores from the fort, he carried to Ticon- deroga. In this he anticipated Allen, whom he met on the way to St. John's. Crown Point had fallen into the hands of Seth War- ner, and thus Lake Champlain with its forts, once so formidable and fatal to well appointed British armies, fell into the hands of a few daring undisciplined Americans.
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