USA > New York > Kings County > Williamsburgh > A history of the city of Brooklyn : including the old town and village of Brooklyn, the town of Bushwick, and the village and city of Williamsburgh > Part 29
USA > New York > Kings County > Bushwick > A history of the city of Brooklyn : including the old town and village of Brooklyn, the town of Bushwick, and the village and city of Williamsburgh > Part 29
USA > New York > Kings County > Brooklyn > A history of the city of Brooklyn : including the old town and village of Brooklyn, the town of Bushwick, and the village and city of Williamsburgh > Part 29
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Dutch church in Fulton street, as has been erroneously stated by Lossing and Onder- donk, which was merely the alarm-post of the American army) that the council of war was held which determined upon the retreat, and from which the orders for that movement were promulgated. This is on the authority of Colonel Fish, the father of Governor Hamilton Fish, and one of Washington's military family, who, in 1824, during Lafayette's visit to Brooklyn, called the attention of the distinguished visitor to the fact, and designated the very positions in the room occupied by the members of that council.
1 Proceedings of a Council of War held at Headquarters at Brooklyn, August 29th, 1776. (Onderdonk, sec. 161; Force's American Archives, fifth series, i. 1246.) This council was composed of His Excellency General Washington ; Major-Generals Putnam and Spencer ; Brigadier-Generals Mifflin, McDougal, Parsons, Scott, Wadsworth, and Fellows.
2 Colonel Smallwood's letter, and Colonel Hazlet's letter to Thomas Rodney. Onder- donk, sec. 809.
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HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.
with heavy rain and an adverse wind, rendered the sail-boats of little use ; but, by eleven, the northeast wind, which had prevailed for three days, died away, the surface of the water became smooth, and with a southwest breeze favoring, both the sail and row boats were able to cross the river full laden.
By ten o'clock the troops began to move from the lines ; and as each regiment left its position, the remaining troops moved to the right and left and filled up the vacancies.1 Washington, taking his position at the ferry stairs, at the foot of Fulton street, Brooklyn, superintended the embarkation ; and the whole movement was con- ducted with such order and quiet, that it failed to attract the notice of the British sentinels. The intense darkness of the night, and the thick fog which had settled down over every thing, favored the patriot hosts. At a little past midnight they were suddenly startled by the deep roar of a cannon-whether from the British or Amer- ican lines no one could tell .? "The effect," says one who heard it, " was at once alarming and sublime ;" but the deepest silence
1 In Onderdonk's Rev. Reminiscences of Kings County, sec. 820, will be found an interesting account of the battle by James S. Martin of Connecticut. He thus speaks of the retreat : "We were strictly enjoined not to speak, or even cough, while on the march. All orders were given from officer to officer, and communicated to the men in whispers. What such secrecy could mean we could not divine. We marched off in the same way we had come on the island, forming various conjectures among ourselves as to our destination." A correspondent in the Independent (Boston) Chronicle, Sept. 19, "76, says of the retreat : " We went over with boats about 7 o'clock. The brigades were ordered to be in readiness with bag and baggage to march, but knew not where or for what ; the 2d did not know where the 1st had gone, nor the 3d the 2d. The last marched off at the firing of the 3 o'clock (British) gun on Friday morning. The night was remark- ably still, the water smooth as glass, so that all our boats went over safe, though many were but about 3 inches out of water. At sunrise a great fog came up. We left half a dozen large guns. 3 or 4 men were missing who came off in a batteau. On Friday or Saturday the British vessels came up to the desired place."-Onderdonk's Rev. Rem. Kings County, sec. 821.
Statement of Samuel Mills of Jamaica, L. I., a private in Colonel Lasher's First New York regiment : " When it was known that the Americans were retreating, the grena- diers (of which there were 120 in the regiment) were stationed at regular distances in- side the American lines, each one having 6 hand-grenades besides their other arms. In the afternoon and evening, previous to crossing over to New York, the soldiers were continually marching and countermarching ; one regiment would march up and two down ; one up and two down : so that the troops were kept in ignorance of what the final move would be, but generally supposed that an attack of the British would take place the next day."
2 Graydon's Memoirs, 147.
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HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.
ensued, and the retreat went bravely on. As the night wore away the tide was turning and a northeast wind began to rise, yet a large proportion of the troops had not been transported over the river. Fearful of delay, Washington sent his aide-de-camp, Colonel Alexander Scammel, to hasten the troops who were on the march. Scammel, by mistake, communicated the order to General Mifflin, who, although somewhat surprised, obeyed, and evacuated the lines with his whole force. Their arrival at the ferry, where several regiments were already waiting to embark, created much alarm and confusion.1 Sharp words passed between Washington and Mifflin in the annoyance of the moment. " It's a dreadful mistake," said Washington, when he found out that it was Scammel's blunder, "and unless the troops can regain their posts before their absence is discovered by the enemy, the most disastrous consequences are to be apprehended." With heroic cheerfulness Mifflin's troops immediately returned to the lines, and remained there for several hours, until a second order, when they " joyfully bid those trenches a long adieu."? Washington, who, since the morning of the 27th, had scarcely left the lines on Long Island, and for forty-eight hours preceding that had hardly been off his horse or closed his eyes, embarked with the last company.
1 It is related, on the authority of Col. Fish, one of Washington's aids, Judge Daggett of New Haven, and others, that the crowd and confusion among the troops who were, at this juncture, huddled on the beach, was extreme, and bordered on a panic ; and that Washington, annoyed and alarmed at its probable consequences, sprang to the side of a boat into which the men were crowding, and, holding aloft a large stone with both hands, ordered them, with an impassioned oath, to leave the boat instanter, or he would "sink it to hell." It is needless to say that the towering figure and wrathful eye of their revered general restored the scared troops to their senses, and the embar- kation proceeded with more order than before.
2 Colonel Hand's Account of the Retreat : "In the evening of the 29th of August, 1776, with several other commanding officers of corps, I received orders to attend Major-General Mifflin. When assembled, General Mifflin informed us that, in conse- quence of the determination of a board of general officers, the evacuation of Long Isl- and, where we then were, was to be attempted that night; that the commander-in- chief had honored him with the command of the covering-party, and that our corps were to be employed in that service. He then assigned us our several stations which we were to occupy as soon as it was dark, and pointed out Brooklyn church as an alarm- post, to which the whole were to repair and unitedly oppose the enemy, in case they discovered our movement and made an attack in consequence. My regiment was posted in a redoubt on the left, and in the lines ou the right of the great road below Brooklyn church. Captain Henry Miller commanded in the redoubt. Part of a regi-
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HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.
Meanwhile, a Mrs. John Rapalje, living near the ferry at Brooklyn, and whose husband had been sent into the interior of New Jersey on suspicion of Toryism, shrewdly surmised, from the accumulation of boats on the beach and other movements which came within her
ment of the Flying Camp of the State of New York were, in the beginning of the night, posted by me. They showed so much uneasiness at their station, that I petitioned General Mifflin to suffer them to march off, lest they might communicate the panic with which they were seized to my people. The general granted my request, and they marched off accordingly. After that nothing remarkable happened at my post till about two o'clock in the morning, when Alexander Scammell, since Adjutant- General, who that day acted as A. D. C. to the commander-in-chief, came from the left, inquiring for General Mifflin, who happened to be with me at the time. Scammell told him that the boats were waiting, and the commander-in-chief anxious for the arrival of the troops at the ferry. General Mifflin said he thought he must be mis- taken ; that he did not imagine the general could mean the troops he immediately commanded. Scammell replied he was not mistaken ; adding that he came from the extreme left, and had ordered all the troops he had met to march ; that in consequence they were then in motion, and that he would go on to give the same orders. General Mifflin then ordered me to call in my advanced pickets and sentinels, to collect and form my regiment, and to march as soon as possible, and quitted me. Having marched into the great road leading to the church, I fell in with the troops returning from the left of the line. Having arrived at the left of the church, I halted to take up my camp equipage, which, in the course of the night, I had carried there by a small party. General Mifflin came up at the instant, and asked the reason of the halt. I told him, and he seemed very much displeased, and exclaimed : 'Damn your pots and kettles, I wish the devil had them ; march on!' I obeyed, but had not gone far before I per- ceived the front had halted, and hastening to inquire the cause, I met the commander- in-chief, who perceived me, and said, 'Is not that Colonel Hand ?' I replied in the affirmative. His Excellency said he was surprised at me in particular ; that he did not suppose I would have abandoned my post. I answered that I had not abandoned it ; that I had marched by order of my immediate commanding officer. He said it was impossible. I told him I hoped, if I could satisfy him I had the orders of General Mifflin, he would not think me particularly to blame. He said he undoubtedly would not. General Mifflin then coming up, and asking what the matter was, his Excellency said, ' Good God ! General Mifflin, I am afraid you have ruined us by so unseasonably withdrawing the troops from the lines.' General Mifflin replied, with some warmth, 'I did it by your order.' His Excellency declared it could not be. Gen. Mifflin swore, ' By God, I did,' and asked : 'Did Scammel act as an A. D. C. for the day, or did he not ?' His Excellency acknowledged he did. 'Then,' said Mifflin, 'I had orders through him.' The general replied it was a dreadful mistake, and informed him that matters were in much confusion at the ferry, and unless we could resume our posts before the enemy discovered we had left them, in all probability the most disagreeable consequences would follow. We immediately returned, and had the good fortune to recover our former stations and keep them for some hours longer, without the enemy perceiving what was going forward."
Colonel Tallmadge: " As the dawn approached, those of us who remained in the trenches became very anxious for our safety, at which time there were several regi- ments still on duty, and a dense fog began to rise and seemed to settle over both encampments. So dense was the atmosphere that a man could not be discerned six
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HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.
observation, that a retreat had been decided upon by the Ameri- cans. With vengeful readiness, therefore, she secretly sent her slave, on the evening previous, to inform the British commander . of the facts. The negro, however, first came upon a Hessian guard, who, not understanding his language, and believing him to be a spy, detained him until morning, when he was handed over to a British officer who was making his round of inspection at daylight. Howe was astonished at the negro's story. A company, under Captain Montressor, was detached to reconnoitre the Ameri- can works, which they found deserted.1 Detachments hurried off in hot pursuit ; but they only reached the ferry in time to see the heavily-laden rear boats of the retreating army disappear in the impenetrable fog which yet hung over the river.2 Nobly had the
yards off. When the sun rose we had orders to leave the lines, but before we reached the ferry the regiment was ordered back again. Colonel Chester faced about and re- turned to the lines, where the regiment tarried till the sun had risen; but the fog remained as dense as ever. Finally a second order came, and we joyfully bade those trenches a long adieu. When we reached Brooklyn ferry the boats had not yet returned from their last trip, but they soon appeared. I think I saw General Wash- ington on the ferry-stairs when I stepped into one of the last boats. I left my horse at the ferry, tied to a post. The troops having all safely reached New York, and the fog continuing thick as ever, I got leave to return, with a crew of volunteers, for my favorite horse. I had got off with him some distance into the river before the enemy appeared in Brooklyn. As soon as they reached the ferry we were saluted merrily from their musketry, and finally by their field-pieces. When the enemy had taken possession of the heights opposite the city of New York they commenced firing from the artillery, and the fleet pretty soon were in motion to take possession of those waters."
1 A British account of the battle, in the Parliamentary Register, vol. xiii., says : "They were reconnoitring before daybreak, and at four o'clock discovered the lines were evacuated. The pickets marched twenty-five minutes after. General Robertson heard of the retreat at seven o'clock, and his brigade was ordered to march at eight ; but, while marching to the ferry, he was ordered towards Hell-Gate to meet Lee, reported to be landing there with an army. We were on the rear of the enemy; some were killed or taken prisoners in Brooklyn. We saw three or four boats afloat-some boats not off. The debris of their rearguard embarked about eight or nine o'clock."
The Hessian account (Max von Elking) says that the British " were astonished, on the following morning (30th), to see the lines deserted, which were immediately occupied by the Hessian regiments von Donop and von Lossberg. Col. von Heeringen, who had, in the night between the 29th and 30th, occupied a hill near the Hudson, had first discovered the desertion of the American lines, and sent Lieut. Zoll to report it to Howe. The English headquarters was so much vexed by the escape of the Amer- cans, that it deeply regretted having prevented the troops from storming the heights on the 27th."
2 Washington's letter to Congress, Aug. 31, 1776. The guns of Fort Stirling were
19
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HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.
" fishermen-soldiers of Marblehead and Salem" labored at their muffled oars during the long hours of that perilous night ; naught, save a few heavy cannon, was left behind ; none, save a few lagging marauders, were captured ; and when the fog at last rolled away, the American army was joyously moving towards the upper portions of Manhattan Island. "That retreat, in all its circumstances, was truly wonderful. Surely that fog was the shield of God's providence over those men engaged in a holy cause. If 'the stars in their courses fought against Sisera,' in the time of Deborah, these mists were the wings of the cherubim of Mercy and Hope over the Amer- icans on that occasion." 1
The British, following close upon the heels of the retreating Americans, took possession of their deserted intrenchments, which were garrisoned with English and Hessian troops, while the remain- der of the army was quartered at Bushwick, Newtown, Hell-Gate, and Flushing. Howe established his headquarters at Newtown, whence he dated his official dispatches announcing the results of the battle ; and, for the period of seven years, two months, and ten days from this time, Long Island and New York city were held in pos- session by the British.
The defeat of the American army, and its subsequent retreat from Long Island, produced results most disastrous to the patriot cause. " Our situation is truly distressing," wrote Washington, two days after the battle. "The check our detachment sustained on the twenty-seventh ultimo has dispirited too great a proportion of our troops, and filled their minds with apprehension and despair. The militia, instead of calling forth their utmost efforts to a brave and manly opposition in order to repair our losses, are dismayed, in- tractable, and impatient to return. Great numbers of them have
unspiked and turned on the boats of the retreating Americans. Three persons, who left the island last, in a batteau, fell into the enemy's hands .- N. E. Chronicle.
1 Lossing's Life of Washington, p. 282, who also says that in a letter written by the Rev. John Woodhull, of Leacock, Pa., to his wife, dated Sept. 2d, 1776, he mentions that, for almost a week previous to the battle on the 27th, the wind " had been contrary" for the British fleet, and prevented their coming up the bay. This prevalence of a northerly wind at New York, for so long a time, in August, is unprecedented. In the same letter he says, after speaking of the retreat : " A great fog favored us, the only fog that has been here for a long time."
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HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.
gone off; in some instances almost by whole regiments, by half ones, and by companies, at a time. . . . I am obliged to confess my want of confidence in the generality of the troops. Till of late, I had no doubt in my own mind of defending this place (New York city) ; nor should I have yet, if the men would do their duty ; but this despair of." And two days later he wrote again in the same desponding strain : " Our affairs have not undergone a change for the better, nor assumed a more agreeable aspect than before. The militia, under various pretences, are daily diminishing ; and in a little time, I am persuaded, their numbers will be very inconsiderable."
These gloomy forebodings, which so deeply shadowed the gen- erally buoyant and hopeful heart of the commander-in-chief, were by no means groundless. His own army, demoralized by defeat, were gradually slipping away to their homes, carrying with them, wherever they went, the panic with which they had been infected. The enemy, flushed with their late victory, had occupied and garrisoned the American works at Brooklyn; and within a week after the battle their whole force, except four thousand troops left on Staten Island, were in full occupation of Long Island. Their heavy vessels had anchored near Governor's Isl- and, within easy gunshot of the city ;1 while a forty-gun ship? had passed the American battery at Stuyvesant Point, and was anchored in Turtle Bay, on the East River, ready to act in conjunction with
1 Upon their approach, the small garrisons at Governor's Island and at Red Hook removed to the city. One man, at Governor's Island, lost an arm, by a ball from a British ship, while embarking.
2 The Rose, which had taken this position the night after the battle. General John- son, who incorrectly states the date as the 15th of September, says that she " passed up Buttermilk Channel, and anchored opposite Bushwick Creek, near the shore. On the 16th (?) the Americans brought two 32-pounders to Burnt Mill Point (Stuyvesant's Point, where the Novelty Ironworks now stand), and towards night commenced firing upon the Rose. They fired eighteen shots, and hulled the frigate with seventeen balls, and would have sunk her if daylight had not shut in. The first shot struck her railing at the gangway, and killed a cow taken from Jacob Polhemus, who was on board and saw his cow shot. The frigate removed at night, and anchored between Blackwell's and Long Island, where her hull was protected by the land."
Lossing says that Major Crane of the artillery, acting under orders from Washing ton, posted two guns upon the high bank at Forty-sixth street, New York, with which he annoyed the frigate, as above described.
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HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.
several other British ships already in the Sound. Their movements were such as to induce the belief that they intended shortly to make an attack upon the city, which Washington foresaw could not be successfully defended in the present dispirited condition of his troops, scantily supplied as they were with provisions, clothes, and ammunition. The counsels and opinions which agitated the Ameri- can camp, at this critical juncture of affairs, were diverse. Suffice it to say that the untoward circumstances which surrounded them, as well as the increased activity of the enemy, combined to urge them to a prompt retreat from the city. Of this retreat, which forms so interesting a link in the history of our Revolution, we shall not speak at length. Suffice it to say that on the 13th of Septem- ber the main body of the army moved towards Mount Washington and Kingsbridge, leaving a rearguard of four thousand men, under General Putnam, in the city. On the 16th Washington established his headquarters at the Morris mansion on Harlem Heights.
On the 15th occurred the occupation of New York island by the British, which is thus described by Gen. Jeremiah Johnson, an eye- witness : "In the evening of the 14th,1 the Phoenix and Dutchess of Gordon frigates passed New York, with a large number of batteaux : the frigates anchored opposite Kip's Bay,? where the Rose joined them. The batteaux were placed near the (Long Island) shore, at the house of Peter Kolyer.8 Early on the morning of the 15th, a division of the British army marched from Brooklyn, through Bushwick, to the shore at Mr. Kolyer's, where they embarked on board of the bat- teaux at high-water. About 7 o'clock the ships opened a heavy fire of round and grape shot upon the shore, to scour off the enemy. The firing continued an hour and a half: when the leading boats passed the ships, the firing ceased. The boats passed to the shore, and all the troops landed in safety. We may be incorrect as to dates, but the facts are as stated. I saw the scene. It was a fine morning, and the spectacle was sublime. Thomas Skillman, of Bushwick, and John Vandervoort, and Jacob Bloom, of Brook- lyn, with their families, were at Kip's Bay, in the house of Mr.
1 We correct Gen. Johnson's dates.
2 Foot of 34th street, New York.
8 On site now occupied by residence of Mr. Samuel Sneeden, Greenpoint.
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HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.
Kip, when the cannonading of the three British frigates, which lay opposite the house, commenced. The cannon-balls were driven through the house. This induced them to take to the cellar for safety, where they were out of danger. After the landing the men were sent to prison in New York, and the next day their families returned to Long Island. When the troops landed, a line was formed across the island to the North River, to inclose the Americans in New York. 'In vain is the net of the fowler spread in the sight of any bird :' the American rear-guard had escaped."
From a careful consideration of the facts connected with the " Battle of Brooklyn," it is evident,
1. That (as we have already remarked, ante, 263), the American exterior line of defence was too much extended to admit of its being held against the enemy, except as a mere skirmish-line.
2. That the troops occupying this line should have been re- enforced (which, perhaps, was impracticable and unadvisable, under the circumstances), or else seasonably recalled to the interior forti- fied lines, which their presence would have considerably strength- ened.
3. That, in the absence of any orders of recall, and without re- enforcements, these raw and inexperienced troops, supposing that they were placed there to fight, and knowing nothing of the art of war except to fight right on, committed the serious mistake of mak- ing a too prolonged stand against the overwhelming odds which confronted them.
4. That the criminal oversight of the commanding general, or the defection of certain detached troops, or both, which left the Jamaica Pass and road unguarded, and the approach of the British unob- served and unheralded, enabled the latter to flank, surround, and defeat the Americans by detail, with the greatest ease. The "bat- tle," so called, was, in fact, simply a series of unconnected skirmishes -of heroic, but unavailing, efforts on the part of these untrained yeomen to maintain isolated positions which had been hopelessly lost before the fighting began. To the military incapacity of Gen. Putnam, who, although brave and well-meaning, possessed neither
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HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.
the subordination to obey the orders with whose execution he was intrusted, the skill to carry out the proposed plans of defence, or the ordinary common sense which he might reasonably have been ex- pected to display in the face of an approaching enemy, we may justly attribute the deplorable results of this battle. In this con- nection we cannot forbear quoting the well-considered and forcible remarks of HENRY B. DAWSON, Esq., our ablest military historical writer, who says1 in regard to this very point :
" It is unquestionably the duty of the commander of a district to provide, not only the means of securing intelligence of every move- ment of his enemy, but for the protection of his position ; and, espe- cially when any peculiar pass, or hill, or bridge between him and the enemy would secure advantages to that enemy which would be dangerous to him, it is the unquestionable duty of the commander to occupy such position in force ; or, in case he neglects it, the dis- grace is his, and the responsibility for any evil effects arising from such neglect of duty devolves upon him. In fact, the commander is a sentinel whom the commander-in-chief or the government has placed to guard the interests of the people, and, like any other senti- nel, he cannot sleep on his post without committing one of the high- est crimes known to the military law.
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