USA > New York > New York City > A sketch of Fraunces Tavern and those connected with its history > Part 2
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tired in 1785 when he sold the Tavern and became steward to President Washington at what was then the "White House" in New York, known as the Franklin Mansion located at No. 3 Cherry Street, near the east side of one of the Brooklyn Bridge piers in the neighborhood of the present Franklin Square. He also at this time opened a new tavern at No. 40 Cortlandt Street which was managed by his wife, where various enter- tainments were held until November, 1790, after which he removed to business for a brief period to a house in Broad Street, near the Exchange which was his last location in New York.
One day he is said to have placed before the President a fine shad from the first catch of the season. The latter inquired the price. "Three dollars," replied the steward. "Take it away!" returned Washington scandalized; "it shall never be said that the President indulges in luxuries so expensive as this." Yet, on the other hand, Steward Fraunces kept the table well supplied with the popular beverages of the day, which were con- sidered permissible even though an "early" shad was not. Fraunces continued as Washington's Steward to Philadelphia, when Congress reassembled there on the first Monday in December, 1790, and remained so until 1794 or later, as shown by a receipt signed by him which is now on exhibition at the Tavern. All this would seem to indicate that Washi- ington held him in high esteem, else why would he not, like others tem- porarily residing in New York, have brought his head servants from his Virginia mansion? The fact that Fraunces was so distinguished might seem to corroborate the story of Pheobe Fraunces' loyalty in 1776 and the General's gratitude. Fraunces had three daughters and a son, and some of his descendants are buried in Trinity Church Yard.
Several incidents connected the Tavern with the Revolution, for on April 22, 1774, the Sons of Liberty and the Vigilance Committee met there and the result of the meeting was that an attack was made upon . the ship "London," commanded by Captain Chambers, which had just arrived at the East India Company's wharf nearby and the tea chests in the cargo broken open and contents thrown overboard, for which "tea party" New York has as yet received little credit.
As the troubles between king and colonies became more and more serious and demonstrative, Fraunces Tavern was the headquarters of
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opposition to the crown, and a favorite meeting place of the active patriots of those days.
On May 14, 1774, in consequence of the news from England that the Port of Boston was to be closed on June first, a meeting of merchants assembled there to consider the question of uniting with the other colonies in a call for a Congress of the Colonies. The attendance proved so great that an adjournment was made to the Merchants Coffee House, where a Committee of Correspondence consisting of fifty merchants was appointed, who on May 23 issued the famous letter in which the idea of a union of the Colonies was first expressed, which resulted in the First Continental Congress.
On August 25, 1774, the Massachusetts delegates to the Continental Congress were entertained by the New York delegates in the Chamber of the Royal Exchange, which was followed by a banquet in the "Long Room" at Fraunces Tavern. This is referred to in the Diary of John Adams as "the most splendid dinner I ever saw; a profusion of rich dishes, etc."
On May 6, 1775, John Adams and the Massachusetts delegates to the Second Continental Congress stopped there over night on their way to Philadelphia, when they were received with the greatest enthusiasm and attention.
On August 23, 1775, the building was struck by a shot from the British man of war, "Asia," and Philip Freneau made the occasion memorable in these lines:
"Scarce a broadside was ended 'till another began again --- By Jove! it was nothing but Fire away Flannagan!
Some thought him saluting his Sally's and Nancy's
Till he drove a round shot through the roof of Sam Francis."
The Third Provincial Congress met here from May 18 to June 30, 1776, and the following bill is in State Records as paid for an entertain- ment :
"The Honorable Provincial Congress, Dr., to Samuel Fraunces *- New York.
* This is the first record, the writer finds of his name being spelled Fraunees, prior to this it had appeared as Francis.
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14th June, 1776.
To an Entertainment.
£45. 0.0
To 6 Dozn & 6 Bottles of Madeira 23. 8.0
To 2 & 6 Port. 9. 0.0
To Porter 23/ --- Cyder 37/ Spruce 4/6. 4. 9.6
To Sangary 66/-To do. 18/ -- Punch 12/
4.16.0
To Madeira 12/- Bitters 3/- 0.15.0
To Lights 8/- Wine Glasses broken 16/ 1. 4.6
To 4 Wine Decanters 8/- 2 Water Decanters 14/0 1. 2.0
To a Chainie Pudding Dish 12/- Tumblers 14/ -. 1. 6.0
£O1. 1.0
(This account was audited and paid, June 25, 1776.)"
It seems very probable that this bill is for the "elegant entertainment" writers refer to as June 18, 1776, which was given to General Washington and his suite, the general and staff officers, and the commanding officers of the different regiments in and near the city by the Provincial Con- gress. The first toast on this occasion was Congress, the second The American Army, the third The American Navy, etc., although Inde- pendence had not yet been declared.
In July, 1776, this being a large mansion, all the window sash leads (weights) were taken from the Tavern, lead being one of the most difficult of warlike stores to procure, and about one hundred tons were gathered in the city, which proved invaluable at Forts Montgomery and Clinton later.
No doubt, during the British occupation, it was the scene of many convivial gatherings and entertainments given by the British Troops and. that some of their officers had quarters there. One writer alludes to it as the "Tavern near the Ferry, at which, for seven years, the Officers of the British Army, including poor Jolin André, had Gloried and drunk deep."
On November 25, 1783, the first celebration of Evacuation Day took place, the occasion being a public dinner given by Governor Clinton to General Washington, the Commander-in-Chief and the General Officers. Fraunces was then again in possession of the Tavern and without doubt the old sign of the "Queens Head" bearing the portrait of Queen Char- lotte, was taken down and consigned to the rubbish heap in some neigh-
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boring alley, and the place has since been known as Fraunces Tavern. Writers say Washington made his headquarters there and that the build- ing was illuminated in the evening. On this occasion the memorable thir- teen toasts were drunk, the first being to "The United States of America" and the last" May the Remembrance of THIS DAY be a Lesson to Princes;" and "The New York Gazette" of November 26, 1783, gives a full account of the parade and ceremonies of the day before and the public dinner given to the Commander-in-Chief at Fraunces Tavern in the evening. The bill as follows:
"November 25, 1783
1944779
His Excellency, Governor Clinton to Sam'l. Fraunces, Dr.
To an Entertainment
£30 .. 4 .. 0
To 75 Bottles of Madeira at 8/
30. .
To 18 " of Claret at 10/. 9. .
To 16 " of Port at 6/.
4 . . 16. .
To 24 of Spruce at 1 /
I. . 4. .
To 24 of Porter at 3/
3 .. 12 ..
To Lights 60/ Tea and Coffee 64/
6. . 4. ..
To Brokeg
2 .. 2 ..
To Punch.
10 .. 10 ..
£97 .. 12 ..
The above bill is for an Entertainment of taking Possession of the City when the British evacuated the Southern District. Rècd. the Contents in full 2d Feby., 1784.
SAML. FRAUNCES"
There is another bill for a dinner at Cape's Tavern on Broadway, December 2, 1783, which was given by Governor Clinton in honor of the French Ambassador, the Chevalier de la Luzerne, who had just arrived from Philadelphia. General Washington, the principal officers of the Army and State, and many guests were present.
This states the exact number of diners as 120 and figuring the existing bill for good spirits, it looks as if something considerably over four quarts apiece was consumed. The bill winds up with liberal charges for broken glasses, decanters and crockery, and a closing item of "coffee for eight gentlemen."
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It has been suggested that these eight must have been the survivors of the feast, the rest being under the table.
In the evening there was a grand display of fireworks at the Bowling Green and the whole city was illuminated.
The writer has felt some remorse at digging these old bills out of State archives, for fear they might fall into the hands of some one who might hold our patriotic ancestors up as terrible examples and one can imagine his picturing a long line of wheelbarrows in lieu of taxi cabs, drawn up in front of the Tavern the morning after.
Unfortunately, drinking was quite prevalent in these olden times and of the "Good Old Madeira" 'tis said
"Not drunk is he who from the floor Can rise again and still drink more But drunk is he who prostrate lies Without the power to drink or rise."
On December 4, 1783, the memorable scene occurred in Fraunces Tavern of Washington's Farewell to his Officers. Variouswriters estimate that some forty-four of our greatest military leaders were present, including Generals Greene, Knox, Wayne, Steuben, MeDougall, Schuyler, Lincoln, Gates, Putnam, Lee, Stark, Kosciuszko, Moultrie, Hamilton and Colonel Hum- plucys, Governor Clinton, Major Fish, Charles Carroll, Colonel Tallmadge and others, and for a very interesting account of this scene we are indebted to Colonel Tallmadge, whose original diary the Sons of the Revolution now own. The occasion, however, is also described as follows by the celebrated English writer Thackeray:
"The last soldier had quitted the soil of the Republic, and the Com- mander-in-Chief proposed to leave New York for Annapolis, where Con- gress was sitting, and there resign his commission. About noon on the 4th day of December, a barge was in waiting at Whitehall Ferry to convey him across the Hudson. The chiefs of the Army assembled at a tavern near the ferry, and there the General joined them.
"Seldom as he showed his emotion outwardly, on this day he could not disguise it. He filled a glass of wine and said, "I bid you farewell with a heart full of love and gratitude and wish your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as those past have been glorious and honorable.'
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Then he drank to them. 'I cannot come to each of you to take my leave,' he said, 'but shall be obliged if each of you will come and shake mne by the hand.'
WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL TO HIS OFFICERS Long Room-Fraunces Tavern -- December 4, 1783
"General Knox, who was nearest, came forward, and the Chief, with tears in his eyes embraced him. The others came one by one to him, and took their leave without a word. A line of infantry was formed from the Tavern to the Ferry, and the General, with his officers following him, walked silently to the water. He stood up in the barge, taking off his hat and waving a farewell. And his comrades remained bareheaded on the shore until their leader's boat was out of view."
Years afterward, one of the officers present, wrote as follows: "Happy as was the occasion, prayed for as it had been by him and all the patriots, that we might at last feel that there was no enemy left in America, the triumph brought with it its sorrows, and I could hardly speak when I turned from taking my last look at him. It was extremely affecting,
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and I do not think there were ever so many broken hearts in New York as there were that night."
Washington did not again return to New York until he came to be inaugurated as First President of the United States on April 6, 1789.
In 1785 Fraunces, now having owned the Tavern for some twenty- three years, sold it for nineteen hundred and fifty pounds to George Powers, a butcher of Brooklyn, and retired to country life in New Jersey. The deed, dated April 23, states, "Samuel Fraunces, late of the City of New York, Innkeeper, but at present of the County of Monmouth, New Jersey, farmer, and Elizabeth, his wife, sell," etc .; after which time it passed through several hands .* It was then sold to Thomas Gardiner, June 22, 1801, for $7,500, whose granddaughter married the Count de Dion, and it was from her children, living in France, it was purchased by the Sons of the Revolution in 1904.
The original deeds of the de Lanceys, Samuel Fraunces and his wife Elizabeth, and other later owners, are now on exhibition in one of the cases in the museum; also photographs of carly New York records, news- papers, etc., which are interesting as confirming the early history of the Tavern.
The Long Room was frequently used for balls, lectures, etc., and as a meeting place for the St. Andrew's Society, the New York Society of the Cincinnati, the Governors of the New York Hospital, the Society of Arts and Agriculture, General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen; in fact, the Tavern appears to have taken the place at that period of the modern Delmonico's, and to have been one of the prominent places of entertainment in the city. In May, 1789, John Francis, who is supposed to have been the son of Saml. Fraunces, removed, from the "'True Amer- ican" at No. 3 Great Dock, now Pearl St., which he had opened in August, 1785, to the 'Tavern.
On February 2, 1790, the Supreme Court of the United States was opened in the City of New York, and in the evening "the Grand Jury of the United States for the District" gave a very elegant entertainment in honor of the Court at the 'Tavern, which was attended by national and city lignitaries, member of Congress, gentleman of the bar and leading
* Bought by Dr. Nicholas Romayne April 30, 1795, for £2,200 (then equivalent to $5,500). Bought by John S. Moore, June 24, 1800.
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citizens. The guests were John Jay of New York, Chief Justice, with Associate Justices William Cushing of Massachusetts, James Wilson of Pennsylvania, Robert Harrison of Maryland, and John Blair of Virginia, and John Rutledge of South Carolina, also Edmond Randolph of Vir- ginia, Attorney General of the United States.
On July 28, 1802, when Michael Little kept the Tavern, the two friends of De Witt Clinton and Col. John Swartwout met there to make arrange- ments for the duel which took place in Hoboken, N. J., on Saturday, July 31st.
The Gentlemen of the Bar of the City of New York held a meeting there on February 11, 1802.
On July 4, 1804, when kept by David Rose, the New York State Society of the Cincinnati, after their meeting at Federal Hall, held their annual banquet there, and at about this time it became known for a brief period as the Washington Hotel.
On the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the Evacuation of the City of New York on November 25, 1813, when the Tavern was kept by Rudolphus Kent, the Veteran Corps of Artillery celebrated the occasion by having a dinner there, and also on the following year.
Writer has lately learned that the New York Yacht Club was founded there in 1844, but the particular event that took place there that is of special interest to our Society was the assemblage called together by the late John Austin Stevens to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of Washington's farewell. This occasion was on December 4, 1883, and there are still several members of the Society who were present on that night. A very enjoyable and memorable evening was passed which resulted in the formal organization in the "Long Room" of the Society of the Sons of the Revolution, which had its inception at a meeting held at the New York Historical Society on February 22, 1876. A number of interesting souvenirs of this occasion can now be seen in the museum.
In 1887, a Committee composed of James Mortimer Montgomery, John Clarkson Jay and George C. Genet, were appointed to try and ar- range for the acquisition of the Tavern, but it was found impossible to do so at that time.
In 1904 Fraunces Tavern was purchased by the Sons of the Revolu- tion and the transfer of the property is duly recorded in the Registrar's
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office under the date of July 30th, and in the years 1906 and 1907 the restoration of the building was undertaken. To our late President, Frederick Samuel Tallmadge, the Society is everlastingly indebted for the funds that enabled them to undertake and complete this splendid work. (Commemorated by bronze tablet on the building.)
On December 4, 1907, the 124th anniversary of Washington's Farewell was commemorated by the formal occupation and dedication of the building by the Sons of the Revolution. This took place with imposing ceremonies and was followed by a parade to the Chamber of Commerce, where addresses were made and a collation was served.
RESTORATION.
This building, the scene of Washington's farewell to his Officers, is one of our National shrines. No worthier object could have been proposed to a patriotic Society like the Sons of the Revolution, than to preserve and restore it to the original state in which the "great farewell" took place. No known view of the Tavern has been found to exist earlier than that which appeared in Valentine's Manual of the Common Council of New York for the year 1854, where, in addition to the picture I want to call your attention to the following extract from the article written by William J. Davis:
"The City of New York has made many futile attempts to erect to the memory of Washington a suitable monument. It is already done. The preservation of Fraunces Tavern is the greatest monument that can be conceived or erected. Let the demagogue who would barter the liberties of his country for his personal aggrandizement visit it, and stand within that room where the greatest of men resigned his power, and be- came a simple farmer again, and will not that bright example bring him back to his duty again? It may become a second Mecca, to bring the faithful to behold the room in which occurred the scene of his greatness and magnanimity."
This seems to prophecy the work that our Society has undertaken and carried to completion.
Fraunces' own description of the Tavern, which appeared in the "New York Gazette and the Weekly Mercury", is as follows:
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"QUEEN'S HEAD TAVERN.
March 13, 1775-To be sold at the Merchants' Coffee House on Tues- day the 3rd of April, at noon, by public auction or at private sale any time before. The Queen's Head Tavern, near the Exchange is three stories high with tile and lead roof, has 14 fire places, a most excellent large kitchen, fine 'dry cellars, with good and convenient offices sufficient for a large family, the business above mentioned, a Merchant or any other large trade, is a corner house very open and airy and in the most complete re- pair, near the new ferry. Further particulars and a good title will be given by Samuel Frauncis, who so far from declining his present busi- ness, is determined to use ever the utmost endeavors to carry on the same, to the pleasure and satisfaction of his friends and the public in general."
In a "view of the City of New York from Brooklyn Heights, foot of Pierrepont Street, in 1798, by Monsieur C. B. Julian de St. Menin," the top of Faunces Tavern shows a gambrel or curb roof, gambreled (or, tech- nically, "hipped") also at the ends.
The great problem encountered in the restoration was what did the . building look like and of what did it consist when the historic Farewell took place within its walls? Mr. William H. Mersereau was the architect selected and to him is due a great deal of credit for the careful study he made of the subject. At the time of the purchase of the building by The Sons of the Revolution there was nothing whatever of Colonial architecture left in its appearance. The building had a modern first story and a flat roof, and even the very bricks were disguised. From a fine mansion of the time of Queen Anne it had degenerated into a common- place building like others in the vicinity, having been successively used as a warehouse, hotel with forty-six bedrooms and a saloon. In the year 1832 there had been a serious fire in the interior of the building, after which a new roof was added. In 1837 another fire occurred. In the year 1852 a very disastrous fire occurred which practically destroyed the easterly end on Pearl Street, and at this time two additional stories were put on the building and at later dates it had undergone still further changes, including the addition of a flat roof. The great question to be determined was the slope of the roof of the original mansion, which was finally dis-
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covered when the additional stories were taken off and the old roof line was found indicated in the wall of the adjoining building, and was also proven to be correct by the different size of bricks used in older days as compared with those of more modern times.
The Broad Street side had been made of yellow Dutch brick from Amsterdam and the Pearl Street side of red English brick. To properly replace and restore these two sides was a very serious problem for no similar yellow brick could be found in this country, and it was only by good luck that it was ascertained that similar 17th century bricks were being made near Rotterdam, and some fourteen thousand of them were imported in a great hurry from Holland, packed in cases, so as not to de- lay the work.
As regards the red bricks, they were obtained from old houses being torn down in Baltimore, and were fortunately accessible just at that time.
The original timbers were retained above and below the Long Room and every brick and piece of lumber was left in place. In the replace- ment, the ground floor and roof were made of steel and concrete, and the intermediate floors filled with ashes, so as to make the structure as nearly fireproof as possible. The fireplaces were restored so that the present ap- pearance is practically the same as it was in the Revolutionary period. It was necessary to replace practically all the interior woodwork of the building owing to the frequent fires and general destruction, so that the staircase, wainscoating, etc., was modelled after that of the Phillipse Manor House, now the Yonkers City Hall. The roof design was also adapted from this building, which had been built practicaly at about the same period by the same people, so that now the Tavern can be revisited by the shades of the soldiers concerned in the "great scene" that took place here on December 4, 1783.
Fraunces Tavern has never lost its name and has been open contin- uously as a house of public entertainment since 1762, having providentially escaped the great conflagrations of 1776, 1835 and 1845, which destroyed so much of New York.
It has been preserved as an historical memorial of Washington and the days of the Revolution and even as a teacher it is worth a thousand times what it cost in dollars and cents.
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SON
WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL. Fraunces Tavern, December 4, 1783. Halt-Uncover-Here once stood · When all his battle days were done The conqueror of Briton's hosts, Our Nation's father -- Washington.
He stood like some bold towering peak With crest of the eternal snows; His features like the God-carved crags On which the sunset glory glows.
A clang of swords-a clink of spurs, Was mingled with the martial tread, As comrades mustered to his call And in his presence bared the head.
These men who had defied a king And faced the iron blast of death Now stood like children 'fore their sire, Attentive and with bated breath.
Resounded salvos of the guns And cheers of triumph in the street, But like the minute 'fore the charge One might have heard their brave hearts beat.
As soared their hearts at victory, So sank they now in blank despair, For some this look will be the last Upon their Chief-their father there.
They gazed in his gray searching eyes, They caught the tremor of his lip, And, as they grasped his great brown hand, 'They felt his soul was in the grip.
This spot is sacred; not by blood, But what is purer and more dear; "Iwas here he kissed each sun-scorched check, "I'was here was shed the parting tear.
F. K.
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SONS OF THE REVOLUTION OBJECT OF THE SOCIETY
Preamble to the Constitution
WHEREAS, It has become evident from the decline of proper celebra- tion of such National holidays as the Fourth of July, Washington's Birth- day, and the like, that popular interest in the events and men of the War of the Revolution is less than in the earlier days of the Republic;
AND WHEREAS, This lack of interest is to be attributed not so much to lapse of time as to the neglect on the part of descendants of Revolutionary heroes to perform their duty of keeping before the public mind the memory of the services of their ancestors, and of the times in which they lived, and of the principles for which they contended;
Therefore, The Society of the "SONS OF THE REVOLUTION" has been instituted to perpetuate the memory of the men who, in military, naval or civil service, by their acts or counsel, achieved American Independence; to promote and assist in the proper celebration of the anniversaries of Washington's Birthday, the Battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill, the Fourth of July, the Capitulations of Saratoga and Yorktown, the Evacua- tion of New York by the British Army, and other prominent events relating to or connected with the War of the Revolution; to collect and secure for preservation the manuscript rolls, records and other documents and memorials relating to that War; to inspire among the members and their descendants the patriotic spirit of their forefathers; to inculcate in the community in general sentiments of Nationality and respect for the principles for which the patriots of the Revolution contended; to assist in the commemorative celebration of other great historical events of National importance, and to promote social intercourse and the feeling of fellow- ship among its members.
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