USA > New York > Columbia County > History of Columbia County, New York. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 25
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116
" On the same day that the battle of Cerro Gordo was fought, Worth took unresisted possession of the town and fortress of Perote, in which were found immense stores of ammunition, cannon, mortars, and small arms. This is one of the strongest castles in Mexico. Here he remained for some time, principally engaged in perfecting the discipline of his army. The movements of Santa Anna called him from his retirement ; and, after the battle of Cerro Gordo, he was very active in cutting off supplies from the Mexican camp. Early in May he advanced toward Puebla, and on the 14th he was met by Santa Anna, with a detachment of about three thousand men, most of them cavalry. A skirmish en- sued, several Mexicans were unhorsed, and the whole force returned to the eity.
"The next morning, before daylight, Santa Anna left for the interior, and at ten o'clock the Americans obtained
100
HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
quiet possession of the city, wnich contained a population of 80,000."*
ยท The services of General Worth in Mexico were fully appreciated by the government, and his storming of Mon- terey is regarded as one of the most brilliant exploits of that war.
Having safely passed through the dangers and hardships of the Mexican struggle, General Worth was stricken by cholera, at San Antonio de Bexar, in Texas, and died there May 17, 1849. His remains are interred in the city of New York. Upon the roll of fame his name is clearly written as one of the most brilliant soldiers and heroes of the Mexican war.
HENRY VAN SCHAACKt
died at his seat, on the Hudson river, in the original town of Kinderhook (now Stuveysant), on the 18th day of July, 1823, in the ninety-first year of his age. He was a native of Kinderhook village, having been born at that place in 1733. The events of his life, which cover nine decades of a century, were not without interest. For about forty years he was in public employ or official station under the erown and province of New York before the Revolution, and in the commonwealth of Massachusetts after that event. He was on terms of intimacy with Sir William Johnson, and cor- responded with him on colonial affairs. He served under Sir William, then Major-General, Johnson, in the expedi- tion against Crown Point in 1755, being at that time lieu- tenant of a company of which Philip, afterwards the famous General, Schuyler, was captain. The accounts published at the time of one of the engagements between the English and French troops near Lake George, in September, 1755, speak of Lieutenant Van Schaack as having " distinguished him- self in that action." He was then twenty-two years old. He served in the campaign against Niagara, and was then a major. He was at one time paymaster to the " New York Regiment," and afterwards held a special commission from the governor of the province as " Paymaster and Commis- sary of the Musters," and was obliged, in the performance of the duties of the latter office, to visit the military posts on the frontiers, where the troops were stationed.
It was in this old French war, as it was called, that Mr. Van Schaack formed an interesting acquaintance with the then captain, and afterwards brigadier-general, Richard Montgomery. On his way to Canada, in 1775, Montgomery visited his carly friend at Kinderhook, and left with him some tokens of remembrance.
Mr: Van Schaack was postmaster at Albany from 1757 to 1771, a period of fourteen years. During the greater part of this time he was engaged in the Indian and fur trade, extending his operations, upon the conquest of Canada, to Detroit and Mackinaw, which then remote places he repeatedly visited at that early day. When at Detroit, on one occasion, he redeemed a white boy from captivity among the Indians by giving a silver tankard for him. The boy grew up to manhood, was established in business by Mr. Van Schaack, and was known through life by the name of Tankard.
# Extracted from the " Rough and Ready Annual."
+ Furnished by H. C. Van Schaack, Esq., of Manlius, New York.
In 1769, Mr. Van Schaack removed from Albany to Kinderhook village. He was soon after appointed a justice of the peace, and one of the quorum, upon the recommen- dation of his friend, Sir William Johnson. He was also chosen supervisor of his native town at this period, and was continued in that office by annual re-election, and he also held the office of magistrate until the administration of the laws was interrupted by the Revolution. He was a mem- ber of the Albany county committee of safety in 1774; and he, together with Robert Yates and Peter Silvester, were by that body nominated delegates to the memorable Con- tinental Congress, which met in Philadelphia in September of that year. The committee afterwards determined to send only one delegate, and General Schuyler was selected, but failing to attend, the New York city delegates were finally empowered to represent Albany county in that great Con- gress. Soon after this, Mr. Van Schaack ceased to take part in Revolutionary measures, having come to the con- clusion (as he quaintly expressed himself in a letter to a relative) that " people had got to that pass that they did not consider the qualifications of a king, for that they would have no king."
At the close of the war Mr. Van Schaack became a citi- zen of Massachusetts, and fixed his residence at Pittsfield, in Berkshire county, where he erected a very substantial and tasty house, in an interesting position near that village, and devoted himself to agricultural pursuits. He was soon after called from a purposed retirement, becoming a decided " Government-man" in Shay's rebellion. This doubtless led to his being chosen, in 1786, a member of the Legis- lature of Massachusetts, known as " The General Court."
He took an early and decided stand in support of the Federal constitution, employing his pen, and addressing his fellow-citizens, in favor of its adoption. For fourteen years he was a magistrate in Massachusetts by successive appoint- ments, made by Governors John Hancock and Caleb Strong. At an early day he became a member of the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, and he was a member of the first board of trustees of Williams College, which latter position he occupied for about twenty years.
The good sense, strength of mind, intelligence, high in- tegrity, courage, and decision of character, for all of which he was distinguished, admirably fitted him for the various positions in which he was placed ; while his urbane and jovial disposition, and extensive information, gave him, at all times, a welcome place in the social circle. His asso- ciates, from an early day, were men of mark ; and his own commanding good qualities are abundantly evidenced by the large number of eminent men who were visitors at his house during his twenty-four years' residence in Pittsfield, embracing in the list many of the most eminent characters in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. Prominent among those names (not to designate others) were Fisher Ames and Alexander Hamilton. Chief-Justice John Jay and Judge Bushrod Washington, of the Supreme Court of the United States, used to call on the Pittsfield farmer, when on their way to Vermont to perform their judicial duties. Distinguished foreigners were also among those visitors, including the ambassadors from Holland and England. Lebanon Springs, originally known as " The- Pool," was
101
HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
then rapidly becoming the Bath of America ; and many of its frequenters found their way to the mansion at Pittsfield famed for its hospitality.
In 1808, Mr. Van Schaack removed from Pittsfield to Kinderhook Landing, where he passed the residne of his life in comparative retirement. Some of his old surviving friends, however, followed him to his new abode; among whom were Judge Oliver Wendell, of Boston, grandfather of the poet O. W. Holmes, and his particular friend, Judge Egbert Benson, of New York. In the " History of Pitts- field," recently published, a prominent and honored place is justly given to the name of Henry Van Schaack.
WILLIAM HOWARD ALLEN.
Lieutenant William Howard Allen, United States navy, was a native of the city of Hudson, the date of his birth being July 8, 1790. While yet a child he was placed at school in London, England, but after about one year he returned to Hudson, where he was afterwards for a short time a pupil of the Hudson Academy. His education was completed at the seminary in Doylestown, Pa., and in the year 1808 he was appointed a midshipman in the United States navy. In 1811 he was commissioned sec- ond lieutenant, and afterwards assigned to duty on the " Argus." This vessel procceded on her cruise until, on the 13th of Angust, 1813 (this being during the last war with England), she fell in with, and at once engaged, the British sloop-of-war " Pelican."
" Although this vessel was superior to her in size, men, and metal, yet the battle was long, severe, and bloody. Early in the action, Captain William Henry Allen was mortally wounded, and carried below ; shortly after, the first lieutenant, William H. Watson, was severely wounded, and taken to the ward-room. The command of the ' Argus' then devolved on Lieutenant William Howard Allen; his con- duct was cool, deliberate, and such as received the admira- tion of the crew and the approbation and praise of his superior officers. After fighting was useless, the ' Argus' was surrendered to the ' Pelican,' a perfect wreck. Lieuten- ant Allen was taken to Ashburton, England, where he was detained eighteen months a prisoner of war; but he was exchanged before the close of the war, and returned in a cartel to Norfolk ; but, owing to an extraordinary passage of some ninety days, he did not arrive until after the peace. In 1816 he made a voyage to Dublin, as the master of the brig ' Henry Clay ;' he was then engaged in the merchant service. During the two succeeding years he was attached to the frigate ' United States,' or ship ' Independence.'
" In the spring of 1819, the United States frigate ' Con- gress' sailed on a cruise to the Chinese seas. Mr. Allen was her first lieutenant ; his conduct during the crnise was highly meritorious. This being the first American ship of war of her class that had visited the East Indies, the na- tives were frightened at her terrific appearance; and he often described the impression it made upon their minds, and the deep conviction it left of the strength and prowess of the United States. In May, 1821, he returned in the ' Congress,' and remained attached to her until about the be- ginning of the year 1822, when he was transferred to the ship ' Columbus,' then lying in Boston. He left the ' Colum-
bus' some time in June, having obtained the command of the United States sehooner ' Alligator.' On the 3d of Au- gust, 1822, he sailed from New York on a cruise against the pirates, and he plucked a wreath of glory, but the shaft of death was in it. He cheerfully engaged in this last perilous service, which would have appalled any ordinary mind. It called him to the West Indies, the charnel-house of foreigners, whose seaports in the summer months are the hot-beds of pestilence, disease, and death, and whose climate had already consigned to the tomb many valuable lives, among whom were many of his intimate friends and brave companions. This service called him in contact with pirates, a gang of merciless bloodhounds, foes to God and man, who live by plunder and murder, and who had sworn ven- geance toward American officers and citizens.
" On bis arrival at Havana, he was informed that a gang of pirates, having in possession some merchant vessels, had stationed themselves in the bay of El Juapo, in the neigh- borhood of Matanzas ; without coming to anchor, he imme- diately proceeded in search of them. He approached the place, saw the pirate vessels, three in number, well armed and supplied, and manned with a hundred or more of these desperadoes, with the bloody flag waving aloft and nailed to the mast. In possession of these assassins were five merchantmen and several American citizens ; this property and these captives the gallant Allen determined to rescue. The ' Alligator,', in consequence of the shoalness of the water, could not approach them ; he ordered the boats to be manned with about thirty of his crew, put himself in the van, and led the attack and boarded them. The outlaws resisted, but were driven from their flag vessel, of which he took possession. They fled to the other vessels, he pursned them amidst a shower of musketry ; a musket ball struck him in the head ; still he pressed forward, cheering his men, and, when about to board them, another pierced his breast ; this was mortal; still he cheered his gallant little crew as they lifted him on board of the prize schooner, and laid him on the deck he had so dearly won, and he died of his wounds in about three hours after. He called his officers about him, gave directions respecting the prizes, for the merchant ves- sels had been rescued; conversed freely and cheerfully ; hoped that his friends and his country would be satisfied that he had fought well. He said he died in peace with the world and looked for his reward in the next. Although his pain, from the nature of his wounds, was excruciating, yet he did not complain, but died like a martyr, without a sigh or a groan, and the spirit of a braver man never en- tered the unseen world. The body of the martyred Allen was conveyed to Matanzas, in Cuba, where it was interred on the 11th of November, 1822, with the honors due to his distinguished merit.
"Soon after the reception of this sad intelligence at Hud- son, which cast a gloom over the city, the citizens of Hud- son assembled at the city hall, and it was a more numerous meeting than had ever been witnessed in that city. This was on the 5th of December, 1822, and on motion of Elisha Williams, the honorable Alexander Coffin was called to the chair ; and on motion of Ambrose L. Jordan, Esq., Dr. Sammel White was appointed secretary. The Rev. B. F. Stanton opened the meeting with an appropriate and im-
102
HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
pressive prayer. The Hon. James Strong then pronounced a splendid eulogy on the character of the late gallant Lieu- tenant William Howard Allen.
" The common council of the city of Hudson requested of the navy department to have the remains of Lieutenant Allen brought from Matanzas to New York in a public vessel. This request was promptly acceded to by the sec- retary of the navy, and on the 15th of December, 1827, the schooner 'Grampus' arrived at New York, having on board the remains of the lamented hero. On the reception of this intelligence, the common council of the city of Hud- son deputed Mr. Reed, former mayor of this city, and Mr. Edmonds, the recorder, to receive and bring them to his native city. On the Wednesday following, they were re- moved from the navy-yard at Brooklyn, under the escort of the marine corps of that station, and accompanied by Commodore Chauncey and a numerous body of naval offi- cers. The colors at the yard and at New York were at half-mast; and the procession landed at New York amid the firing of a salute from the ' Grampos,' which had been moored in the stream for that purpose. At New York the procession was joined by the common council of that city, and an immense concourse of citizens and officers, and moved across the city to the steamboat which carried them to Hudson. There a salute was fired by a detachment of artillery and by the marine corps, and the remains were delivered by Commodore Chauncey to the Hudson deputa- tion. His remains were accompanied to Hudson by the following officers of the navy : Lieutenants Francis H. Greg- ory, George N. Hollins, William D. Newman, John R. Coxe, John Swartwont, and Alexander M. Mull; Sailing- Master Bloodgood ; and Midshipmen Lynch, Nichols, Scher- merhorn, Lawrence, and Pinckney, and arrived early on Thursday morning. They were welcomed by a national salute, and were escorted to the dwelling of Captain Alex- ander Coffin, the patriotic kinsman of the lamented hero, by a detachment of military and a nnmcrons escort of citizens, which moved in the following order :
" Hudson City Guards. Columbia Plaids. Athens Lafayette Guards. And the military under the command of Col. William A. Dean, with standards furled and drums muffled. The Reverend Clergy. The Corpse, Borne by Licuts. Gregory, Hollins, Newman, Coxe, Swart- wout, and Mull, and Midshipmen Lynch and Nichols. Mourners, including Messrs. Bloodgood, Schermerhorn, Lawrence, and Pinckney, of the United States Navy. Hudson Military Association. Brigadier-General Whiting and his Suite. The Mayor and Recorder. Aldermen. Assistant Aldermen. Clerk and Marshal of the City. Clerk and Sheriff of the County. Committee of Arrangements.
" Followed by a larger and more respectable procession of citizens than had, for many years, been witnessed in that city. While the procession moved, the bells of the city were tolled, and minute-guns were fired from Parade hill. On its arrival at the grave-yard the body was conveyed in
front of the line of the military, resting on arms reversed, and was committed to the earth, near the grave of Lieu- tenant Allen's mother. The funeral service was read by the Rev. Mr. Stebbins, and a volley fired over the grave by the military. The procession then returned to the United States Hotel, where it was dismissed."*
The ashes of the hero rest in the Hudson cemetery, be- neath a monument reared by the citizens of Hudson, and bearing these inscriptions :
" To the memory of WILLIAM HOWARD ALLEN, lieutenant in the United States navy, who was killed when in the act of boarding a piratical vessel on the coast of Cuba, near Matanzas, at the age of thirty-two.
" WILLIAM HOWARD ALLEN was born in the city of Hudson, July 8, 1790 ; he was appointed a midshipman in 1808, and a lieutenant in 1811, and he took a conspicuous part in the engagement between the ' Argus' and the 'Pelican,' in 1813, and he was killed while in command of the schooner ' Alligator.'
" WILLIAM HOWARD ALLEN. His remains, first buried at Matanzas, were removed to this city by the United States government, and in- terred, under the direction of the common council of this city, he- nenth this marble, erected to his memory by the citizens of his nativo place, in 1833.
" Pride of his country's banded chivalry, Ilis fame their hope, his name their battle-cry ; Ile lived as mothers wished their sons to live, And died as fathers wished their sons to dic."
DAVID S. COWLES,
second son of Rev. Pitkin and Fanny S. Cowles, was born at "The Grove," Canaan, Conn., Feb. 26, 1817. His maternal grandfather was an officer in Brigadier-General Glover's brigade of the Massachusetts line in the War of the Revolution of 1776. He served with merit and dis- tinction during its whole period, being engaged in many of the most severe and important battles.
The father of Colonel Cowles died while the son was still young, and soon after he began his preparation for Yale College, which institution he entered in 1836. At the end of two years he left college and commenced the study of law, being successively in the offices of Hon. James Powers, Catskill ; Judge Peckham, of Albany ; and, lastly, of his brother, Edward P., at Hudson. He was ad- mitted to the bar in Columbia county about the year 1843, from which time he was associated with his brother until the latter removed to New York, in 1853. He continued in successful practice, serving ably some years as district attorney, until the outbreak of the civil war. In the year 1861, Colonel Cowles, at large personal expense, aided in forming several companies of a regiment of volunteers, in which he was tendered, but declined, the position of lieu- tenant-colonel. After the disasters of the Army of the Potomac before Richmond, in June, 1862, he actively par- ticipated in raising the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Regiment, New York Volunteers, which was enlisted in the counties of Columbia and Dutchess, and was commissioned its colonel by the governor of the State. The regiment left Hudson, Sept. 5, 1862, and proceeded to Baltimore, Md. Soon after the battle of Antietam it was ordered with other forces to Gettysburg, Pa., to intercept the rebel
# From Raymond's " Biographical Sketches of Distinguished Men."
103
HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
cavalry raid made in that direction by General J. E. B. Stuart. In November the regiment composed part of the expeditionary forces under command of Major-General N. P. Banks, and was embarked about the 1st of December following at Fortress Monroe for New Orleans and the De- partment of the Gulf. While at New Orleans, during the winter and spring of 1863, the regiment acquired a dis- tinguished reputation for high discipline and soldierly con- duct. In April, 1863, a brigade, including the One Hun- dred and Twenty-eighth, was dispatched by order of General T. W. Sherman, under command of Colonel Cowles, on an expedition up the Pearl river to attack a rebel position near Pontochoula, where a depot of supplies and shipping was being formed. This duty was discharged with entire suc- cess, and called forth marked commendation in general orders.
The Confederates at the time held a commanding posi- tion on the left bank of the Mississippi river at Port Hud- son. Major-General Banks was ordered by the govern- ment to invest and reduce the works at that point. Early in May he moved against them with an army of about twenty-five thousand men. The One Hundred and Twenty- eighth formed part of this command. It reached Spring- field Landing May 22, 1863, and on that day was marched to the front before the enemy's works. On the 26th, active demonstrations preparatory to the general assault were made. Two batteries of heavy guns were assigned to Colonel Cowles wherewith to silence the enemy's fire on the extreme left. That operation was finally effective on the following morning in silencing all and dismounting some of the guns, it having been suspended in the night in order to co-operate with Colonel Clark (Sixth Michigan) in destroying some houses near the Confederate lines which interfered with the play of the investing guns. About the middle of the day, May 27, Major-General Sherman ordered an assault on the right, left, and centre of the enemy's works. The column on the Union left, with which the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth participated, was under the immediate command of the commanding general. Immediately on moving, the head of the column became exposed to the full force of the enemy's fire,-a furions discharge of grape, canister, and shell,-while sharpshooters from the tops of trees within the rebel works opened with deadly effect. General Sherman soon fell from a cannon- shot, which carried away a leg. Brigadier-General Dow, second in command, was wounded and carried to the rear. Colonel Clark, of the Sixth Michigan Volunteers, third in rank, was knocked senseless by the concussion of an ex- ploding shell. Colonel Cowles, next in rank, then assumed command.' By this time the column was badly shattered. The whole force reeled. With characteristic disregard of exposure in the moment of peril, Colonel Cowles rushed to the head of the column, and by voice and example stayed the recoiling regiments, rapidly re-formed their ranks, and taking his position at their head and quite in advance, by force of his own strong will, headed on the column in a rush at a " double-quick" to within about six rods of the enemy's works, when he fell from the rifle-shot of a sharp- shooter, which passed through his body just above the left groin. Ile was laid in a slight depression of the field,
.
having resisted every attempt to take him to the rear, and refusing to be attended by more than one faithful sergeant, -Charles M. Bell, now a practicing lawyer at Hillsdale, in this county,-earnestly urging and commanding all others to press forward, and constantly inquiring of the fate and fortune of the assault. It was soon seen that he had received a fatal wound. With composure he gave his watch to his attendant, requesting that it be returned to his mother, who had presented it to him in his boyhood, also his ring and other small articles. Then, as he felt his life-blood ebbing fast, he desired to be raised up that he might view the field and look into the enemy's works, ex- claiming, " Oh, that I could have been spared a few min- utes longer, and I believe we should have carried those works!" His thoughts reverted to his command, and, alluding to his own One Hundred and Twenty-eighth, he said to his attendant, " I believe, sergeant, I have done my whole duty by it as a man and a soldier." Growing fainter with loss of blood, he said, " Tell my mother that I died with my face to the enemy." With full consciousness that the hand of death was upon him, he closed his eyes, cjacu- lated, " Christ Jesus receive my spirit !" and expired.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.