USA > New York > Ulster County > History of Ulster County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers. Vol. I > Part 21
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" Vol. i. page 1101. I have the locality of this house from Maj. Van Gaasbeck, to whom I am much indebted for information relative to the history of Ulster County. This Abraham Van Gaasbeck was a gramvison of the worthy Hominie Laurentins Van Gaasbeck, whose diploma (medical doctor) from the University of Leyden the major still preserves.
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86
HISTORY OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK.
" About noon on Tuesday the 7th day of October last news eame by express of the reduction of Fort Montgom- ery iu the Highlands and its dependencies by the enemy. And although this Senate therefore adjourned until Wednes- day morning, yet so many members of the honorable the House of Assembly absented themselves on military service, and for the necessary care of their families in consequence of the event, that there was not a sufficient number of them left at Kingston to form a house for business, which ren- dered a meeting of the Senate according to adjournment useless ; and, therefore, the Senate ceased to attend on the publie business until his Excellency, the Governor, thought proper to convene the Legislature of this State by his proe- lamation, in the words following, to wit:" etc .*
A similar entry occurs in the Assembly journal, the first part of which document had Hardly been completed at Holt's press, in Kingston, when Vaughan's expedition landed.
It being impossible to continue legislative business in the prescribed forms on the 7th of October, a meeting of the members of the Senate and Assembly was convened by unanimous consent in Kingston. Senator Pawling and Messrs. Handenbergh, Snyder, Schoonmaker, and Rea, Assemblymen from Ulster County, were in attendance, with about forty other members of the Legislature.
Lieutenant-Governor Van Courtlandt was chosen presi- deut of the Convention, and John MeKesson and Robert Benson secretaries. They remained in session but a few hours, but, to keep up the local organization, passed reso. Intions continuing the county and district committees, as well as the commissioners for detecting conspiracies, as they existed on the preceding 13th of September. To defeat the possible intention of the enemy, now in possession of the Highlands, should he move up by water, they
" Revolredd, That the members of the several committees be and they are hereby regrired to bule all vessels which may be at the differ- ent landings and other places alonz Hudson's River with four, wheat, and any other kind of provisions which may be wear the shores of The saidi river, an l sen-l the said sloops and vessels to Albany, etc.
" Renalred, That the sail committees respectively forthwith cause all rattle and live-stock near or contiguous to either side of Hudson's River, except such parts thereof as in their judgment shall be neces- Pary for the presist use of the rest . tive proprietors thereof. to be removed into the interior part of the country on the several siles of the said river, to be taken care of by keepers to be by them severally ng-pointed. . . . Atl in case any person or persons shall obstinately refuse to pertuit his, her, or their cattle of other stock to be so re- moved, that then und in such case the said committee be and they bereby ure empoweredl to destroy the sauc, " etc., etc.
They then appointed a Council of Safety in these terms :
" Resolved, That William Floyd, John Morris Seott, Abraham Yates, Johannes Snyder, Egbert Benson. Robert Harper, Peter Pra Van Zandt. Levi Paulling, Daniel Danscomb, Evert Bancker, Alexander Webster, William B. Whiting, and Jonathan Langdon, Esquires, or any seven of them, be and they are hereby appointed a Council of Safety, and they be and hereby are in the recess of the House vested with the like powers and authorities which were given to the like Conneil of Safety appointed by the last Convention of this State : that every member of the Senate an I Assembly and the Delegates of this State in Congress be entitled from time to time to sit and vote in the said Council: and that the said persons, or any seven of them, be and continue a Council of Sanity zo long as the necessities of this State shall require, and no longer.
" Reached, That the Governor, or in his absence the President of the Senate, when they shall be respectively present at the said Council, shall preside at, and upon an equal division have a casting voice in the same."t
Ou the morning of the 8th of October the new Council of Safety assembled, and chose Mr. Floyd president pro tempore.
In order to seeure the state prisoners, a large number of whom were confined in Kingston jail, as well as on board two or three vessels moored at the mouth of the ereek, and termed the Fleet prison, the Council directed them to be removed to Hartford, Conn. Cornelius C. Elmendorph was the commissary for supplying these prisoners, and Dr. Luke Kiersted the attending physician. They seem to have been guarded by a company from Col. Pawling's regiment of militia, under the command of Capt. Frederick Schoonmaker; and the armed sloop " Hudson," Capt. Benson, was anchored near the prison vessels. The correspondence between the Council of Safety and Governor Clinton was actively kept up, men from Capt. Silvester Salisbury's troop of Kingston Light Horset being stationed on the road south of the village to facilitate the matter. The danger from the enemy seemed so imminent that the public records were ordered boxed and ready to be moved at a moment's warning; and it was
" Resulted, That Messrs. Snyder, Schoonmaker, and Benson? be requested to take four hundred pounds at interest at six per cent. from Abraham Hasbrouck, Esq., " and pay the same to the commis- sioners for conspiracies; and that this Coupeil will indemnify them for the same."".
On the 9th strang resolutions were passed to impress wheat for the use of the troops, and steps taken to secure
+ Jour. Prov. Conv., i. p. 1001. I Capt. Salisbury reside in the Pine Bush district of Kingston, and was conueeted with the Van Gaasbecks; from their manuscript. genealogy the whole family can be tracedl out. He died April 10, 1755, agel forty-two or forty-three years.
& Chancellor Kent's sketch of the life andI services of Egbert Benson may be found in Thompson's Long Island, ii. p. 487.
„ Col. Abrabam Hasbrouck, the son of Joseph and grandson of Abraham Hasbrouck, one of the twelve proprietors of the New faltz patent, was born at Guilford, pent New Paltz village, Aug. 21, 1707. June 11, 1735, ke removed to Kingston, and livel in the bouse in East Front, at the head of Main. Street, now known as Sebryver's hotel. Jan. 3, 173,, be married Catharine, daughter of Jacobns Bruyn. of Shawangunk.
In 1757 we find him colonel of the Ulster County militin, and a letter from bhu to Lieutenant-Governor Delaney, detailing an Indian attack upon the town of Rochester, is in the " Documentary History of New York" (vol. ii. p. 764) ; wasa member of the Colonial As- sembly from 1739 to 1745, 1748 to 1750, and again from 1759 to 1768. Col. Ihasbrouck occupied a prominent position in the political history of his time, and took an active part in the movements of the patriots of the Revolution. After twenty years' service in the muilitin ke (in 1777) retired from military life. Ile was deputy to the third Pro- vinrial Congress, and after the Revolution represented the county in the Assembly of 1781-82, but on account of his advancing years declined a re-election.
Col. Hasbrouck was a gentleman of considerable antiquarian taste, and h .: collections relative to the early history of the county, it is said, were quite valuable, but unfortunately they were lost at tho burning of his house in 1776. After a life of usefulness he died Nov. 10, 1791, and was buried with military honors at Kingstan. The other Col. (Jonathan) Hasbrouck of this period was a younger brother of Abraham, and resi-led in the house commonly teriued " Washington's headquarters," at Newburgh.
' Jour. Prov. Conv .. i. p. 1061.
* Senate journal, first session.
THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION.
the military stores. Governor Clinton, in a letter read at the afternoon session, gives an account of matters after the fall of the forts, and says, " As soon as ever I find the shipping are likely to pass the Chevaux de Frise, I will by a forced march endeavor to gain Kingston and cover that town. I shall have one brass twenty-four-pounder and six smaller field-pieces, which will make a formidable train. I am persuaded, if the militia will join me (which I have reason to hope), we can save the country (a few scattering houses along the river excepted) from destruction, and de- feat the enemy's design in assisting the Northern army." The session of the 10th of October is an active one, and shows the state of alarm prevailing at Kingston. A large quantity of saltpetre at the landing is ordered to be removed from the shore, and the Council passed the following resolu- tion :
" Resolved, That Colonels Pawling and Snyder be requested to issue the necessary orders to have all the wale inhabitants in the Distriets of their respective regiments of It years and upwards capable of bearing arms immediately equipped and provided with arms and ammunition, and to appoint proper alarin posts and places of rendezvous for the respective companies to repair to in case of the upproach of the enemy."
Other resolutions direct Gerard Bancker, vice treas- urer, Jolin Henry, countissary of clothing ; the secretaries of the Convention, as well as Messrs. Abram Hasbrouck, Joseph Gasherie,* Direk Wynkoop, Jr., f Christopher Tap- pen, and Samuel Bayard, Jr., who had charge of the public records of the colony ( deposited at Kingston in June, 1776). to remove the property in their custody to Rochester. The arrangement for proper places of deposit at Rochester is to be left to Henricus Hoornbeck, Johannes G. Hardenbergh, and Comfort Sands.t
In case of necessity, Judge Wynkoop and Oke Sudan will impress teams to convey this property. A captain's guard was afterwards orderel to be furnished from Col. Pawling's regiment for the pubhe records at Rochester. Kingston seems to have been a general place of deposit for the Westchester, Albany, and Ulster County records, which, with the papers of the receiver-general of the colony, are dispatched to Rochester along with the others. On the 1fth the Council ordered the militia from the vicinity of Shawangunk to join the Governor's army, and all the rest of the Ulster County force to assemble at Kingston. The order to Capt. Benson to land his arms and munitions of war and take provisions to Albany saved the sloop " Hud- son" from the fate of the other vessels lying off the point.
Where the sessions of the Council had been up to this time is not stated in the journal, but most likely at the court-house. This afternoon the adjournment is to Conrad
C. Elmendorph's tavern, § where they continued to be held while Kingston remained standing. The old remark that " there are no Sundays in war" applied to the affairs of State at this juncture, for the Council remained in session all day on Sunday. On the following day they have Governor Clin- ton's letter of the Ifth, dated at Mrs. Falls, || in which he graphically described the purgation of Daniel Taylor, the spy,-a letter I reserve for another place. The afternoon session is confined to the business of examining that trou- blesome old Tory, Cadwallader Colden, who is finally allowed to go with his son ; Angus MeDonald, a prisoner of war, is sent to IFurley on parole, but Roelif Eltinge they com- mit to jail ''until future orders." The news of the recon- Doissance of Sir James Wallace towards Poughkeepsie reaches the Council by express from the Governor ou Tues- day morning. The Governor complains of the want of fixed ammunition, which will probably account for the littk: damage done to the British squadron which succeeded these vessels.
The " Lady Washington" (galley), Capt. Cook, moved up in advance of the enemy to an anchorage in the Rondout Creek. The Council send Capt. Salisbury's troop down to New Windsor, mainly to serve as expresses.
The attendance of members at these later sessions is small, but Lieutenant. Governor Van Courtlandt is always in the chair.
The " Gates' papers" in the library of the New York Historical Society, supply the last letter Governor Clinton writes to the Council before setting out to the defense of Propus :
" HRADOPARTERS NEAR NEW WINDSOR, " 15th October, 1757. nine o'clock .v. v.
"DEAR Sir, -I am at this moment informed by a light horseman, from my guard at New Windsor, that twenty sail of the enemy's ship- ping (two of them birge vessels) are in the river below Butter Hill. There was a heavy fogy ou the river iu the morning when they were discovered, so that the officer of the guard could not be particular as to the size of the vessels ; he thinks it highly probable that more may be near at hand and might be seen were it not for the fogg.
" Had it not been for this movement of the enemy, I intende l this day or to-morrow to have drawn my few troops from this place towards the rear of Fort Montgomery, but I must now ilesist and watch their motions; and should they land and march against me with any considerable force I shall be constrained, with my present numbers, to retreat before them, anugying them only if favorable opportunities shall offer. I was in hopes ere now to have rreciret the reinforcement from the northward you mentioned, not a man of which are yet arrived. I wish Col. Pawling and his regiment were with me.
"Since writing the above, the enemy's fleet, consisting of thirty suil, have passed Newburg with croweled sail and fair wind, ate
2 The inn of Conrad C. Elmendorph was on the northeast corner of Maiden Lane and Fair Street, and the present house belongs to the family of the late Judge Van Buren. It became somewhat fimnous as the headquarters of the Clinton party, the " Constitution House." en the other corner diagonally, being the place of rendezvous for the sup- porters of Mr. Jay. The oldler inhabitants of Kingstou are want to repeat some very amusing ancedotes of the warmth of party spirit in those days, while the minutes of the worshipful trustees of the oll Kingston corporation show that the inns of Bogardus andI Ehnendorp! were riva! shrines, the resorts of the Capulets and Montagues of Esopus.
Mrs. Alexander Falls resided at the Square, about four miles west of the village of New Windsor. The house was occupied in 1550 by Samuel Moore .- Luxsing's Field Book ; Lager's History of Orange County, page 619.
A Joseph Gasberie was appointed, March 13, 1775, the first surro- gate under the new State government, and continuel in this office umil elected senator from the Middle District in 1754: during his lerin he was a member of the Council. Immediately after its close he was reappointed surrogate by Governor Clinton, and hold it at the tive of his death, which oceurrel in Kingston, Jan. 16, 1:06.
t A short notice of Judge Wynkoop is foun I in the chapter on the beach and bar in this work. It is to be regretted that the papers of this gentleman have been destroyed; they might have bern of winch uso in illustrating our local history.
: For a biographical sketch of Comfort Sauds see Thompson's Ilis- Bry of Long Island, i. page 465.
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HISTORY OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK.
moving quick up the river, and the front of them are already at the Dans Caamer. There are eight large square-rigged vessels among them and all appear to have troops on board. My troops are parad- ing to march for Kingston. . Our route will be through Shawangunk to prevent delay in crossing the Palta River. I leave Cole. Wood. bull's, MeClanghry's, and part of Hasbrouck's regiments as a guard along the river. Hathoru is gone to the southward to guard a quan- tity of arms towards headquarters. When he returns he is to join this guard. I have neither time to copy or read this serall ; the sub- stanen must be communicated to Gen. Gates.
" Let the militia be drawn out readly to oppose the enemy. I will be with you if nothing extra happens before day, though my troops cannot.
"I am, yours, etc., " GEORGE CLINTON."
Gov. Clinton's force of about one thousand men, eomu- posed of the skeleton regimems of Cols. Samuel J. Webb, Du Bois, Sutherland, and Ellison, with a part of Has- brouck's* and what remained of Lamb's artillery, was in- stantly ordered to march through Shawangunk and down the west side of the Wall Kill. They crossed the ferry where now stands the Rosendale bridge, making a hurried march and few halts; in fact, it was too rapid to leave the troops in any condition to fight should they reach the enemy's position. The route of the column was on the Greenkill road, but only a portion of the advanced guard arrived at the Kuykuyt, overlooking Kingston, to behold the village in flames and the enemy nearly retired to his ship- ping. Had the whole army been at hand it could not, of course, have prevented the destruction of the village or made any serious resistance to the royal troops. The minutes of the Couneil sessions on the fifteenth consist of only a few lines ; the time for personal effort on their pait had come, and the secretaries were engaged in something more stirring than clerkly labors, and only fintl leisure to note an order to im- press twenty-four wagons to remove the military stores. Un- fortunately, all of these could not be procured, and thus a con- siderable amount of public war material was doomed to fall into the hands of the invaders. It may be interesting to note the names of the Council present on this day. They were Col. Van Courtlandt, Messrs. Dunscomb, Floyd, Van Zaindt, Parks, Webster, Scott, Rowan, Harper, Pawling, and Morris. The utmost alarin existed, and men were send- ing their families and such of their property as they could move to Hurley and Marbletown. News came that the enemy's fleet had reached Esopus Island, only a few miles below the landing, and it was evident that the worst honr was at hand. But in the midst of all this distress -for the too-well-known conduct of the royal generals forbade any hope of mercy from them-an express dispatched in haste from Albany brought the comforting assurance that the day
& Col. Jonathan Hasbrouck was the youngest son of Joseph Has- brouck, of Guilford, precinet of New Pahz, and was born about the year 1:22. In May, 1731, he married Tryntje (Catharine), daughter of Cornelius Du Bois, and shortly after removed to New burgh, where he re-iled during the remainder of his life. Ilis commission as colonel of the southern regiment of Ulster County militia is dated Oct. 25, 1773. The regiment was often called out, but, owing to the ill-health of Col. Hasbrouck, was commanded much of the time by Livet .- Col. Hardenbergh, Jr. His house nt Newburgh, well known as Washington's headquarters, remained in the possession of the family nearly a century, but is now the property of the State. Los- King's Field Book of the Revolution (vol. ii. p. 99) has a good view of it. He resigned his commission in 177%, and died in Viso .- Har- brouck', MS. Diary : Jour, Pror. Cour.
was breaking in the North. It was conveyed in a letter from: Geu. Gates :+
" SARATOGA, Oct. 15, 1677. "Sin,-Inclosed I have the Honor to send your Excellency a Copy of my letter of this day to Maj .- Cien. Putnam, with a copy of the terms on which Maj .- Gen. Burgosue has proposed to surrender.
" I am Sir, Your Excellency's most affectionate Humble servant.
" HORATIO GATES. "Ils EXCELLENCY, Gov. CLINTON, ESQ."
The terms of capitulation have been often printed, and need not be repeated. This letter the Council lost no time in forwarding to New Windsor, with this inclosure, also from the Clinton manuscripts :
" Kisestos, Oet. 15, 1777, 5 o'clock r.v. "SIR,-The enclosed is just come to hand by express. We thought it necessary to open it, as it might contain matters which, at this crit- icul juneture, we conceived we ought to know without delay.
" We just this moment have received information from the Landing that about thirty sail of the enemy's vessels appeared opposite the Esopus I-land and standing up the river. Some works have been thrown up below, according to your Excellency's requisition. The aların guus were just fired. We have not any particulars on this oc- casion more than already mentioned. We shall forward any further inforination to you as it may from time to time occur, without the loss of a moment. In the menu time, give us lenve, sir, to. assure you that we will contribute all in our power to enable the militia officers who command here to make the best possible defense at this Post during your excellency's absence.
" I have the Honor to be "Your Excellency's Most Obt. Servant. " PIERRE VAN COURTLANDT, " President. " HIS EXCELLENCY Gov. CLINTON."
Upon the receipt of Geu. Gates' letter the Council voted the bearer of " good tidings" fifty dollars.
The Governor did not receive it (the letter) until some time after date, and the current story is that it had been cominitted to a faithless messenger, who stopped for the night at a fartu-house by the wayside. He was found by another express leisurely setting out in the morning.
He excused himself on the plea of his horse breaking down, which brought upon him all manner of reproaches from the good Whig who had entertained him, and to whom no mention had been made of his order to make all possible effort to reach the reinforcements and urge them to press forward without a moment's delay.+
True to his word, the stont-hearted Governor arrived at Kingston at about nine o'clock in the evening, and then sends off this dispateby to Putnam, on the other side of the river :
" KINGstown, 15th Oct. 1771. " 10 o'clock, Wednesday evening.
"ILEAR GENERAL,-What follows is the copy of a letter from the chairman of the Committee of the city of Albany to the President of the Council of Safety. I congratulate you on the ituportant inteili- gence contained in it.
" Last night, at eight o'clock, the capitulation whereby Gen.
t Clinton papers, in the New York State Library.
# I take this occasion to return my thanks for this and other inter- esting particulars connected with this sketch obtained from Miss Mar- garet Wynkoop, a daughter of Judge Direk Wynkoop, and who figured much in those tronblous times. This venerable lady, whose elegant manners and refined tone lend such a charm to her society, still sur- vives at the age of eighty-two, residing in the very house in Green Street where her father entertained Gen. Washington on his visit to Kingston.
2 Peun. Archives, v. page 676.
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THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION.
Burgoyne nnd whole army surrenderel themselves prisoners of wir was signed, and this morning they are to march out towards the River, above Fish Creek, with the Honors of War, and there ground their arms. They are from thence to be marched to Massachusetts Hay. We congratulate you ou this event, and remain
" Yours, etc., " GEORGE CLINTON.
" To GEN. PUTNAM."
With untiring energy and unabated zeal the Governor starts for Marbletown in the morning, where, finding that his fagged army cannot reach Kingston in time to be of any service, he directs the main body to proceed no farther. Issuing an order for the execution of Taylor, the spy, who had been carried along with the troops, he is back again at Kingston before noon, and at one o'clock writes to the Com- mandant at Albany :
" Sin, -Read, seal, and send forward the enclosed letter. Use your discretion as to the contents. Take the most prudent measures with your sick, wounded, and prisoners. It is possible the enemy may push on to Albany.
"I am, sir, your humble servant, "GEORGE CLINTON."
The following is the inclosure to Gen. Gates : " KINGSTON, 16th Cet., 1777, 1 o'clock.
"SIR,-I am to inform you that the enemy's fleet, consisting of upwards of thirty sail, anchored last night about six miles below the lawling.place of this town, which they uow lie directly opposite to, and appear to be making preparations for lauding. I have so few men with me that I cannot say I have the best prospect of making so good a defence as might be wished. A reinforcement is on the way to me which I left last night, and which, I believe, will not come up in season, and at any rate must be exceedingly fatiguel.
"I am just informed that the enemy are coming to the land. I think it necessary to give you this information that you may take Bitch steps es may to you appear necessary to render their acquisition of' this town of as little importance as possible. I have the honor to he
" Your most obedient and humble servant, " GEORGE CLINTON. ". P.S .- I most sincerely congratulate yon on your success North- wird."
Let us now turn to the events of the memorable 16th of October. The enemy, who had remained at anchor near Esopus Island the previous night, weighed on the morning of the 16th, and about wine o'clock drew up opposite the mouth of the Rondout Creek and the Point, and in a little while opened a vigorous catinonade upon the " Lady Washington" galley, lying in front of the present residenec of Mr. George North, and the two batteries upon the high ground above Pouck hockie, afterwards called " Breastworks" hill. Five fight pieces of canon were in position in those hastily- thrown up earthrworks, and, with a thirty-two-pounder on the galley, replied to the fire of the British ships, but without doing much damage.
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