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 22
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About one o'clock in the afternoon the troops in the bateaux and boats of the naval vessels were arranged in two divisions and prepared to land ; one division, consisting of about three or four hundred men, proceeded to Ponck- Inckie, near Radley's Ferry Landing, and then rapidly disembarked and dispersed the men at the batteries with the bayonet, the defenders of these works remaining until the last moment, when they spiked their guns, and with a few wounded men withdrew in haste up the creek. Only three houses stond where is now the teeming throng of the Litry village of Rondout; these the invaders burnt, an I.
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occasional shot from the retreating militia showing that it was only a lack of force that prevented a vigorous resist- anee.
The boats huuiediately boarded and set fire to the prison vessels and some sloops lying in the creek, which task was somewhat impeded by the blowing up of a quantity of powder in one of the store-vessels. Lieut. Clarke, of the " Dependence," and some of his crew, were injured by this explosion. The " Lady Washington" galley was run up the creek and scuttled, just below Eddyville, and at South Rondout a party of the enemy's seamen, in pursuit of this vessel, landed and destroyed a house belonging to William Houghtaling, the only damage done on the south side of the creck. But it is time to look after the main body of the troops, under Gen. Vaughan in person.
This division landed in a cove north of Columbus Point and near the brick-kiln, and took the direction of Kings- ton, and on the top of the hill, not far from the residence of the late H. Il. Reynolds, Esq, formed a junction with the other party, which had reached that spot by the Strand road. Ilere the column halted, and Jacobus Lefferts,* a New York Tory temporarily residing in Kingston, ap- proached Gen. Vaughan and communicated to him the news of the capitulation of Gen. Burgoyne at Saratoga. This fact Gordon states on the authority of Mr. Janics Beekman,f and Maj. Van Gaasbeck, of Kingston, assures us that he has heard that Lefferts was the informant from the lips of citizens who were in the village on that fatal day. It has been said that no information of this sort could have been received in Kingston at the time of the landing of the British, but this is an error.
Gen. Burgoyne asked for a parley on the 13th of Octo- ber, and one was actually held on the following day, in which the British commander offered to capitulate. Gen. Gates' letter to Governor Clinton announcing this was opened by the Council of Safety, sitting in the village, at five p.M. on the 15th. A letter from John Barclay, chair- man of the Albany County committee, with the same in- telligence, was read at this meeting,t and, although the announcement was somewhat premature, it was believed by all parties, and the clause omitted from Sir James Wallace's dispatch, published in the London Gazette of December 2d. is corroborative of this view of the case. No informa- tion of the inutility of further attempts to create a diver- sion in favor of Burgoyne could influence the leaders of this marauding expedition ; they were bent on plunder and destruction, and the order to advance was speedily given. Lossing says that somewhere about this place they seized a negro and compelled him to pilot them to the town.
The only resistance they met with after leaving the vicinity of the waterside was from a seattering fire kept
# Jacobus Lefferts, a New York alderman, and a man of fortune, bolding a large landed estate in U'lster County, and who was proba- bly staying there to secure their possession, resided in the house (termed on Kutekston Point in an advertisement I have seen ) not far from the Pauperties road, near the residence of Cornelius Bruyn, Esq., and now owned by Peter J. Du Bois. His sympathies were un- doubtelly with the crown, and in a list of Tories in the Clinton papers, at Albany, he " has the king's protection." + History, li. page 579, note:
+ Jour. Prov. Conv., i. page 1070;
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HISTORY OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK.
up by a few men in and about the woods near the house of John O'Reilly. These men were quickly dispersed by the enemy's light companies, deployed as skirmishers, and by the parties on the flanks of the column, and, although Vanghan's official report and the servile Gazette of Hiv- ington speak of fiing from the houses, ete., it is the unan- imous voice of tradition that no resistance whatever was unde after the troops reached the vicinity of the village.
The militia, consisting of about one hundred and fifty men, under the connnand of Cols. Levi Pawling and Jo- hannes Snyder, could do nothing against such overwhelm- ing odds,-indeed, the largest portion was in the works at the Strand,-and so retreated up the Rondout Creek. The inhabitants themselves were employed to the last in re- moving such of their effects as were portable, and aban- doned their houses as the British troops entered the streets. It is to be remembered that many of those liable to do military duty were absent under arms with Governor Clin- ton and in the Northern army. No time was to be lost by the invaders, for Governor Clinton's army could not be far off, and, dividing into small parties, they began to set fire to the houses in the village, showing particular spite in visiting the residences of leading Whigs. So rapid had been the advance of the royal forces that the records of the Dutch Church (and the missing eover of one of those venerable volumes is attributed to this haste) and some of the public papers in Mr. Bancker's charge, at Judge Wynkoop's house, ou the corner of Pearl and Fair Streets (now Mrs. S. Bruyn's), were only removed a few moments before a party of red-coats began to pounder the buildings. It did not take long to complete their wo. k, atal, with the excep- tion of the house and barn on the west side of Wall Street, near the residence of Marius Schoomaker, E-q., and then belonging to Tobias Van Steenbergh, every building in the village was destroyed. This long one-story stone building is still standing in good preservation, and belongs to Abram T. Van Steenbergh, a descendant of the Revolutionary owner. Various reasons are given for their failure to set fire to these buildings. One New York newspaper says it was occupied by a Mrs. Hammersley, a Tory lady, in some way connected with the British officers. It is certain that a New York Judy of this name was in Kingston abent this time, and not unlikely occupied this house, but I have not been able to obtain any particulars in regard to her. Some confusion in the newspaper accounts of that day has arisen, it being stated in Rivington's paper that the only house spared be- longed to a Mr. Lefferts. Now, the house occupied by Mr. Lefferts was indeed saved from the flames, but it was some distance from the village proper, and could hardly be con- sidered as belonging to it. The Royal Gazette would no doubt soon learn that the house of so well-known a sympa- thizer with the crown as Alderman Lefferts had not been burned. I have heard that a party of soldiers proceeded towards this house in spite of the remonstrances of Mrs. Lefferts, whose bright red dress has been described by more than one informant, and were about to plunder it when the sound of the recall hastened them back to the rauks. The north part of the house bears indisputable marks of being older than 1777.
The invaders destroyed a considerable quantity of arms
and munitions of war, with flour and provisions stored here for the army, to say nothing of the property of the inhabit. tants, but I prefer to collect in one place the estimates (? the enemy as to the amount of destruction they had bees able to effect.
The stragglers of the royal army were gathered in as fast as possible, and with a quick step, in spite of all the booty they could carry away, not forgetting sundry negroes. -for the British anti-slavery party had not yet been heard of,-they set out for the river, and after an absence of about three hours re-embarked, having burned a defenseless village and made three or four thousand people houseless and un- able to recognize their homes in the ashes now heaped upon the spot where lately stood a flourishing town. The f! lowing are the official accounts of the services performed by the British officers at Kingston : .
"ON BOARD THE FRIENDSHIP. OFF ENDNUS, " Friday, Oct. 17th, 10 o'clock, Moruing.#
" Sin, -I have the Honor to inform you that on the evening of the 15th instant I arrived off Esopus: finding that the rebels had throws up Works and had made every Disposition to annoy us and cut of our communications, I judged it necessary to attack them, the win i at that time being so much against us that we could make no war. I accordingly landed the troops, attacked their batteries, drove form from their works, spiked and destroyed their guns. Esopus being & nursery for almost every villain in the country, I julged it necessary to proceed to that town. On our approach they were drawn up wita cannon, which we took and drove them out of the Place. On our entering the Town they fired from their Houses, which induced la? to reduce the Place to Ashes, which I accordingly did, not leaving 3 bouse. We found a considerable quantity of stores of all kind .. which shared the same fate. Sir James Wallace has destroyed ali tà shipping, except an armed galley which run up the creek. wIL everything belonging to the vessels in store. Our loss is so incoa- siderable that it is not at present worth while to mention.
" I am, &c., "JOHN VAUGHAN."
" GALLEYS AND ARMED VESSELS, OFF ESOPU'S CREEK. " Oct. 17, 1777.1 "Sin, -We procceded up the river, Destroying a number of vessels as we sailed along. without stopping until we arrived at Esopus Creek, where we found 2 batteries, one of 2 gans, the other : 3 guns, erected, and an armel galley at the mouth of the creek, v. _ euleavored to prevent our passing by their cannonade. Gen. Vaughas was of the opinion such a force should not be left behind. It wa: determined to land and destroy theto, and immediately executed with. ont retarding our proceeding up the river. The General marched fr the town and fire it. The Boats from the arined vessels went up the creek, burnt two brigs, several armed sloops, and other cra!". with all their apparatus that was in Stores upon the shore, Lien :. Clarke of the ' Dependence,' with two or three others, in firing the stores was blown up, but we flatter ourselves not dangerously. The officers and men on this ocension behaved [with] the greatest spirit. By ah our information I am afraid that General Burgoyne has re- treated, if not worse.
" I have, &e., "JAMES WALLACE." " COMMODORE HIOTHAM."
Sir William Howe, in his report to Lord George Ger- maine, dated Philadelphia, Oct. 25, 1777, adds this postscript .:
" I have the satisfaction to enclose to your Lordship a report just
* London Gazette. Dec. 2, 1777.
t Copy from the original in the Admiralty, London. This dis- patch appeared in the Location Gazette of Dec. 2, 1757, with the omission of the last significant sentence, which does not seem to have ever before been brought to public notice.
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THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION.
received of a very spirited piece of servico performed by Major- tieneral Vaughan and Sir James Wallace up the Hudson's River."
It has not been easy to procure the contemporary news- paper accounts of this expedition at this late date, but such as have come to my notice are given, commencing with the royalist side :
Rivington's (New York) Gazette, Oct. 27, 1777.
Extract of a letter from Esopus, October 16th :
"On Monday evening we sailed from Fort Montgomery, having Erst entirely demolished it and blown up the magazino. We got up that night near PoHlopels Island, where we came to an anchor below the chevaux-de-frizc.
"Next morning. wiud southwest, we weighed, got through tho chevaux-de-frize, and procceled up the river. The towns of New Windsor and Newburgh appeared totally deserted by the inhabitants; four sloups set sail fiom Fishkill, but were soou overhauled by the gunboats when opposite to Poughkeepsie; the rebels kept up a con- tinual fire from the shore without doing any damage, which was answered by the shipping. We anchored that night live miles from Esopus, and yesterday morning, about nine o'clock, a severe can- nonade began between the shipping in front and a row-galley and two batteries the rebels hitd erected on shore. In the afternoon the troops landed at Esopus, attacked and took possession of the bat- teries, and on marching up to the town the rebels, concealed in the houses, firing upon the troops from the windows occasioned every house except that of Alderman Lefferts, of New York, to be set on fire and consume.l; this was effected with the loss of only two men wounded. Many were burnt in the river and Esopus Creek, besides some stores, a niill, etc."
New York Gazette, November 3.1.
"October 15th. Three sloops taken in attempting to escape to the Fishkill, and two pettiangers destroyed. The house, mill, and out- houses, and a sloop belonging to Col. Francis Stoutenbergh, at Cruru Elbow, burned. Two sloops ou the east side burnt that evening. "October 16th. Set tire to two brigs, ete .. anl burnt Kingston.
" October 17th. The house, storehouse, barn, cte., of Mr. Petrus Ten Broeck, a rebel general, the house, baru, and out-houses of Robert Gilbert Livingston, and a house and mill belonging to Judge Livingston, on the east side of the river, burnet.
"October 1Sth. Another house belonging to Judge Livingston, one to Mr. John Livingston, with three others, destroyed in like manner. "October 22d. Two houses, one the property of Julgo Smith, on the east -ide, a sloop and barn, likewise two houses with their append- ages on the west side, were burnt, and ou the 23d a sloop was burnel whi the stocks.
". In the town of Kingston a large quantity of powder and a large number of firearms; together with many valuable stores, were destroyed. " Another more accurate account I'rom Esopus informs us that on the landing of Gen. Vaughn va' the troops un ler his command the sluts, without the least prospect of advantage to themselves, fired upon them from a breastwork just thrown up, and which they did not say to defen.1. This, joined to an insolent and provoking behavior, orasionel the army to march up aul set fire to the town, which was presently entirely consumed. There were destroyed three hundred tal twenty - six houses, with a barn to almost every one of them, filled with four, besides grain of all kinds, much valuable furniture and (Forts, which the royal army disdained to take with them. Twelve thousand barrels of flour were burnt, and they took at the town four Fire of canton, with ten more upon the river, with eleven hundred mil Efty stand of arms, with a large quantity of powder, were blown sp.
"The whole service was effetel aud the troops re-embarked in three hours."
Independent Chronicle ( Boston), October 30th. l'stru t of a letter from Fichkiti, dated October 19th :
". The enemy are upon the river, between this place and Albany. They have burnt King-ton ( Helpus) ; not a house left standing in the tran. It was a pretty compact place, with several streets, two miles from the river, sixty miles from Albany, and the third town for size in this state. They also burnt several mills, stores, dwelling houses, asl vessels as they advanced up the river. However, they have
something in the way to stop their career; Gen. Putnam is up with them on ouo side of the river, and our Governor on the other side; each of them have force sufficient to repel them should they land."
Ibid., November 6th. " Jisuku.r., October 21th.
" Last Monday our people took a small schooner belonging to the enciny, ou the North River, near Rbyncheck, with a pretty valuable cargo; she ran aground, and our people took advantage and boarded her with canoe .. Nicholas James and George Hopkins, two of tho New York pilots, were taken on board.
"Last Thursday, one Taylor, a spy, was hanged at Hurley, who was detected with a letter to Burgoyne, which ho swallowed in a sil- ver ball, but by the assistauce of a tartar emetie be discharged the same."
" FisnKit.L., October 30th.
" Last Friday the fleet returned from their inglorious expedition up tho North River, having burnt King-ton, in Esopus, and a few houses at Rhynebeck and Livingston's Manor, as was mentioned-in our last; our army, commanded by Gon. Putnam, coming up with them enused them to skulk on board their vessels, und prevented their doing further mischief: the with being light in their return, which gave an opportunity to our army of marching as fast us they sailed and was a happy circumstance in our favor, and prevented them from destroying Poughkeepsie and other buildings on the river-side."
New York Packet, October 23d.
" Oct. 14. Yesterday Gen. Vaughan, having under his command a large body of British, who have committed varions acts of vaudal- isin in their passage up the river, lauded a number of men at Esopus, marched up to the defenceless town of Kingston, about two miles from the river, and immediately set it on fire. The eoudagration was general in a few minutes, and in a very short time that pleasant and wealthy town was reluced to ashes; one house only escaped the flames. Thus by the wantonness of power the third town in New York for size, elegance, and wealth is reduced to a heap of rubbish, and the onee happy inhabitants (who are chiefly of Dutch descent) obliged to solicit for shelter among strangers, and those who lately possessed elegant and convenient dwellings obliged to take up with such huts as they can find to defend them from the coid Hasts of approaching winter. We learn that the inhabitants saved the best part of their movable property, but some lost the great part of their tetuporal all. 'Tis said the enemy took but little plunder, being toll that Governor Clinton was at hand with fifteen hundred men, but uu- luckily not so near as to save the town. They burnt several houses at Rhyncheck Flats, and proceedel as far as Livingston Manor, where they burut a few more. Our troops are now up with them. It is to be hoped that they will be able to put a stop to these depredations. Britain, how art thou fallen ! Ages to come will not be able to wipe away the guilt, the horrid guilt, of theso aud such like deuds lately perpetrated by thec."
The Americans dil not think it expedient to make any official statement of the amount of their losses in stores and munitions of war, and, while the account of the enemy's success in their destruction is probably exaggerated, there is no room to doubt that the State suffered heavily on this occasion. The county records escaped the fire, but some portions now missing may not have been brought back to Kingston after the Rochester journey.
The " minutes" of the Kingston trustees for the year 1777 were destroyed with the papers of Christopher Tap- pen, their clerk, as appears from an entry in their books in his own handwriting.
The injury done to the inhabitants was more than most of them could well bear ; many persons in comfortable and even affluent circumstances were reduced to ahnost absolute want, and all were forced to seek shelter at some distance from their late pleasant homes.
The conduct of the cruel foe met with an indignant ery from all parts of the continent, and it steeled the hearts
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HISTORY OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK.
and nerved the arms of our countrymen to pursue with un- abating energy the course of resistance to British tyranny.
When the news of the destruction of Kingston reached Gen. Gates, now the victor at Saratoga, he addressed the following spirited letter* to Gen. Vaughan, which was for- warded in the boat carrying Lord Petersham with Bur- goyne's dispatches to Sir Henry Clinton :
" ALBANY, 19th October, 1777.
" Sin, -With unexampled ferocity you have reduced the fine village of Kingston to Ashes and most of the wretched inhabitants to ruin. I am also informel you continue to ravage and burn all before you ou both sides of the river. Is it thus Your King's General thiuks to make converts to the Royal Cause ?
" It is no less surprising than true that the measures they adopt to serve their master have quite the contrary effect. Their cruelty es- tablishes the glorious act of Iudependency upon the broad basis of the general resentment of the people.
". Other Generals and much older officers than you can pretend to be are now by the fortune of war in my hands; their fortune may que day be yours, when, sir, it may not be in the power of anything human to save you from the just vengeance of an injured people. "I atu, sir,
" Your most obedient bumble servant, " HIORATIO GATES. "The HONORABLE JOHN VAUGHAN, Major General."
Sympathy for the misfortunes of the people of Kingstou came in resolves and donations from various parts of the country, but one of the most substantial testimonies of good feeling appears in a letter to Governor Clinton written on behalf of citizens of South Carolina :
" CHARLESTOWN, 31st March, 1778.
"SIR,-I do myself the Pleasure to send you herewith the sum of £3711 10s., equal to £927 17s. 6i., New York currency. This money has been received in the charitable purpose of alleviating the dis- tresses of the bow indigent inhabitants of the town of Kingston, who, by the ravages of the eneuty, are reduced to poverty and want. A much larger sum would have been collected, had not a melancholy accident by fire culled the immediate attention of toany liberal souls to dissipate the wants of wauy of the inhabitants of the capital of This State who are reduced to beggary by the late dreadful conflagra- tiva. From a personal acquaintauce with your Exeelleuey, I persuade myself you will readily excuse the trouble I give in requesting your attention to a proper distribution of this donation. I have the pkas- ure to be, with sentiments of esteem and respect,
" Your most obedient humble servant, "ARM. LIVINGSTON. " HIS EXCELLENCY GEORGE CLINTON."
[Among the papers of the trustees of Kingston now in the Ulster County clerk's office is a letter from Robert R. Livingston, offering a donation of five thousand acres of land to the suffering citizens of Kingston. The letter ap- pears in this volume under the head of Revolutionary items From the records of the corporation of Kingston. The offer was accepted by the trustees, and the land located mostly in Great Lot No. 40 of the Hardenbergh patent, wow in Middletown, Delaware Co. A survey of it was made by William Cockburn iu 1754, and the settlement on this traet is still known as New Kingston.
It was equally divided by the trustees among one hun- dred families of the sufferers by the burning of the village.f] Governor Chiaton concentrated his little force at Hurley,
and did not follow the enemy lest he might be shut in be- tween the Catskill Mountains and the river should the British land in force. His first letter to General Gates, and another to General Patnam have been preserved.1
" MARBLETOWN, 17th Oet., 1777.
" DR GENERAL,-Yesterday afternoon about four o'clock the enemy took Possession of and burnt the Town of Kingston. For want of a proper number of troops no effectual resistance could be made. I have now the Body of men under my Command which marched from New Windsor to iny assistance, and shall immediately proceed to the Ruins of Kingston, which the enemy have abandoned. I bave sent otf a party of light horse to rceonnoitre, and shall act in such a man- ner as the motions of the enemy may direct.
" I heard that General Burgoyne had surrendered, and am very sorry to find by your letter that nothing has been done but to interchange of proposals. I hope that matter is by this time concluded.
"I have the Honor to be, Sir, your most Obe'dt & Humble servant, " GEORGE CLINTON. " P.S .- A prisoner who is by no means intelligent says the cuemuy are 2000 strong, commanded by General Vaughan."
Gov. Clinton to Gen. Putnam. " Heniny, Oct. 18, 1777.2 " DEAR SIR, -I am this moment favoureil with yours of this morn- ing. There is nothing new bappened in this Quarter since I wrote you yesterday. The enemy is right or ten miles above this, burning away; but as there are no espital settlements on this side of the river, and the situation of the Country such as with wy present force I can't advance opposite to them with safety to wiy artillery, I mean at present to continue where I now am, in Front of the most valuable settlements, und where the stores and effects from Kingston are re- uroved. Timagine the enemy will not proceed much higher up the River, and that on their return they will attempt to Iny waste the places they have passed going up. after our troops are drawn from them. This indners ine to think some more troops ought to be leftat Poughkeepsie and Fishkill, but of this yon can best judge. Adieu. " You shall hear from me frequently.
"Your woost obedient Servant, "GEORGE CLINTON."
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