History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. I, Part 103

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898, ed
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co.
Number of Pages: 1354

USA > New York > Westchester County > History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. I > Part 103

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"secure the passes, prevent insurrections, and over- " awe the disaffected. We suppose your Excellency " has taken the necessary steps to prevent their land- "ing of any men from the ships, should they be so " inclined, as no reliance at all can be placed on the "Militia of Westchester-county."3 Two days after- wards, Robert R. Livingston, himself a member of the Committee of Safety and present when the letter from which we have quoted was written, addressed a personal letter, appealing to General Washington to do, for the protection of the Highlands-behind which all the immense estates of the Livingston family were, then, very securely situated-and for that of the State, what he, therein, elaborately described ; although he must have known, when it was written, that General Washington could not, possibly, comply with a single one of the many requests which that letter contained.

In the same connectiou, and in order that the rcader may understand the temper of the great body of the people, beyond the limits of Duchess and Westchester-counties, we find room for the reply of the Colonel commanding the Militia of Orange- county, below the mountains, to the requisition which was made, by the Committee of Safety, for men enough to protect that portion of the western bank of the river, to which reference has been made. It was in these words : "We are in daily expectation of "their" [the ships] "proceeding up the river; and I am "sorry to inform the Committee of Safety that, should "they attempt to land with one barge, I cannot com- "mand a foree sufficient to prevent their penetrating "the country. I have exerted myself to muster the "Militia, but have not been able to raise a guard of "more than thirty eight men of my Regiment, at one "time, at Nyack.5 The wood-cutters employed by "order of General Heath have been with me, but "have received orders to proceed in cutting wood for "the Army; and I have not, at present, but eleven "men to guard the shore between Verdudigo Hook "and Stony Point.6 In this situation, I leave the "Committee of Safety to determine what can be ex- "pected from me, in a way of opposition.

"My whole Regiment consists of but three hundred "men : most of them are without arms, they having "been taken for the Continental troops. Most of my "men refuse to attend the service, thoughi repeatedly

1 General Washington to the Continental Congress, " 11 RIGHTS OF HAER- "LEM, 7 October, 1776," postscript dated, "October 9th ; " the same to General Schuyler, " HEAD-QUARTERS, HARLEM HEIGHTS, October 10. " 1776.""

2 Lieutenant-colonel Tilghman to the Convention, "HEAD-QUARTERS, " HARLEM-HEIGHTS, October 10, 1776 ; " Colonel Sargent to General Heath, " Half-past two o'clock at night, DOBR's FERRY, October 10, 1776; " * Colonel Ann Hawkes Hay to the Convention, " HAVERSTRAW, October 10, "1776 ;"

* It is very evident that this letter was written at half-past two o'clock in the morning of the tenth of October, since it was received, at King's Bridge, and answered, by General Heatb, on that day ; and the Colonel and his commaud, pursuant to Orders tbus conveyed, countermarcbed to King's Bridge, whero they arrived " At Night," of the same day .- (Gene- ral Heath's Orders to Colonel Sargent, " KINGS BRIDGE, October 10, 1776 ;"' David How's Diary, 10 October, 1776; Memoir of General Heath, 69.)

3 Journal of the Committee of Safety, "Thursday afternoon, Octor. 10, "1776."

4 Robert R. Livingston to General Washington, "FISHKILL, 12 October, "'1776."

5 As the ships were anchored off Nyack as well as off Tarrytown, those villages being exactly opposite, the former on the western and the latter on the eastern bank of the river, and as two boats' crews had made an attempt to go ashore, at Nyack, on the preceding Sunday, it will be seen why the Colonel mentioned Nyack, especially, in his despatch to the Committee of Safety.

G The sbore-line thus described includes the entire western bank of that portion of the Hudson river which is known as Haverstraw Bay, extend- ing from a short distance above Nyack to within a short distance from the southernmost entrance into the Highlands.

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THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1774-1783.

" summoned. Many reasons are assigned for this " desertion of the service, such as, that the troops last "raised were, by the Convention, expressly levied for "the purpose of protecting the shore; that this in- " duced many of their people to enlist, but they have " been drawn off from the immediate defence of their " wives, children, and property, to guard the eastern " shore of the river, contrary to their expectations. "Others deelare that if they leave their business, "their families must starve, as they have all their "Corn and Buckwheat to secure, and have been so " called off, during the Summer, by the public "troubles, as not to have been able to put in the "ground, any Winter Grain, and would, therefore, as " leave die by the sword as by famine. A third set, " and the most numerous, declare that the Congress " have rejected all overtures for a reconciliation, in- " consistent with Independency ; that all they desire "is peace, liberty, and safety ; and that if they can " procure that, they are contented.1 1

It will be seen, from this official statement, that there were other Militia than that of Westchester- county on whom "no reliance at all could be placed," in that hour of extreme danger; and, when taken into consideration, in connection with the facts that the Counties of Richmond. Kings, Queens, and Suf- folk had returned to their allegiance to the King; that Duchess-county was in open and armed opposi- tion to the Convention, and was kept in subjection only by the occupation of the County and the support of the few friends of the Convention who lived there, by five hundred armed men, drawn from Connecticut ; and that the Manor of Livingston, including the whole of the lower portion of Albany-county, was almost entirely "disaffected," Colonel Hay's exposition of the temper of the farmers of Orange-county very clearly established the fact that "disaffection " was not peculiar to the farmers of Westchester-county; and that the Declaration of Independence had not been received with any favor, by the greater number of the inhabitants of New York.

The purposes of the enemy, in sending the Phoenix and her consorts up the Hudson-river and in anchor- ing them off Tarrytown, as we have seen, were var- iously interpreted by General Washington and the Committee of Safety; and they have continued to receive the scattered attention of those who have written on the subject, to this day.2 But, while the

1 Colonel Ann Huickes Hay to the Convention, "HAVERSTRAW, Octor. " 15, 1776."

2 Marshall, (Life of George Washington, Ed. Philadelphia : 1804, ii., 495, 496,) very accurately, stated the ohjeet of the movement was to se- cure to General Howe the possession of the North-river above Kings- bridge, without, however, stating more than that. Sparks, (Life of George Washington, Ed Boston : 1542, 194.) said they " seenred a free pussago to " the Highlands, thereby preventing any supplies, from coming to the " American Army, hy water." llildreth, (History of the United States, iii., 154,) said, only, they " cut off all supplies from the country, South " and West of that river," the lludson. Bancroft, (History of the United States, original edition, ix., 174; the same, centenary edition, v., 439,)

surmises of General Washington and those of the Convention were thrown out before the ships had reached the anchorage-ground to which they had been ordered and, therefore, before either their des- tination or the purposes for which they had been ordered to move up to Tarrytown were definitely made known to any one, except to their own Officers, there is no evidence whatever, in the subsequent conduct of those ships, to give the slightest weight to any of those earlier surmises, no matter by whom originated; and the direction in which the alarm of the Commander-in-chief and the Convention trended, in the light afforded by immediately subsequent events, was, certainly, not the right one-the ships certainly made no attempt to renew the previously unsuccessful attempt to give countenance and sup- port. for military purposes, to the disaffected farmers of Westchester-county: they certainly made no at- tempt whatever to seize the forts in the Highlands and to occupy the water communication through tlie Highlands : and there is not the slightest cvidence that they effected or attempted to effect combinations with anybody, on shore, for any purpose whatever. Had their purpose been to cut off the supplies of the American Army, as some have supposed and stated- a project which would have been unnecessary, if the American Army was to be obliged to abandon its strong position, near Kingsbridge, in order to prevent the enemy from falling on its rear-the ships would not have anehored at so great a distance from the American lines ; nor would they have chosen, as their station, the widest part of the river, at that place quite three miles wide, of which two-thirds or more are shoal-water, over which the small river-eraft could pass and re-pass, with impunity ; while, within four miles, equally good anchorage grounds could have been found, equally safe from interference from the Americans, less exposed to the heavy winds of the season, which would have required not more than one- half the extent of guard-duty, and, at the same time, which would have been equally effective, for the pur- pose named. Had the purpose been, as others have supposed, to have obstructed the retreat of the Amer- ican Army and the removal of its stores and heavy guns, by water, it is equally strange that the place which was designated for the anchorage of the ships was situated not far from ten miles above the Ameri- ean lines, within which General Washington held an

referred to nothing else than to tho Phoenix and the Roebuck and the ten- ders; and, very cautiously, for reasons which are not unknown to us, he said nothing whatever concerning the purposes of the expedition. Ir- ving, (Life of Washington, Ed. New York : 1856, ii., 367-373,) in the most carefully prepared description of all, with a grave error in his de- scription of the passago of tho ships through the obstruetions, and another in making General Washington do what was done by General Heath, recited all the surmises of the inhabitants and others, concern- ing tho object of the movement, without pretending to offer any of his own.

No other writer of the history of that period has noticed the subject, notwithstanding its great importunee.

406

HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

undisputed line of communication with New Jersey, protected by the guns of both Fort Washington and Fort Lee, over which, if adversity had overtaken him, he could have securely retreated. For these reasons, and with the knowledge which all the events of that period in which that particular Squadron was con- cerned, has imparted, we have seen no reason for con- curring with those who have already written concern- ing the purposes of General Howe, in the removal of the Squadron which had covered the left flank of his lines, from its anchorage, off Bloomingdale, to a dis- tant anchorage, off Tarrytown, when he had no fur- ther use for it, at the former station, and expected to make it useful, for the same purpose, in the latter ; and, at the same time, from the best evidence which we have been able to control, we have formed an opin- ion, concerning those purposes, which differs from all those to which we have referred and of all of which we have heard. That opinion may be thus stated : when preparations were being made by Gen- eral Howe, for the military occupation of the City of New York, before any movement for that purpose was actually made, these ships were moved up the Hudson-river, on the opposite side of the island, for the purpose, as General Howe subsequently informed the Home Government, of drawing the attention of the Americans to that side, while the real operations were to be made on the other side. In short, the movement, on that occasion, was, primarily, a feint ; but it had served, also, to command the lower por- tion of the river ; to prevent the retreating Americans from removing their stores or heavy guns, from the City to Kingsbridge, by water; and, therefore, to throw into the hands of the Royal Army, both stores and guns which the Americans could ill-afford to lose. Subsequent to the establishment of the former, in the City of New York, the Squadron. at its anchor- age, off Bloomingdale, had effectually covered the left flank of the enemy's lines, which, without such a protection, would have been negligently exposed to the well-known enterprise of the Americans ; and, as far as we have seen it, there is not the slightest evi- dence that the Squadron had been engaged in any other service. At the time now under notice, Gen- eral Howe was again preparing to move his great command, at that time, by way of the Sound, into Westchester-county ; and he did no more, concern- ing that Squadron, in that connection, than he had done, in the former instance, when he had moved that command from Long Island to the City of New York-he caused it to be moved further up the river, evidently, again, in order "to draw the enemy's" [the Americans'] " attention to that side," while he and his command should effect a landing, on the other side of the County, with lesser opposition and difficulty ; and it is not improbable, in view of the recognized purposes of General Howe, in proposing to move his command into Westchester-county, that it was expected, also, to cover that flank of the Army,

in whatever operations it should become engaged, within that County. We believe that these were the only purposes for which the Squadron was moved up the river ; and we also believe that, for the purpose of a feint, the movement was, again, an entire success : be- cause of the subsequent movements of the two Armies, it was not required for any other purpose.

Having detached two Brigades of British and one Brigade of Hessian troops, the whole under the com- mand of Lieutenant-general Earl Percy, to occupy the exterior lines, on the high grounds to the south- ward of the Harlem-plain, for the protection of the City of New York,1 and another Brigade of British troops to garrison the City itself,2 "all previous arrange- " ments, having been made," early on the morning of Saturday, the twelfth of October, the first detachment of the forces designated for that purpose, under the personal command of General Howe, embarked, at Kip's-bay,3 in the City of New York, in flat-boats, batteaux, etc .; and, having passed through Hell- gate, landed-the Carysfort, frigate, having been so placed that she could cover the descent-about nine o'clock in the morning, on Throgg's-neck, in the Borough Town of Westchester, in Westchester- county.4

It was an exceedingly foggy morning ; 5 and, from the fact that General Washington made no allusion to the enemy's movement, in letters written by him, on that day, respectively, to the President of the Con- gress and to Governor Cooke, of Rhode Island, not- withstanding his Headquarters, in the elegant man- sion of Colonel Roger Morris, more recently owned

1 General Howe to Lord George Germaine, "NEW YORK, November 30, "1776."

2 General Howe made no mention of a third Brigade of British troops having been left, to garrison the City ; but common sense tells us there must have been such a Garrison, within the thickly settled portions of the City; and Captain Hall, (History of the Civil War in America, i., 203,) and Stedman, (History of the American W'ar, i., 210,) both of them officers of the Royal Army, have left records of the fact.

8 Captain Hall, (History of the Civil War in America, i., 203,) said the troops were embarked, for this movement, in Turtle-bay ; but, inasmuch as the naval portions of the movement were made under the personal superintendence of Admiral Lord Howe, we have preferred his statement, in his despatch to the Admiralty, (" EAGLE, OFF NEW-YORK, November "23, 1776,") that the embarkation was at Kip's-bay.

4 Admiral Lord Howe to Mr. Stephens, Secretary of the Admiralty, " EAGLE, "OFF NEW-YORK, November 23, 1776 ; " General Howe to Lord George Germaine, " NEW-YORK, November 30, 1776;" General Washington to General Heath, " HEADQUARTERS, October 12, 1776 ;" the same to the Con- gress, " HEIGHTS OF HAERLEN, 12 October, 1776," postscript dated, " Oc- "tober 13th ; " Diary of David Howe, October 12, 1776 ; General Washing- ton to Governor Cooke, "HEADQUARTERS, HARLEM HEIGHTS, October 12, "1776 ; " postscript dated "October 13th ;" Colonel Smallicood to the Maryland Convention, "CAMP OF THE MARYLAND REGULARS, HEAD-QUAR- "TERS, October 12, 1776 ;" Extractof a letter from Harlem, in The Penn- sylvania Evening Post, Volume 2, Number 271, PHILADELPHIA, Tuesday, October 15, 1776 ; the same, in The Pennsylvania Journal, No. 1767, PHIL- ADELPHIA, Wednesday, October 16, 1776 ; [Hall's] History of the Civil War in America, i., 203; Stedman's History of the American War. i .. 210 ; Gor- don's History of the American Revolution, ii., 336 ; Memoir of General Heath, 70; etc.

5 Admiral Lord Howe to Mr. Stephens. Secretary to the Admiralty, " EA- " GLE, OFF NEW-YORK, November 23, 1776;" General Howe to Lord George Germaine, "NEW YORK. 30 November, 1776 ;" [Hall's] History of the Civil War in America, i., 203.

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THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1774-1783.

by Madame Jumel,1 commanded a fine view of the East-river and Sound; and because the intelligence of the movement which he first received, was con- veyed to him, by express, from General Heath, after the landing had been made,? it may be reasonably supposed that the movement of the Royal Army, into Westchester-county, was unknown to him, until after it had been accomplished ; that the left flank of the American Army had been successfully turned, a sec- ond time, without his knowledge; and that the latter was placed, again, by reason of that successful move- ment of the enemy, in such a critical situation that its very existence was threatened-it is noteworthy, also, that if a dense fog had served to secure the es- cape of the American Army from what appeared to have threatened its entire destruction, at Brooklyn, a similarly dense fog, on the occasion now under notice. had afforded a similar advantage to the Royal Army, in its effort to recover the great military advantages which it had lost, on the former occasion.

During the afternoon of the same day, [October 12, 1776,] the second detachment of the Royal Army passed Hell-gate, in forty-two sail of vessels, includ- ing nine ships ; and it was, also, safely landed.3

The naval portion of that very important movement was performed under the personal supervision of Admiral Lord Howe, assisted by Commodore Ho- tham ; and the assistance of most of the Captains of the Fleet and that of the navai officers, in general, which were freely given, secured, for that difficult movement, the most complete success, the only loss sustained having been that of an artillery-boat, with three six-pounders and three men, which was upset and sunk by the rapidity of the current,4 probably in Hell-gate.

General Howe, notwithstanding his successful oc- cupation of Westchester-county, was made the object of much censure, because of his movement to Throgg's-neck, first, because of the danger to which the City of New York was exposed by the withdrawal of so large a portion of the Army ; and the tempta- tion which was offered to General Washington to

make a dash, in that direction, instead of moving the American Army into Westchester-county ; 5 in which latter case the three Brigades commanded by General Lord Percy would have been scriously imperiled ; and, second, because he had landed on Throgg's-neck, which was really an island, instead of on the main- land, where none of the difficulties to which he was exposed, on the Neck, would have been encountered.8 But. if the General noticed the first of these criti- cisins, we have seen no mention of it ; and, in answer to the second, without pretending to offer any further explanation, although it is understood that he could easily have done so,7 he said, before the Committee of the House of Commons, who was considering his conduct, as Commander-in-chief of the Army, that the landing at Pell's-neck instead of at Throgg's- neck, " would have been an imprudent measure, as it " could not have been executed without much un- " necessary risk." 8

Throgg's-neck is a peninsula, on the eastern border of Westchester-county, which stretches upwards of two miles into the Sound. It was separated from the mainland by a narrow creek and a marsh, and was surrounded by water, every high-tide. At the time of which we write, a bridge across the creek, connecting with a causeway across the marsh, afforded means for communication between the mainland and the Neck ; besides which, however, the upper end of the creek was fordable, at low-water.9 As early as the third of Oc- tober, General Heath, who commanded those detach- ments from the Army who were in Westchester-county, had reconnoitred his position, accompanied by Colonel

1 The fine old mansion still occupies its place, with few, if any, altera- tions, on the high grounds forming the southern bank of the Harlem- river, uear One hundred and sixty-ninth-street, a little below the High- bridge of the Croton-acqueduct. Jladame Jumel, who was also the widow of Aaron Burr, has been dcad, many years ; and the right to the owner- ship of the property has been bitterly coutested, in the Courts; but the old house remains-aud long may it remain.

2 Colonel Harrison's reply, under General Washington's instructions, " HEAD-QUARTERS, October 12, 1776; " Colonel Ewing to the Maryland Council of Safety, " CAMP NEAR IIARLEM, October 13, 1776."

3 General Washington to the Congress, " HEIGHTS OF HARLEM, 12 Octo- "ber, 1776;" postscript, dated "October 13th ; " the same to General Ward, " HEADQUARTERS, HARLEM HEIGHTS, October 13, 1776;" Extract of a Letter from Hurlem, dated October 13, in The Peunsyleania Evening Post, Volume 2, Number 271, PHILADELPHIA, Tuesday, October 15, 1776 ; the saine, iu The Pennsylvania Journal, No. 1767, PHILADELPHIA, Wednes- day, October 16, 1776; Memoirs of General Heath, 71.

4 Admiral Lord Howe to Mr. Stephens, Secretary to the .Idmirolty, "EA- " GLE, OFF NEW-YORK, November 23, 1776 ;" General Howce to Lord George Germaine, "NEW- York, 30 November, 1776; " [llall's] History of the Civil War in America, i., 202.

5 Annual Register for 1776, History of Europe, 176 *.

6 [llall's] History of the Civil War in America, i., 203; Stedman's History of the American War, i., 210 ; etc.

It is very evident, from indirect questions put to the Government's wit- ness against Sir William Howe, General Robertson, before a Committee of the House of Commons, on the fourteenth of June, 1779, that Lord George Germaine was also inclined to criticise the occupation of Throgg's- neck, adversely.

7 It is said that the place for the landing of the troops was entirely entrusted to the naval officers, by whom Throgg's-neck was selected, because of the unfitness of Pell's-neck, for that purpose ; and a glance at the official Chart of the Coast Survey, will satisfy any one of the wisdom displayed in the choice-the shallowuess of the water, elsewhere, would have prevented the co-operation of the larger vessels of every class ; and, certainly, the landing of the troops at Pell's-neck could not have been covered by any vessel of force sufficient for such a purpose, without which no prudent officer would have attempted a landing, anywhere.

But General Sir llenry Clinton has left a testimony on this subject, which disposes of every cavil. On the margin of his own copy of Sted- man's History of the American War, (i. 211,) he wrote these words: " It " had been proposed to Sir William Howe that the troops should have "been marched to llarlem Point " [Hoern's Hook, at the mouth of the Har- lem River, opposite Hell-gate,] "there met by the boats, passed to City "Orchard " [City-island ?] thence to Will's Creek, " [New Rochelle-harbor, ] "and Rochelle. This was overruled ; and the above move to Frog's " Point took place. Lord llowe objected to Mill's Creek, under an idea " that it would not be safe for ships to lay there."

8 Speech of Sir William Howe before a Committee of the House of Com- mons, April 29, 1779.

" Although Throgg's-neck is only a short distance from where we have lived during the past twenty seven years, we have never been on the ground ; aud we have depended, for what we have said of it, on General lleath, (Memoirs, 67,) and on onr unwearied friend, William H. De Lan- cey, Esq., who is familiar with that portion of the County.

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HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

Hand, of the First Regiment of Continental Foot ; and, in doing so, he had "taken a view " of the cause- way and the bridge, between the mainland and the Neck, at the western end of which a large quantity of cord-wood had been piled, " as advantageously situ- " ated to cover a party defending the pass, as if con- " structed for the very purpose," as he has stated. Considering it possible that the enemy might make a lodgment on Throgg's-neck, the General immediately ordered Colonel Hand to detail one of his best Subal- terns and twenty-five picked men, to that pass, " as " their alarm-post, at all times," with orders, if the enemy should effect a landing on the Neck, immedi- ately to take up the planks of the bridge; to oppose the movement of the enemy, to the mainland; and, in ease the fire of the detachment should appear to be in- sufficient to check the advance of the enemy, over the causeway, to set fire to a tide-mill which stood on the mainland, at the western extremity of the bridge.1 He also ordered Colonel Hand to detail another party to guard the fording-place, at the head of the creek ; and to reinforce both these parties, if the enemy should effect a landing on the Neck ; and he promised the Colonel that he should be properly supported. Colonel Hand carefully obeyed all these Orders, we are told; 2 and the only lines of communication with the mainland, from Throgg's-neck, were thus care- fully guarded, when General Howe and his command debarked on that isolated ground.

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History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. I, Part 103

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898, ed Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co. Number of Pages: 1354

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898, ed
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co.
Number of Pages: 1354