History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. II, Part 55

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898,
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co.
Number of Pages: 1286

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. II > Part 55

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In 1880, one hundred years after the eapture, the monument was somewhat remodeled, and the side

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bearing the inscription, that had previously fronted the road on the cast, was turned towards the south. A bas-relief, by Theodore Baur, of Durand's cele- brated picture, representing the scene of the capture, was provided for the pedestal on the side just turned from north to east toward the road, and a bronze statne of herioc size, intended to represent Paulding, was provided to surmount the top of the monument itself. The statue was the gift of Mr. John Ander- son, a wealthy and patriotic citizen of Tarrytown. In the figure of Paulding, on the top, as explained by the artist, he holds close to his side, with his right

1780-1877

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NEW MONUMENT, ERECTED TO THE CAPTORS OF ANDRE, AT TARRYTOWN.

hand, the barrel of his gun, with the butt resting on the ground. His left foot is well advanced, and he extends downward and outward his left hand, with both the forefinger and the little finger slightly curved and separated from the two others between them, in a position expressive of the tension of his nerves. He looks to the left of the road, the quarter from which Major Andre came toward them. In another mo- ment he will have grasped his gun for action.

The well-built, active figure, is that of a young. man, and the handsome, fearless face has much indi- viduality. The pose is natural, the action well ex-

pressed, especially in the head and shoulders, and the modeling good. The dress is that of a civilian of the time, and the ruffled shirt and cuffs show that he was a youth of good position. The soft hat is turned up in front and worn slightly back on the head. On the figure's left side hangs the powder-horn. The statue is seen at its best in front, where the vigorously handled, life-like head is very telling.

It was a happy thought that suggested that the bronze statue should be moulded to represent Paulding, the acknowledged leader of the Patriots, and it has been well carried out by the artist. An original painting furnished the model, and so will his face and form be preserved in perpetual bronze."

The following are given as the dimensions of the monument, and it may be added that the inscription on the north side, quoted from Washington's letter to the President of Congress, dated "Paramus, 7th Oeto- ber, 1780," was cut into the stone in 1880, at the time when the monument was remodeled.

" The completed monument is of the following dimensions : Base 8 ft. 8, square ; height, including monlding, 4 ft. 6. The plinth is 5 ft. square, and 4 ft. in height, crowned by a cornice 18 inches high with 9 inches projection. The second pedestal, which is new work, except that a portion of it is made from the old shaft, is 5 ft. square at the base, and height & ft. 8 inches. The total height of the stone-work is 18 ft. 8 inches. The statne, including base, is 8 ft., making the altitude of the monument complete 26 ft. > in. The old monument was abont 20 feet high, but the apparent difference is greater, as the base of the new monument has been raised three feet to a level of the sidewalk. The base relief is 2 ft. 10 by 3 ft. S, and is set into the east side of the plinth, the stone having been turned partly around so as to present the inscription on the old monument to the south."

INSCRIPTIONS ON THE MONUMENT. [Inscription on the south side.] On this Spot, the 23d day of September, 1780, the Spy, Major John Andre, Adjutant General of the British Army, was cap- tured by John l'aulding, David Williams and Isaac Van Wart all natives of this County. History has told the rest.

The People of Westchester County have erected this Monument, as well to commemorate a great event, as to testify their high estimation of that Integrity and l'atriotism which, rejecting every temptation, res. cned the United States from most imminent peril, by baffling the arts of a spy, and the plots of a Traitor.

Dedicated October 7th, 1853. [ Inscription on the north side of the second pedestal.]

Their conduct merits our warmest esteem. They have prevented in all probability our suffering one of the severest strokes that could have been meditated against ns .- ll'ashington.

[Inscription on the east, ou base of statue ] This statue, the gift of John Anderson, a citizen of Tarrytown, was placed here sept. 23d, Is$0. 1780-1830.

The day chosen for unveiling the remodeled monu- ment and presenting it to the public was Thursday, September 23, 1880, the one hundredth anniversary of the capture, which took place upon that spot. So immense a multitude of people gathered from all quarters, far and near, it is safe to say, had never

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before assembled in Tarrytown, nor anywhere else in the county. It is estimated that fifty thousand per- sons were present, and some maintained it weut as high as sixty thousand. It was a bright and beau- tiful day, and thic sun shone forth from an almost cloudless sky. The morning was ushered in with the ringing of bells, and the firing of national salutes, in which the thunder of the guns from the United States war ship "Minnesota," lying off Tarrytown, in the Hudson River, responded to the thunder from the guns of Battery C, of the. Third United States Artil- lery, firing from the hill-top, where they were en- eamped, above the village. Train after train and steamboat after steamboat came in with their freight of humanity, aud it is said that the Hudson River Railroad alone furnished transportation for thirty thousand people. Nothing cqual to the vast assem- bly and the imposing procession, in which were representatives from the United States army and navy, and from the military organizations of other States, was ever scen in this part of the State, outside of New York City. General James W. Husted was grand marshal, and under him the procession of military, firemen and citizens marched down Broad- way, past the monument, saluting it as they passed, and thence on to the corner of Main Street, where they turned eastward up the ascent, and finally eame to the grand pavilion, on the grounds of Mr. Edward Coles, since named Mount Andre, as being the spot where the public exercises took place. The Hon. Samuel J. Tilden, ex-Governor of the State, pre- sided. After a brief introductory address by ex- Governor Tilden, an appropriate prayer was offered by the Rev. Alexander Van Wart, the only surviving son of Isaae Van Wart, the youngest of the captors. He was a specially honored guest of the oeeasion, and rode in the procession in a carriage assigned exclusively to himself. At the conclusion of the prayer, Orlando B. Potter, Esq., read a selection from the official papers relating to the capture and trial of Andre, after which ex-Governor Tilden introduced the orator of the day, the Hon. Chauncey M. Depew, who delivered an oration which was declared by those familiar with his best efforts, to have been one of the ablest, if not the very ablest, of his life. It has since been published, with other papers on the same sub- ject, in the "Centennial Souvenir of the Monument Association of the Capture of Andre," prepared under the auspices of the association, by Nathaniel C. Hus- ted, M.D., of Tarrytown, and printed in 1881.

ACTION AT TARRYTOWN .- In the "Diary of the American Revolution, from Newspapers and Original Documents, by Frank Moore," volume ii., page 459, an aeeount is given of what is designated as an "Ac- tion at Tarrytown, New York," which took place on Sunday evening, July 15, 1781. The affair must have involved the greatest danger to the Americans con- cerned in it, but their effort was so courageous and successful as to obtain the special thanks and praise

of General Washington. The action is described in an article taken from the New Jersey Gazette of Au- gust 9, 1781, as follows :

"July 20 .- On Sunday evening, the 15th instant, two sloops-of-war, two tenders and one galley, all Britishi, came up Hudson River, with intention, as is supposed, to destroy the stores then moving from West Point to the army. There were at that time two sloops going down the river, laden with cannon and powder. As soon as they discovered the enemy, they stood about and put in for Tarrytown, where they run aground. The enemy having a fair wind and tide came up the river so fast that it was impossible to march infantry down in time to unload or protect the stores, as there were no troops in Tarrytown, except a ser- geant's guard of French infantry. Colonel Sheldon (whose regiment lay at Dobbs Ferry) immediately marched his mounted dragoons to the place, where he ordered his men to dismount and assist to unload the stores, which was done with despatch. By this time the enemy having/ come to anchor off Tarrytown, began a heavy cannonade, under cover of which they sent two gunboats and four barges to destroy the vessels. Captain Ilurlburt, of the second regiment of light dragoons, was sta- tioned on board one of them with twelve men armed only with pistols and swords ; he kept his men concealed till the enemy were alongside, when he gave them a fire, which they returned and killed one of his men. Captain flurlburt finding himself surrounded, ordered his men to jump overboard and make for the shore, which they did, he following ; the enemy immediately boarded and set fire to the vessels, but were obliged immediately to retire, owing to the severe fire that was kept up by the dragoons and French guard. Captain Ilurlburt, Captain-Lieu- tenant Miles, Quartermaster Shaylor and others jumped into the river and made for the sloops, in order to extinguish the fire, which they did, and saved the vessels ; while in the water, Captain Ilurlburt received a musket-ball through the thigh, but is now in a fair way to do well. About daylight, General Howe arrived with a division of troops and some artillery; a battery was opened on the enemy, which obliged them to slip their cables and fall down the river about two miles, where they continued till Tuesday, about noon, when General Howe again opened a battery on them, and obliged them to make sail up the river. They continued near Teller's Point till near Thursday, during which they sent their gunboats on shore, and burnt the elegant house of Captain Robert, at Haverstraw. About noon, taking advantage of a tair wind and tide, they made sail and stood down the river. When coming near Dobbs Ferry (where the Americans had erected a battery of two eighteen- pounders, two French brass twelve, and seven half-inch howitzers) they (the Americans) commenced a heavy fire on them from the works, on both sides of the river; the Britishi returned the fire but did not the least damage. The largest of their ships sustained the greatest damage; many shots were tired through her, and one of our shells, bursting on board her, threw them in great confusion ; eighteen or twenty of their men jumped overboard, three or four of them swam on shore, and the rest are supposed to be drowned." 1

An interesting account of this action, as well as of the French eneampment in the neighborhood, and of the French co-operation generally with the Ameri- cans in Westchester County, is given in a historical work compiled from the journals and other writings of several French officers engaged in actual service on the spot, and published in Paris in 1872. It has seemed to the writer worth while to present, as illus-

1 New Jersey Gazette, August 8th .- General Washington, in the general orders of July 19th, notices this affair as follows :

" The commander in chief is exceedingly pleased with the conduct of Major General Howe for marching with so much alacrity and rapidity to the defence of the stores at Tarrytown and repulsing the enemy from thence. . lle requests General flowe and all the officers and soldiers of the American and French Armies who were employed on the occasion to accept this public acknowledgment of their services.

" The gallant behavior and spirited exertions of Colonel Sheldon and Captain Hurlburt, of the 2nd regiment of dragoons ; Captain-Lieutenant Miles, of the artillery, and Lieutenant Shaylor, of the 4th Connecticut regiment, previous to the arrival of the troops, in extinguishing the flames of the vessels which had been set on fire by the enemy, and pre- serving the whole of the ordnance and stores from destruction, entitle them to the most distinguished notice and applause of their general."

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trating the heartiness of the French allies, some of the facts as they were seen through the eyes of those gallant and generous friends of our struggling eoun- try. The title of the book is " Les Français en Amner- ique pendant la Guerre de l'Independance des Etats- Unis 1777-1783. Par Thomas Balch, Paris, A. Sau- ton, Editeur, Rue de Bac +1, 1872." A translation is here given. The quotation is found on pages 138 to 145. The French writer says,-

"The 5th of July [1781];General Washington, upon his return from reconnoitring toward New York, proceeded to visit the French troops encamped at Northcastle ; ho conferred with M. de Rochambeau, and dined with him uud his staff. lle returned that same evening.

"The 6th of July the French Army, abandoning Northcastle marched seventeen miles from thence, iu order to unite with the American army encamped at Phillipsburg. The road was sufficiently good, but the heat was so excessive ns to become very distressing, more than four hundred soldiers giving out from fatigue, but by means of frequeut halts and much care, they arrived safely.

" Two men belonging to the Deux Ponts regiment deserted.

" The right of the allied armies formed by the Americans was posted upon a rugged height overlooking the lindson, called in that part Tap- pansee. Between the two armies, at the bottom of a ravine, there flowed down a rivnlet ; finally two brigades of the French army formed the left of the line, supported hy the legion of Lauzun, which was en- camped at a distance of four miles, at Whito l'lains. All the approaches were guarded by pickets.

" On the 8th General Washington reviewed both armies. The Ameri- cau army, which he inspected first, was composed of four thousand five hundred men, at the utmost, among whom were some very young men aud many negroes. They had no uniforms, and appeared poorly equip- ped. In this respect they contrasted greatly with the French army, with which General Washington seemed well pleased. The Rhode Island regiment alone appeared to the French officers to he well dressed.

"The American General wished to visit the tent that Dumas, Charles de Lameth and the two Berthiers had established near tho headquarters of M. de Béoville, in an exceedingly pleasant position among some rocks, and under several magnificent tulip trees. They Ind also constructed a pretty gardeu around their temporary habitation. Washington found upon the table of the young officers plans of Trenton, West Point and other principal actions of the war, in which Washington had distin- guished himself.

"Upon the evening of the 10th of July, according to the orders of MI. de Villebrune, the Romulus nud three frigates set sail from Newport, and advanced in the sound as far as Huntington Bay. The guard-ship, which they estimated at forty-four guns, retired at their npprouch, and the other small vessels took refuge in the bay. The pilots, little ae- customed to their business here, dared not enter by night, which obliged M. d'Angely, conaander of the two hundred and fifty men on board, to demy until the following day the attack he intended to make upon Lhoyd's Fort, at the head of Oyster Bay. But during the night the English had been able to make such dispositions as to render the attempt impracticable. The French landed, but the fort was garrisoned more strongly than they expected, and finding four hundred men there, MI. d'Angely was compelled to retire, after n cannonade and a sharp fire of musketry, which wounded four men. lle Immediately re-embarked, and returned to Newport.

"The 11th General Washington visited the legion of Lauzuu, encamp- ed at Chatterton Ilill, two miles to the left. The Americaus were well pleased with its equipments.

" The 12th M. de Rochmbean. accompanied by an aide-de-comp, 1 de- sired to see the fortifications which the Americans had constructed nt Dobbs Ferry, to defend the pasage of the North River. He found a re- doubt, and two batteries, in a very good position, under the direction of M. du Portail ; then in going back, he surveyed the posts of both armies. "The 14th, M. de Rochambeau, at the close of a dinner at the house of General Lincoln, at which General Washington, M. M. de Viomenil, de ('Instellenx, de Lanznn and Cromot du Bourg were present, gave the

order to his troops to place themselves upon the march. The Ist bri- gade (Bourdonnais and Deux-l'ontsi the heavy artillery and the legion of Lauzun prepared to depart. The weather was very nnfavorable. The beating of the drunt was to be the signal for the march ; but at seven o'clock the order was countermanded, without any one being able to ex- plain either the causes of this alarm or those of the countermand.

" The 13th, at nine o'clock in the evening, the firing of cannon was heardI from the direction of Tarrytown, followed by a sharp fusillade. MI. de marquis de Laval immediately caused the drums to be beaten, and the aların-canuon to be twice discharged. In an instant the army was on foot, but MI. de Rochambeau ordered the soldiers to return to camp.

"An hour afterward, Washington asked of him two hundred men, with six cannon and six howitzers, but at the moment in which this ar- tillery should set out they received another countermand.

" The next morning at five o'clock there was a similar alarm, followed by a new demand for two twelve-pounders and two howitzers.

" This time G. de Deux Ponts set out in advance for Tarrytown, and Cromot du Bourg, who was in service near MI. de Rochambeau, was charged with conducting the artillery. He performed this mission with ardor, for he went under fire for the first time. The cannon arrived at Tarrytown at eleven o'clock. The cause of all these alarms was two English frigates and three schooners, which had ascended the lludson and endeavored to seize five sailing vessels, laden with flour, which they were transporting front the Jerseys to Tarrytown, for sup- plying the urmy. Another ship had already been taken during the night; it contained bread for four days, intended for the French. On account of this loss each soldhier was reduced to four ounces of bread. They were given some rice, and besides some meat ; they sustained these passing hardships with a gayety and firmness, of which their officers gave them an example.

" Upou the vessel seized by the English was some clothing for the Sheldon dragoons. The frigates had finally placed their crews in their long boats, in order to effect a landing, and to seize the remaining stores at Tarrytown, but a sergeant of Soissonnais, who guarded that post with twelve men, kept up such a sharp and well-directed fire that the English continued to remain in their boats. A half hour after came the Ameri- cans, who lost a sergeant there and had an officer wounded. Happily in the meantime the four pieces of French artillery arrived ; they placed them together in a battery and discharged one hundred shots, which compelled the frigates to retire. They remained in sight during the 17th and 18th. During this time M. de Rochambean had commanded M. M. de Neuris and de Vertun, officers of artillery, to establish a small bat- tery of two pieces of cannon and two howitzers at Dobles Ferry, at the narrowest point of the river. The frigates had to pass before this post ou the 19th, in order to return to Kings Bridge. They were received with energy. Two shells thrown on bourd, oue of them set it on fire. A French prisoner who was on board, profited by it to escape, Innit fright soon drove seven of the sailors to throw themselves in the water. Some were drowned, three were taken prisoners and the others regained the frigate upou which the flames had been extinguished.

"During the night of the 17th, Isth M. de Northmann, an officer of the legion of Lanznn, in making a patrol with six hussar-, was killed in an encounter with some of Delaney's dragoons. An alarm followed. The hussars responded quickly by some pistol shots, and the infantry advanced immediately to support them, when the dragoons disappeared under cover of the wouds and of the night. A singular circumstance connected with this athir contributed to cause an alarm within the French camp. At the moment in which Mr. Northmann was killed, his horse went back alone at full speed to the camp of the legion of Lanzan. The hussar on duty, not knowing what had happened, called ont three times ' Who goes there ?' finally, receiving uo answer, he discharged his gun, which stretched the unfortunate horse stiff in death.

" The 18th M. de Rochambeau employed Dumas, his nide-de-camp, to reconnoiter the ground and the approaches in front of the camp, towar.] New York : he ordered him to push his explorations as far as possible, even in sight of the first redoubt of the enemy. Ile gave him with this design, a detachment of lancers from the legion of Lanzan, which Lieu- tenant Klllemaine commanded. Thanks to the courage and intelli- gence of this young officer, Immas was enabled to perform hls mission thoroughly. After having obliged sume posts of Hessian chasseurs to retire, they arrived within nmusket range of the enemy's works, and at this point rejoined a detuchment of American light infantry, which had explored, in like manner, the ground upon the right. The object of these explorations was to prepare for those which the generals-In-chief expected to make In n few days, with a large detachment in order to fix more especially the attention of General Chnton and to leave him in nu doubt us to the intention of the allied generals,

I Cromot un Bonrg. It is from his journal that I have related the greater part of the events that ocenrred during the sojourn of the allied armies before New York. " Les Souvenirs de Dumas, " "Mes Camjag- nes en Amérique de G. de Deux l'onts" and the Journal of Blanchard Inve above all served to control and complete these accounts.

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"Upon the 21st, at 8 o'clock in the evening, they departed for this op- eration. The signal was given by drums, and they placed themselves upon the march in the order they had taken on the 14th. The first brigade, the grenadiers and the chasseurs, of the four regiments, with two twelve pounders and two four ponnders marched in the centre under the command of M. de Chastelleux. The right commanded by General Heath, was formed by a part of the division of General Lincoln. The legion of Lauzun protected the army upon the left. There were in all about five thousand men, with two field batterles. The head of the columns reached the ridge which commands Kings Bridge at 5 o'clock on the morning of the 22d. The roads were very bad, and the artillery had difficulty in following. Nevertheless, the two armies marched in perfect order, observing the strictest silence. An American regiment marched resolutely under a continuous fire to take a redoubt ; one of its officers had his thigh shot away. During this time, M. de Rochambeau and General Washington went forward, in order to reconnoiter the forts. Then they /crossed Ilarlem Creek and continued their explorations, all the while under fire from the enemy's posts and from the forts. Then recrossing the river, they returned by the route of the morning, and pushed forward along that island, as far as the height of New York. Some frigates stationed in the North River fired some shots toward them, doing, however, no harm. They then fell back upon Morrisania, where the fire of the enemy was yet more energetic. The Count de Damas had a horse killed under him. The generals finally re-entered their own lines, after having remained in the saddle twenty-four hours.

" During this time the aides-de-camp, each from their own side, made particular explorations. The legion of Lauznn forced the posts of the enemy to retire, and took quite a large number of prisoners.

" The 23d, at 5 o'clock in the morning, they re-mounted their horses to continue this work. They inspected first that part of Long Island which is separated from the main land by the Sound ; afterwards, returning to Morrisania, they reviewed a part of the island of York that had not been thoroughly examined the night before ; they then returned to their own troops.

" Upon this reconnaissance," says Rochambeau, "we tried the Ameri- can method of causing horses to cross rivers by swimming, hy col- lecting them in droves after the manner of wild horses. We had pro- ceeded to an island, which was seperated from the enemy posted on Long Island, by an arm of the sea, the width of which General Washington wished to have measured. While our engineers performed this geomet- rical operation, worn out by fatigue, we slept at the foot of a hedge, under fire from the cannon of the enemy's vessels, who wished to hinder the work. Awakening first, I called General Washington and remarked to him that we had forgotten the hour of the tide. We hastened to the causeway of the mill upon which we had crossed this little arm of the sea which sep- arated us from the main land ; it was covered with water. They brought us two little boats, in which we embarked, with the saddles and trapp- ings of the horses; then they sent back two American dragoons, who drew by the bridle two horses, good swimmers. These were followed by all the rest, urged on by the lashes of some dragoons remaining on the other shore, and for whom we sent back the boats. This maneuvre consumed less than an hour, but happily our embarrassment was im- noticed by the enemy,

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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. II, Part 55

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898, Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co. Number of Pages: 1286

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898,
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co.
Number of Pages: 1286