History of the city of New York, 1609-1909, Part 33

Author: Leonard, John William, 1849-
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: New York, The Journal of commerce and commercial bulletin
Number of Pages: 962

USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York, 1609-1909 > Part 33

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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WAR DECLARED AGAINST GREAT BRITAIN

donate to the church a tract of six acres near the stone bridge at the inter- section of Broadway and Canal Street, but the trustees, after taking the mat- ter under advisement, declined the gift, on the ground that the land was not worth the trouble of fencing in.

The State election which occurred in April, 18II, was locally notable and contested with great acrimony. Daniel D. Tompkins, who had been elected governor in 1807, was renominated by the Republican party in 1811, and his reelection was a foregone conclusion, but the contest centered about the lieu- tenant governorship, for which DeWitt Clinton was nominated. The Tam- many Society, which was then, as since, a great power in politics, bolted the nomination, alleging a belief that he was too much of an aristocrat to be the nominee of the Republican party, but really, of course, because he was not enough of a Tammany man. So Tammany nominated Marinus Willet as its own candidate, while Colonel Nicholas Fish was the candidate of the Federal- ists. Many Tammany voters gave their votes to Fish, who led the poll by receiving 2044 votes to 678 for Willett and 590 for Clinton in the city. The great popularity of Clinton in the country, however, gave him more than enough votes to counterbalance his losses in the city. He was elected lieuten- ant governor and for two years held that office, at the same time retaining the office of mayor, which he continued to hold until 1815.

In 18II the situation between the United States and England became so tense that war seemed likely to be the outcome, though New England and the Federalists were strongly opposed to the war policy. The proposition to ad- mit Louisiana as a State was another bone of contention. Josiah Quincy declared in Congress that "If Louisiana be admitted, New England will sepa- rate from the Union, amicably, if she may, forcibly, if she must!" But Quincy and Massachusetts changed their minds on the subject, though Louisiana be- came a State in 1812.

England had thousands of our citizens in British ships and prisons whom she had taken from our ships on the pretext that they were British subjects, and was constantly stopping and searching American vessels. The war spirit rose, and as a consequence of the refusal of England to modify her policy toward neutrals, an embargo upon all American shipping for sixty days was proclaimed by Madison as a preliminary to hostilities. On June 1, 1812, the President sent a message to Congress, in which he enumerated the American grievances against England, chief among which were the impressment of American seamen, the extension of the right of search to American war ves- sels, the "paper blockade" established by the British "orders in council," and the alleged efforts of the English to persuade the Northwestern Indians to attack the Americans. In conclusion, the President recommended a formal declara- tion of war, which recommendation was carried out by Congress, June 18, 1812.

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Such a declaration would have been foolhardy, considering the great dis- parity in power and resources between the two nations, had not Great Britain then been engaged in a war with Napoleon. English mastery of the seas seemed complete, and its army was large and well organized, thoroughly drilled and most effectively equipped. The United States had to create an army practically from raw material, for the veterans of the Revolutionary Army were almost all past effective age. The disgraceful surrender of Detroit by General Hull, on August 16th, was disheartening, and though General Van Rensselaer did better work at Niagara Falls and Queenstown in October; he was driven back across the border and many of the militia refused to make further attempts to cross the boundary line, claiming that the Government had no right to send them there. The Federalist party, opposed to the war, de- fended that doctrine, and General Van Rensselaer resigned in disgust.

On the sea, the American forces had given a better account of themselves. The United States frigate Constitution captured the British frigate Guerrière on August 19th; the Wasp took the Frolic, October 18th; the United States captured the Macedonian, October 25th; and the Constitution took the Java, December 29th.

While this war was going on the presidential election took place. Madi- son for President, and Elbridge Gerry for Vice President were the nominees of the Republican party, while DeWitt Clinton, who had been the New York leader of that party, but was opposed to Madison, took the nomination of the Feder- alist party for President, with Jared Ingersoll as the candidate for Vice Presi- dent. Madison received 128 and Clinton 89 electoral votes, while Gerry de- feated Ingersoll by an electoral vote of 131 to 86.

During 1813 the war continued with varying success, but the Americans made a better showing on land than in 1812, because of Commodore Perry's capture of the English fleet of six vessels on Lake Erie, and Harrison's success in the battle of the Thames, against the British under General Proctor, in which the chief, Tecumseh, was killed. The successful entry into Chesa- peake Bay of a British fleet which landed troops that entered Washington and burned the government buildings occurred in August, 1814, but the sub- sequent attack on Baltimore was unsuccessful. Before that, from the sum- mer of 1813, the fortunes of war on the sea had alternated between British and American success. The Federalists of New England met in convention at Hartford, from December 15, 1814, to January 5, 1815, in opposition to the war and the administration, but while they were deliberating, the treaty of Ghent, ending the war, was concluded, December 24, 1814, and in ignorance of its conclusion General Pakenham was defeated with great loss by a much smaller force under General Jackson, in the battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815.

NEW YORK DURING THE WAR OF 1812

327

One of the aids to the Americans, during the war, which was especially effective, was that rendered by the American privateers, who, during the war, captured about three hundred British vessels and took about three thou- sand prisoners. Of these privateers there were outfitted and sent out from New York fifty-five vessels.

CARPET

Reproduced from the original print in the collection of Mr. Percy R. Pyne, 2d

ST. PAUL'S CHURCH AND BROADWAY STAGES, NEW YORK, 1827

During the war the people of New York united in the strengthening of the city's defenses, with the official efforts of the government and city authorities, and many volunteers aided in the work. After the United States had captured the British frigate Macedonian, the two vessels went to New London and thence, after repairs, to New York, but were much delayed by the difficult passage of Hell Gate. Captain Decatur was induced to leave his vessels in Long Island Sound, in order to attend a banquet given in his honor in the City Hall (Broadway and Thames Street), in New York, on

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HISTORY OF NEW YORK

December 12, 1812. Captain Hull, of the frigate Constitution, who had received the freedom of the city the day before, also attended, and five hun- dred gentlemen sat down at the banquet tables. When the Macedonian reached New York, January 1, 1813, her presence added greatly to the joy- ful manifestations with which New York has always greeted the New Year, and the crew of the United States were entertained, on January 7th, in the same banquet room where her commander had been received a few weeks before. Other demonstrations of equal cordiality were soon after given in honor of Captain Lawrence and Commodore Bainbridge.

After the battle between the Shannon and Chesapeake, June 1, 1813, and the later death of Captain Lawrence and Lieutenant Ludlow, from wounds received in that action, their bodies were brought to New York, and the public funeral procession to Trinity churchyard, September 13th, was witnessed by between twenty thousand and thirty thousand people.

One of the locally interesting incidents of the war was that of the Yankee, a fishing smack, which was fitted out in New York to capture the British sloop of war Eagle, which went out of the harbor, on July 4, 1813, having on deck a calf, a sheep, a goose, and three fishermen. The smack was overhauled by the Eagle and ordered to report to the commodore. At the signal-word "Lawrence!" forty men, who had been concealed below, with their muskets, rose and fired together, and at one volley killed three of the enemy and drove the rest below. The sloop of war struck without firing a gun, and was taken to New York, where the anniversary of independence was being celebrated on the Battery.

During the war, several companies of militia were organized and drilled, and preparations of every kind made to repel attack by land or sea. Mayor Clinton, who held the office during the entire war, was patriotic in his efforts to make the city's defenses complete. He had been opposed to the war, and as leader of the peace wing of the Republican party, had been taken up by the Federalists as their candidate, against Madison, for Presi- dent, in 1812. But when the war was actually begun he hesitated not at all in his allegiance to his country's side of the war.

The news of Jackson's victory at New Orleans, on January 8th, reached New York on February 6, 1815, and great was the rejoicing in the city, which had been deeply depressed by the burning of Washington in the previous August, but when the still more glorious news of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent came to hand, on the night of February 14th, men with lighted torches ran through the streets shouting "Peace! Peace!" until the streets were full of the sound. War between the United States and Eng- land was over, and has never been resumed, and God grant that it never shall again !

CHAPTER THIRTY - ONE

RECOVERY FROM EFFECTS OF WAR POLITICS, EPIDEMICS, RIOTS AND CONFLAGRATIONS-THE PANIC OF 1837

New York had occasion to manifest joy at the return of peace. The war had prostrated the city's commerce and ruined many of its wealthy citi- zens. Peace brought opportunity, trade, markets, and although Great Britain had not, in the treaty, disclaimed the right of search, and other out- rages against American commerce which caused the war, she did, in prac- tice, abandon them.

Ships that had been idle for years came out of creeks, and coves, were repaired and repainted, and soon became busy ; stores, warehouses and fac- tories assumed an activity greater than for years before, and the country at large took part in the revival. The revenue collected by the United States government, which had only aggregated $4,415,362 in 1814, increased to $37,695,625 in 1815, of which the port of New York alone furnished $16,000,000. . .

Reference must be made to political events, which have always had much to do with the activities and progress of the city. By the elections of 1814, the Federalists had gained control of the Council of Appointment, and as a consequence De Witt Clinton was removed from the office of mayor and John Ferguson was appointed in his stead, but the latter was in the federal service as naval officer in the customs service, he was held to be incapacitated for the mayoralty, so he resigned the office of mayor, and Jacob Radcliffe, who had served as mayor for a year, in 1809-1810, was again appointed to the office. At the charter election of 1816, the Repub- licans, who at that time adopted the name of "Democrats," carried six of the ten wards, and they were equally successful in 1817. As a national party, the Federalists did not long survive the Hartford Convention. They nominated Rufus King, of New York, for President, and John Eager Howard, of Maryland, for Vice President, in 1816, but King received only thirty-four and Howard only twenty-two electoral votes, while on the Republican ticket, James Monroe, of Virginia, for President, and Daniel D. Tompkins, of New York, for Vice President, were each given 183, and were elected. In New York, DeWitt Clinton was elected governor of New York by unanimous vote of all the parties in the field, as successor to Governor Tompkins. The latter had an excellent record as governor, and was espe- cially able as a war governor in raising and equipping troops. In January, 1817, he sent in his last message to the legislature, in which he recommended

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the enactment of a law, which the legislature at once passed, declaring that all slaves in the State should become free on and after July 4, 1827. He went from the governorship into the vice presidential office for eight years, being reëlected with Monroe, in 1820.

The dislike of Tammany for Clinton, which has been before men- tioned, had begun several years before, and had been part of a well-defined

EARLY VIEW OF BROADWAY FROM THE PARK

cleavage of the Republican party into factions. They had been designated, statewide, as Madisonians and Clintonians, from 1812 until the close of Madi- son's administration, but after that the faction opposed to Clinton were called "Bucktails," after an ornament worn by a certain section of Tam- many, who had been especially conspicuous in their war on Clinton, and the designation, at first local, became applied to that wing of the Republican party throughout the State, and, after the disappearance of the Federalist party, became the dominant factor in State and municipal politics for sev- eral years.

In those days, antedating the telegraph, local factions in politics were little known in other States, and while by New Yorkers the distinction between the Bucktails and the Clintonians was very well recognized, out- siders knew little or nothing about the division. This was ludicrously illustrated, when, on Washington's Birthday, 1819, a grand ball was given by the Fourteenth (now the Seventh) Regiment, in honor of General Jackson, the hero of New Orleans, at the City Hotel. Among those present, the leading lights of Tammany were very much in evidence. In the crowded dining room the toast was given: "To General Jackson: so long as the Mis- sissippi rolls its waters to the ocean, so long may live his great name and glorious deeds." After the cheers had subsided, the general made reply, and then proposed the toast: "To DeWitt Clinton, governor of the great

GENERAL JACKSON DISTURBS TAMMANY

331

and patriotic State of New York." There were Clintonians enough present to give the toast assent, but the Bucktails, who looked upon Clinton as their greatest foe, were utterly confounded. Great confusion followed, and the general left the room. The affair was satirized by Fitz- Greene Halleck (under the nom de guerre of "Croaker"), in a poem entitled,

"The songs were good, for Mead and Hawkins sung 'em, The wine went round, 'twas laughter all, and joke; When crack ! the General sprung a mine among 'em And beat a safe retreat amid the smoke. As fall the sticks of rockets when you fire 'em,

So fell the Bucktails at that toast accurst,

Looking like Korah, Dathan and Abiram,

When the firm earth beneath their footsteps burst."

It is said that General Jackson, at that time, was not acquainted with Clinton personally, but had, from what he had heard about him, conceived a great liking for the governor.

The Bucktails continued to hold the majority in city elections, but the adherents of Clinton were strong in the State. In the charter election of 1818, the Bucktail faction elected their candidates in six wards, the Clin- tonians in one, and the Federalists in three. By the governor's casting vote in the Council of Appointment, Jacob Radcliffe was removed from the mayoral chair, and Cadwallader D. Colden, grandson of the former lieu- tenant governor of the province of New York, was appointed mayor, and in 1819 Richard Riker was removed from the office of recorder, and Peter A. Jay was appointed to the place. In the charter election of 1820, the Bucktails carried every ward in the city, except the second, and the legislative elections, in the following au- tumn, resulted in a victory of the same party, gaining them also a majority on the Coun- cil of . Appointment, which enabled them to remove Col- MOUNT WASHINGTON COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE Washington Square, Fourth Street, about 1820 den and appoint Stephen Allen as mayor, and again make Richard Riker recorder. The same faction won all the wards except the first and second, in 1821, and in 1822 they made a clean sweep in every ward in the city.

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HISTORY OF NEW YORK

This faction of the Republican party had for years been anxious to bring about the downfall of Clinton. While mayor, he had been appointed a member of the Erie Canal Commission, and had taken such a deep interest in the matter that he had become the most powerful promoter of that great project of internal improvement, which he regarded in the most optimistic manner, and which he had set his heart upon seeing accom- plished. Those opposed to the project constantly referred to it as "Clinton's Folly," but by doing so tended to make the impression wider that Clinton and the Canal were insepara- ble as an issue. It was upon that issue that he was elected governor, in 1817, and re- UHLEVY DRUGS. U.H.LEVY DRUGS elected in 1820. In 1822 he T MIDYS CONTECTIWARY declined a renomination, for the reason that the other fac- tion had gained ascendency. That faction was headed by Martin Van Buren, who, from 1820, headed that group of Democratic politicians resi- CORNER OF BROADWAY AND MURRAY STREET, 1820 dent in Albany which, with various changes in member- ship, ruled their party in the State, and largely influenced its policy in the It was popularly known as the

nation for twenty-eight or thirty years. "Albany Regency."

While politics in those days formed a large part of the citizen's life, the City of New York found matters of really greater importance to attend to. While Great Britain maintained some restrictions upon trade, espe- cially trade with the East and West Indies, after the treaty of Ghent, the other European nations anxiously solicited American trade, and welcomed American products. Trade greatly revived, and new projects of lasting value to the city were inaugurated. In 1816 the famous "Black Ball" Line of clipper packets to Liverpool was established, and in rapid succession the establishing of the "Red Star," "Swallow Tail" and other lines followed, until instead of irregular departures, as before, the schedules were so arranged that there were weekly sailings, and the average outward running time of the Black Ball clippers was twenty-two days, and the homeward time twenty-nine days.

333

THE HUDSON IS FROZEN OVER

The winter of 1817 was exceptionally cold, and the ice was solid from New York to the Jersey side, on the Hudson River, so that people easily crossed on the ice. The next winter was also a very cold one, and besides the freezing of the Hudson, the Sound was also frozen over from Long Island to the Connecticut shore. Tents were erected by various enterpris- ing outdoor merchants, on the ice, where hot potatoes, roasted clams, oysters and other things, likely to prove comforting to the pedestrians, were dispensed, and these were carried on until the 17th of February, in 1817.

One of the notable events of 1818 was the removal, from Quebec, of the remains of the gallant Major General Richard Montgomery, of the Continental Army, who was killed in the assault on Quebec, December 31, 1775. The body was brought to this city and interred in St. Paul's Church, with impressive ceremonies and military honors. A beautiful cenotaph, voted by the Continental Congress, in 1776, to his memory, stands in the Broadway front wall of the church.

On May 25, 1820, the old Park Theatre, on Park Row, near Ann Street, which was first opened January 29, 1798, was burned to the ground. It had been the home of the classic drama, in which Sheridan's comedies, and other foremost plays of that era, had received their American premier productions. Its destruction was greatly mourned by friends of the drama, but it was replaced, in 1821, by a new and finer building, erected on the same spot by John Jacob Astor and John K. Beekman. This new theatre was closed soon after its opening, owing to the yellow fever epidemic which broke out in that year, and was not reopened until the autumn of 1822. This second Park Theatre was burned in 1849.

Visitation of the city by the dreaded "yellow jack" occurred in 1819, and again in 1822 and 1823. Before the last-named year, the disease had always appeared first on the eastern side of the city, but on this occasion it began on Rector Street, near the North River, a part of the city which had been regarded as the most salubrious, and all the cases were in that section. It made its first appearance on June 17th, and remained until November 2d. All who could, left the city; business was practically sus- pended, the Custom House and the banks removed into temporary offices in Greenwich village, and the streets below the Park, which were included in the infected district, were walled up by the Board of Health, and all the residents of houses within the walled district were induced, or, where necessary, compelled to leave their homes until the return of cold weather. This was the last visitation of yellow fever, as an epidemic, to New York. The number of deaths from the disease that year was two hundred, which was not nearly as many victims as on most of its previous visitations to

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HISTORY OF NEW YORK

New York. This low death rate was credited to the vigorous measures adopted by the health authorities. The quarantine station was established on Staten Island, in 1821.

In the summer of 1824 the great event was the visit of the great Gen- eral La Fayette, who arrived in New York in the ship Cadmus, accompanied by his son, George Washington La Fayette, and his secretary, Auguste LeVas- seur, on Sunday, August 15th,

landing on Staten Island, where he was entertained until the next day by Daniel D. Tompkins, then Vice Presi- dent of the United States. On the next day he was escorted up to the city by a great naval parade, including every kind of vessel, steam or sail, with manned yards, flags flying, CASTLE GARDEN A fort in 1812 bands of music and everything which could be devised to add to the cordiality of the occasion. Washington's famous ally was taken by sur- prise. He had not dreamed of so public or so warm a welcome. Though a nobleman of high rank and a statesman of distinction, his fortune had been greatly reduced and he came with some misgivings as to whether his slender means would permit him to see much of the country. But America, at least as far as La Fayette was concerned, was not the proverbially ungrateful republic. It remembered his services in behalf of American independence, and gave him such a welcome as had never been accorded before to any visitor to these shores. Landing at Castle Garden, he was welcomed by the corpo- ration, headed by Mayor William Paulding. He was then taken to a review- ing stand to review the troops drawn up in line at Battery Park, under com- mand of Major General James Benedict. From there he was taken in a barouche, drawn by four horses, up Broadway to the City Hall. Cheering thousands lined the way; every place of vantage, on porches, window sills and roofs, along the route was occupied. Arrived at the City Hall, the mayor welcomed him in an appropriate speech, to which the general made a brief but fitting reply. He was given a brilliant reception and banquet at the City Hotel, and a large suite of rooms and ample provision for himself and suite were provided by the city. He remained until the 19th, was taken to see all of the city's institutions, visited Harlem under a military escort, and was fêted and entertained by the leading citizens as well as many of his old comrades in arms. Daily, during his stay, he held a public reception in the council cham-

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LA FAYETTE ENTERTAINED BY NEW YORK

ber in the City Hall and shook hands with thousands of people, and when he departed for his tour of the country he was escorted for several miles out of the city by a detachment of troops. On his passage through the city (after visiting Boston), on September 10th, he was again entertained, including a grand concert of sacred music at St. Paul's Church, and when, after thirteen months of hospitality from the government, municipalities and people of the United States, he returned in September, 1825, to New York, to embark on his homeward voyage, he was bid adieu by the citizens at a fête at Castle Gar- den, which was the most elaborate function that had, up to that time, been given in this country.

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History of the city of New York, 1609-1909, Part 33

Author: Leonard, John William, 1849- Publication date: 1910 Publisher: New York, The Journal of commerce and commercial bulletin Number of Pages: 962

Author: Leonard, John William, 1849-
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: New York, The Journal of commerce and commercial bulletin
Number of Pages: 962