USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress. Vol. I > Part 38
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The French were already overshadowing the northern horizon and pre- paring to take advantage of the disturbances in the colonial government. Leisler acted promptly, used the public funds to put the fort in repair, and placed a double number of men at work upon the city fortifications. A new semicircular battery, for some time known as "Leisler's Half Moon," was built upon a flat rock west of the fort, and supplies of powder were obtained from Philadelphia.
Albany was seriously threatened, and a convention was called. It was presided over by Mayor Schuyler; and by his side, acting as sec- retary, sat his brother-in-law, Robert Livingston, who was also the
Aug. 1. brother-in-law of Mayor Van Cortlandt. The city recorder, Dirck Wes- sells, and Aldermen Wendall, Bleecker, Van Schaick, and other of the chief men were Hollanders, all Protestants, and members of the Reformed Dutch Church, of which Dominies Schaats and Dellius were the pastors. These magistrates had, as soon as they received a copy of the proc- July 1. lamation from New York, formed the citizens into a procession
1 Cornelius W. Lawrence was the first citizen elected mayor by the people of New York, in 1834.
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and marched to the fort, and there, in the most dignified and solemn man- ner, proclaimed William and Mary, fired guns, and indulged in all other suitable demonstrations. They repeated the ceremony at the City Hall, rang the bells, and had bonfires and fire-works in the evening. They esteemed themselves in no wise subordinate to Leisler, but were deter- mined to maintain their civil government until orders came from Eng- land.
But Albany, with her two little streets crossing each other at right angles, was the center of the great internal traffic of the province with the natives, and consequently second only in importance to the metropo- lis. It was desirable that every effort should be made to keep the Iro- quois friendly, and no one understood the tactics required for that pur- pose better than Schuyler and Livingston. These warriors were in a deadly quarrel with the French, and the near Mohawks had asked assist- ance of men and horses to draw logs to fortify their castles, which was granted.
Several outside tribes had gone over to the French, and had recently fallen upon and destroyed Dover in New Hampshire, and Pemaquid in Maine. Albany might be attacked at any moment, and the " Conven- tion " ordered that every gentleman present should bring a gun with half a pound of powder and ball equivalent, to be hung up in the church, and that the traders and other inhabitants should be persuaded to do the same, until the number of fifty was reached, these arms to be used in case of emergency. As some of the citizens were preparing to leave Albany, the Convention ordered, that, "as it was setting a bad Aug. 7. example for the timorous and cowardly to run away, no able-bod- ied inhabitant should leave the county for the next three months, without a pass from the justice of the peace." After much hesitation a messenger was sent to ask Leisler for help. He forwarded four cannon and a small supply of powder and ball, at the same time commanding that commissioners be sent to him at once to consult for the pub- Sept. 4. lic good. He addressed his letter to Captains Wendall and Bleecker, instead of the Convention, saying to the messenger that he had nothing to do with the civil power; he was a soldier, and would write to a soldier.
The Convention paid no further heed to him, but raised what money they could among themselves, and appealed to New England for aid. The latter sent delegates to enlist the Iroquois against the Eastern sav- ages. The chiefs of the Iroquois were summoned to Albany, but declined to attack tribes who had done them no harm. The next day, at a private conference, the same sachems assured the Albany gentlemen that if the
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ALBANY IN PERIL.
French came to harm them, they would fight for them, and live or die with them.1
On the day appointed in her charter Albany proceeded to install her municipal officers, and in order to silence the misrepresentations
of those who persisted in calling the Albanians "Jacobites," the Oct. 14. civic and military officers, the citizens, and the soldiers in the fort, took oaths of fidelity to the new king and queen.
Thus there were two rival governments within the province of New York, and one was as rightful as the other. But the independent attitude of Albany galled Leisler. He shortly prepared a force of fifty-one men to procced under the command of Milborne and take possession of the Albany fort. The Convention, learning what was in progress, sent Alderman Van Schaick to New York to tell Leisler that they Oct. 26. would willingly accept reinforcements provided they came in an obedient spirit, but that no New York officer would be admitted to the command of the fort. Considering himself commander-in-chief of the province, Leisler determined to make his power felt, and dispatched three sloops full of armed men and ammunition up the river.
Van Schaick reached Albany before them, and reported how Leisler was bent upon "turning the government of their city upside down." The Convention summoned the citizens together, and Nov. 4. a declaration was signed to the effect that they would not permit "them of New York or any person else, to rule over Albany, of which the Convention was the only present lawful authority." In Nov. 5. order "to prevent jealousies and animosities," Mayor Peter Schuyler, who was a favorite with all parties and specially loved by the Indians, was appointed to the chief command of the fort. The principal men of Albany led him up the steep hill to the little fortress with great pomp and ceremony, and he was received by the garrison with cheers and huzzas. Nov. 8.
The next morning the sloops from New York anchored a little below the city. Milborne sent a messenger to demand admission to the fort, and was promptly refused. Presently he made his appearance at the City Hall, where a crowd gathered, whom he harangued for some time, saying that all that had been done in the reign of James II. was illegal,
1 Doc. Hist., II. 19, 20, 50-55, 88. Munsell, II. 108. Smith, I. 99, 100. Dunhp, I. 158. Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., XXXV. 212, 217, 218. Brodhead, II. 583, 584, 585. Colden, I. 106-111. Plymouth Records, VI. 213. Col. Doc., III. 610-783; IV. 349; IX. 387, 420 - 425, 440, 665. Charleroiz, II. 345, 415- 419. Belknap, I. 198-206. La Potherie, III. 248. Shea's Missions, 277-325. Garneau, I. 305. Bell, I. 322. Williamson, I. 590-595. Millet's 'Letter of July 6, 1691, pp. 40 - 45. 23
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
and that the charter of Albany was null and void. Milborne had for- merly lived in Albany, and not only knew the place well, but was well known by the people. He was answered briefly by Recorder Wessells, who said, " We have no arbitrary power here."
The following day Milborne appeared before the Convention. He
produced his commission signed by Leisler and the Committee
Nov. 10. of Safety. He was told that a commission granted by a company of private men in New York was of no force in Albany; that when he would show a commission from King William, he might command obedi- ence. As he retired from the building he made a long speech from the steps to the people who had collected. He was interrupted constantly by shouts of "You want to raise mutiny and sedition," and "If things are carried on as you say, all authority will be overturned, and we shall run into confusion with the Indians."
In the course of twenty-four hours Milborne succeeded in winning
Nov. 11. some one hundred persons over to his interests, and they met and chose Jochim Staats to command the soldiers from New York.
Nov. 12. The Convention refused to accept the soldiers from New York as soon as they heard of it, unless they pledged themselves to come under the command of the Convention. On the 14th Nov. 14. Mayor Schuyler met the citizens at the City Hall, and explained why he had accepted command of the fort, simply to defeat Leisler's design to create a general disturbance among the people by making an absolute change of government. His course was warmly approved.
But Milborne was fully resolved to obtain the mastery. He assembled his complete force and marched valiantly up to the fort. He Nov. 15. halted with military precision and demanded possession. Schuyler ordered him away. Milborne attempted to force an entrance and was driven back. He ordered his men to load, and read to them a paper. Schuyler, upon one of the mounds of the fort, shouted a protest in behalf of the Convention, and directed Milborne and his troops to withdraw at once. A party of Mohawks upon the hill near by watched these pro- ceedings, and all at once charged their guns and sent a hurried messenger to Schuyler, to say that if the New York soldiers were hostile they should fire on them. Schuyler sent Recorder Wessells and Dominie Dellius to pacify the savages, but the latter were thoroughly enraged and insisted upon the Dominie's going to Milborne with the same message which they had sent to Schuyler. Milborne was baffled, for he had met an unex- pected foe. He dismissed his men and retired in humiliation.
Nov. 16.
He had some allies in Albany, and before he returned to New
York a private contract was signed by a few men of means to
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COLONEL NICHOLAS BAYARD.
support the soldiers whom he was to leave behind under command of Captain Staats. He stopped at Esopus on his trip down the Hudson, but the people had been informed of his defeat at Albany and he could do nothing with them.
Ten days later eighty-seven soldiers reached Albany, sent at the request of the Convention by Governor Treat of Connecticut. They Nov. 28. were led by Captain Bull, the same who courageously prevented Andros from taking possession of Saybrook in 1775. The perils were so great that Lieutenant Enos Talmage of Captain Bull's company with twenty-four men were sent to garrison Schenectady. Captain Staats, instead of assisting in the common defense with his New York soldiers, worked industriously to promote faction. The condition of affairs Dec. 4. became so lamentable that the Convention appointed the 4th of
December to be observed as a day of fasting and prayer.
Colonel Bayard in Albany, having been there since June, had been kept informed of all that transpired in New York, and was in constant expectation of royal instructions which would restore order. He learned in October that his only son, who had been lying dangerously ill for months, was in a dying condition, and he was very anxious to see him. He wrote to the justices of the peace in New York, asking personal protection from Leisler while visiting his family. He offered to give security in money, or to answer any complaints or accusations which could be brought against him and thereby satisfy the law. But the answer which he received was, "The sword rules, and we have no power in opposition to Leisler."
He then wrote to Captain De Peyster and Captain De Bruyn, with directions that the contents of his letter should be communicated Oct. 20. to all the commissioned officers ; he ordered them "to bear good faith and allegiance " to William and Mary, to be obedient to the civil
Autograph of Nicholas Bayard.
authority of the city, and to desist from aiding or abetting the illegal proceedings of Leisler and his associates. As a commissioned colonel of the regiment, as well as one of the counselors of the government, he
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
considered that he was thus honestly and fearlessly doing his duty. The results, however, were most disastrous. The captains put his communi- cation into the hands of Leisler, who flew into a terrible rage. He knew that Bayard, despite a little pomposity, stood high in the estimation of a large class of the inhabitants of the province. He knew that he was a man of orthodox religion and regular life, of ample fortune and high connections. He knew that he was a scholar, and notwithstanding his French and Dutch parentage, was an able expositor of the English law. He knew that his logic had already startled some of the captains as to the consequences of the revolt. He knew that Bayard was likely to be a continual thorn in his side. In short, he was afraid of him. The spirit of insurrection is always severe. Leisler determined to put his foot upon so dangerous a foe. Milborne added fuel to the fire by de- scribing the effects of Bayard's influence in Albany. They feared he might overturn their whole structure.
Leisler called a public meeting, at which he announced that Nicholson had never shown his face in England, but had turned "privateer "; and that Bayard was "a traitor and a villain," and was coming upon New York with three hundred men to retake the fort for the late King James. As for Dongan, although he was living quietly on his farm near Hemp- stead, Leisler charged him with holding "cabals" at his house and at other places, preparatory to making an attempt on the fort. Captain Lodwyck denied this imputation upon Dongan, and was immediately dismissed from the service, with the scathing charge of being a friend to " popery and James."
Leisler called upon every man to take a new oath, which was, in sub- stance, to be true to William and Mary, obedient to the Committee of Safety, and to the commander-in-chief of the province. Captain De Peyster was a man of strong practical sense, and, seeing the mischief which was likely to result from needlessly terrifying and exasperating the lower classes, warned Leisler to desist from such a course. The latter was in no mood to hear reproof, and angrily suspended him from office, appointing a more pliant captain in his stead. He thus lost one of the best men who had been among his adherents, and a counselor who might have saved him from destruction.
Meanwhile Bayard had privately arrived at his own house. It was evening, but a soldier saw him and ran with the news to the fort. A dozen armed men were sent at once to arrest him. They went through his house in a rough and riotous manner, greatly adding to the distress of his already afflicted family, by swearing that they would "fetch him from the gates of hell." Not finding him, they proceeded to search Van Cort-
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WILLIAM III. OF ENGLAND.
landt's house in the same brutal manner, and threatened Van Cortlandt himself so seriously that he was obliged to escape through the rear of his dwelling and hide himself in Connecticut and Albany for weeks. Mrs. Van Cortlandt and her children were grossly insulted, but she bravely maintained her ground, and after a while was left in peace. The house of Dominie Selyns was searched, and he was treated to the same coarse and vulgar language. Sixteen of the chief families of the city were obliged to submit to a similar indignity. Never was the pursuit of a cul- prit conducted in a more indecent manner. Last of all, Captain Stuy- vesant was visited. He was an own blood cousin of Bayard, and the two had been intimate and confidential friends from boyhood. It had been reported recently that he had said that the stories about Bayard's being a Catholic were "a pack of lies." So perhaps he was concealing him. They invaded every room in his house from cellar to garret, and then went through all his barns and outbuildings. They acted like men infu- riated, and many of them were intoxicated. The next day Captain Stuy- vesant resigned his commission and retired from any farther association with Leisler. He possessed too much of his father's spirit to lend him- self for the furtherance of dishonorable outrages.
The question will very naturally arise, Why was all this confusion allowed to exist ? Why came no orders from England ? Why were not men established in power to whom power properly belonged ? Why was William so oblivious to his own interests ?
There was a complication of reasons. The year which had elapsed since William took up the English scepter had been to him one of tor- turing anxiety and incessant toil. The enthusiasm which had welcomed him to the throne was as brief as it was apparently sincere. He had himself, at the very moment when his fame and fortune reached its high- est point, predicted the coming reaction. It is the nature of mankind to overrate present evil and to underrate present good, to long for what he has not and to be dissatisfied with what he has. Reaction is a law of nature as certain as the laws which regulate the succession of the seasons and the course of the trade-winds. Many of those who had at first taken up arms for William began to mutter among themselves before the end of two months, and not only found excuses for the maladministration of James, gross as it had been, but revealed unmistakable signs of heartfelt commiseration for his unhappy and exiled condition. They said he was their rightful and liege lord as the heir of a long line of princes, and had many of the qualities of an excellent sovereign. He was diligent, if he was dull. He was thrifty, with all his parsimony. He was brave, notwith- standing his weaknesses. He was even truthful when not under the fatal influence of his religion.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
William was alive to the possible consequences of this change in pub- lic opinion. The power of a less watchful, less cautious, less determined ruler would have been quickly undermined. He knew that he must act, there was no standing idle, and his acts were criticised by his Privy Council, who were intriguing with each other. He wished to do justice to all parties, but justice would satisfy none of them. The Tories soon hated him for protecting the Dissenters. The Whigs hated him for pro- tecting the Tories. Members of his own household were in correspond- ence with James. Insincerity lurked everywhere. He stood as it were upon a volcanic crater, and was perfectly aware of his danger. Great events were following each other, also, in rapid succession, - war with France, revolt in Ireland, anarchy in Scotland. What time had the worried monarch to think of his distant and less important American colonies ?
But there came a moment when he was brought to a painful July 4. sense of their condition. It was when the reports which had been sent in May from New York and Boston reached Whitehall. He discovered that he had been duped into committing a deplorable mistake through the tact of Dr. Mather and Sir William Phipps. He saw that Andros had been imprisoned because he had executed the orders of his lawful English sovereign. Such orders it was not William's policy to undervalue. But even then, with European affairs pressing heavily upon him, he hardly managed with characteristic prudence and foresight. He inclined towards pouring oil over rather than probing wounds.
As for the tangle in New York, it had not yet burst in its full propor- tions upon the minds of either William or his ministers. Both parties having written to them in such a loyal strain, it was regarded as a mere internal dispute which a few royal words would quickly settle. They were accordingly penned to Nicholson.
The letter was addressed to "Our Lieutenant-Governor and Com- mander-in-Chief of our Province of New York in America, and in his absence, to such as for the time being take care for preserving the peace and administering the laws in our said Province of New York in Amer- ica." And Nicholson was ordered to take up the government of the province, call to his assistance the chief freeholders, and "do and per- form all the requirements of the office." John Riggs, who bore the letters from Nicholson and his council to the king, was intrusted with this im- portant document on his return to New York. Before he sailed, Nichol- son reached London. Supposing all communications addressed to him would be opened by the counselors Philipse, Van Cortlandt, and Bayard, no effort was made to have them altered, and as the vessel was under orders Riggs proceeded on his voyage.
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NEW YORK THREATENED BY THE FRENCH.
Nicholson proceeded to Whitehall and had a personal interview with the king. He related what had occurred in New York; and a few hours later he repeated the same to the Plantation Com- Aug. 31. mittee. It was quickly decided to send a governor to New York, and two days later William in council appointed Colonel Henry Sloughter to that office. Nicholson strove to obtain the post, but did not possess sufficient interest in court. He was, however, appointed lieutenant-gov- ernor of Virginia, which was an emphatic approval of his conduct in New York.
There was no reason why Sloughter should not have gone at once to his government, only that the troubles in Ireland absorbed universal at- tention just then. The English navy too was in a wretched condition, and all the vessels in the kingdom were in demand as convoys for Wil- liam's army. Sloughter's commission and instructions did not pass the Great Seal until January 4, 1690. Meanwhile he had proposed that New York should include Connecticut, the Jerseys, and Pennsylvania. The suggestion was not favored by the king or council. Then he proposed to add Plymouth to New York, and Secretary Blathwayt actually included it in the draft of the commission. But Dr. Mather heard of it, and ap- peared in time to argue the question, and persuade the Lords that the addition of Plymouth would be more inconvenient than serviceable. Therefore it was stricken out.
Meanwhile it was rumored that the French had a design upon New York, and if successful "would put to the torture " some two hundred Huguenot families who had settled in the province. Louis XIV. had actually instructed Count Frontenac to prepare an expedition without loss of time, and proceed both by land and by water against the little city on Manhattan Island; Albany was to be surprised, and the army were to "cut in below, to secure the vessels on the river"; the English settle- ments in the neighborhood of Manhattan Island were to be destroyed, and " all officers and principal inhabitants from whom ransoms could be exacted, detained in prison." Louis ordered that the French refugees who should be found in New York, particularly those of the pretended Reformed religion, should be shipped to France.1
Prominent men in New York appealed to the king to send a large force' to protect the "center of all the English plantations." Anxiety settled like a heavy cloud over the city. The Committee of Safety asked the Bishop of London to intercede with the king and obtain au- thority for Leisler, in order to defend New York until Sloughter's arrival,
1 Memoir of Instructions to Count Frontenac. Paris Doc., IV. Doc. Hist. New York, I. 295.
18
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
which it had been hinted might not occur until spring. But no such authority was given Leisler.
Nov. 9.
Ensign Stoll reached London with the August dispatches of Leisler, in November. William referred them quietly to Secretary
Shrewsbury. Stoll was loud and opinionated, and elicited very little
notice. His vapid talk wearied the courtiers. When he asked Nov. 16. for a written approval of Leisler's acts, the question was evaded. He had the assurance to suggest a suspension of Sloughter's commission, which was treated with cool indifference. He made himself conspicuous in England only as a miserable failure, and he would have done Leisler far better service to have remained in New York.
Matthew Clarkson, who went to London in the same vessel with Stoll, fared differently. He was a gentleman. His father was an eminent divine, the Rev. David Clarkson, of Yorkshire. His family were well known at Whitehall ; and, besides, he was a young man of culture and refinement. His sister was the wife of Captain Lodwyck, and coming here to visit her, three years before, he had determined to make New York his home. He obtained the appointment of Secretary of the prov- ince, with power to choose his own deputies, and returned with Sloughter. He soon after married Catharine, daughter of Gerritsen Van Schaick of Albany.1
Riggs arrived in Boston in December. He learned that Colonel Dec. Bayard was in Hartford at the house of Governor Treat, and wrote to him to say when he should arrive in New York. Bayard hastened home privately, never doubting but that the king's orders were specific enough now to set the wheels of government rolling properly.
Riggs reached Bayard's house late on Sunday evening, and met with a warm welcome. But he had received advice in Boston which caused him great embarrassment. The wise men of that wise city had told him that he must give the king's letter to Leisler, who was in actual com- mand of the province. It was his own private belief that Leisler would refuse to receive and act upon a royal communication which was clearly intended for other parties. In order to avoid personal difficulty, he requested that all three of the counselors should be present and witness
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