USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress. Vol. II > Part 34
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60
295
104
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
assured. Sullivan, a lawyer of thirty-six, who through the fearless exe- cution of certain important trusts won the good opinion of Congress and was appointed major-general with enthusiasm, had just returned from an expedition to the northern frontiers, when Greene was prostrated by the fever, whose place he was deputed at once to fill; but, although faithful and brave in the superlative degree, he was imperfectly acquainted with the geography of the region, had no time to study the details of the situa- tion, and was personally a stranger to the troops under his new command. And Putnam, who succeeded Sullivan four days later, with the advantage of experience in arms together with twenty more years of life, and possess- ing all the elements of character except caution most needed to engage an enemy, was indifferent to strategy, and had little actual familiarity with the destined scene of action.
The majority of the subordinate officers were young men. Of those afterward best known to fame, Hamilton was nineteen, Aaron Burr twenty, Nicholas Fish, Scott's brigade-major, eighteen, Aaron Ogden twenty, and Samuel B. Webb twenty-three ; while those who occupied posts of extreme danger and responsibility (other than already men- tioned) were no patriarchs - McDougall had but just rounded his forty- fifth year, the two Clintons, guarding the Hudson approaches, were respectively forty and thirty-seven, and Van Cortlandt and the intrepid Varnum were neither above twenty-seven.
Fellows was stationed on the Hudson, between Greenwich and Canal Street. His brigade-major, Mark Hopkins (grandfather of the distin- guished divine of the same name, late President of Williams College),
roused him from slumber on the rainy Sunday morning of the Aug. 18. 18th, by announcing that the Phoenix and the Rose were coming down the river under full sail before a strong northeast wind. The commanders, it seems, had enjoyed very little peace at their anchorage in Tappan Sea, their last annoyance having been a night attack by two fire-ships, one of which had grappled the Phoenix and been shaken off with difficulty, the other striking and burning one of the tenders. To the surprise of Putnam, they passed his sunken vessels opposite Fort Washington without being tripped as he predicted, and rounded the Battery unharmed by the guns along the shores. They cannonaded the city as they proceeded, injuring many houses ; one nine-pounder entered a dwelling opposite the old Lutheran Church on Broadway, dancing through the sleeping apartments of the family without hurting any one; and several much larger balls tore down chimneys, and dropped in back yards and gardens with stirring effect. It was fortunately an hour when few people were in the streets, and there was little if any
296
105
CRUGER, BACHE, AND VAN CORTLANDT.
loss of life. Divine service was attended in but one of the city churches on that memorable Sabbath -the Moravian, on Fulton Street opposite the North Dutch Church.
New York was in extreme agitation. What was to prevent the British fleet from running up the Hudson and landing in the rear of the town ? All manner of rumors were rife. Persons suspected of favoring the enemy were treated with the utmost rigor. Notwithstanding the vigil- ance exercised, farmers from Queen's County were carrying boat-loads of provisions at the risk of their lives to the royal army, and furnishing all the knowledge necessary for the conduct of the campaign. The Tories who had been disarmed the preceding winter were hiding in swamps, holes, hollow trees, and cornfields, or cruising in small boats on the Sound, landing and sleeping in the woods at night, and taking to the water again in the morning. John Harris Cruger, one of Tyron's counselors, whose wife was a daughter of Oliver De Lancey, was concealed for three weeks upon a mow in a farmer's barn. Theophylact Bache, fifth president of the Chamber of Commerce, in attempting to preserve neutrality, found him- self not only an object of suspicion, but in a most delicate position. His only brother, Richard, had married the daughter of Franklin, and was strong in sympathy with the Revolutionists. On the other hand, his wife's sister was married to Major Moncrieff, an officer in the king's service.1 Mrs. Moncrieff was ill at his house in Flatbush, and a letter addressed to her husband without signature was intercepted and accredited to Bache. He was summoned before the Committee, and, instead of obeying, wrote protesting that he had disregarded no order of Congress, Continental or Provincial, nor was it his intention, but the distress of Mrs. Bache and his numerous family, occasioned by the arrival of the fleet, necessitated his exertions to "save them from the horrible calamities of the approaching conflict." Presently he was warned that a band of " Tory-hunters " were on their way to capture him, and escaped in the night in company with his brother-in-law, Augustus Van Cortlandt. They had serious adventures : Van Cortlandt was concealed in a cow-house for ten days, the conscientious Dutch farmer walking backwards when he carried him his meals, in order to be able to swear that he had not seen him. Both gentlemen at last reached the British lines on Staten Island in safety.
On Wednesday a thunder-storm of unparalleled severity hung over the city from seven to ten in the evening; four men, three of whom were army officers, were killed by lightning, and several others Aug. 21.
1 See Vol. I. 760 (genealogical reference in note) ; Augustus Van Cortlandt was of the Yonkers branch of the Van Cortlandts, the son of Frederick Van Cortlandt and Frances Jay, and thus the first cousin of John Jay. See Vol. I. 606, 607, note.
297
106
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
injured; numerous buildings and trees, and one vessel at the dock, were struck, the thunder roaring in a continuous peal for hours. In the midst of the tempest the ever-watchful William Livingston upon the Jersey shore, having sent a spy into the enemy's camp on Staten Island at mid- night the day before, despatched by messenger a letter written in all haste to Washington with the intelligence that twenty thousand troops had embarked for a movement upon New York. A copy of the com- munication was at once forwarded to the Convention at White Plains.
Bushu
Julus Hook-
A .NORTH OD
American
Hook
resh W
erry
Army
Corluer's
"Bushwick
Bucking T.
Battery Kad
Brookim
Wallabout
Bedloes t,
Bay
S
Lunngstons E
Roch
Red
Roebuck
Cornwallis
Bedford
Clinton
Oyster Z.
Sterling
H
ZEarl Percy
T
livan Col!Willys
The New Lots
Constable Hook
149 th
The Kills
Ducksberry Pt
Baggage
Yellowy's
Hook!)B.G.Lord Stifling
A
Americans Retiring
11
etown.
ZUM.G. Grant
wally
won the.
Quatrymple.
Narrow
andeventers
Y
Rose
reyhound
B
Richmond
Bombs
0
1
2
hunder-
Carcass
Sketch of Battle-Ground.
The next morning the booming of cannon was heard, and columns of smoke were descried arising from the direction of Gravesend, Long Aug. 22. Island. Three frigates, Phoenix, Rose, and Greyhound, had taken their stations as covering-ships for the landing, and before noon the roads and plains in and about Gravesend and New Utrecht were thronged with scarlet uniforms and glittering with burnished steel. Colonel Hand,1
1 Edward Hand was a native of Clyduff, King's County, Ireland ; he settled in Pennsyl- vania in 1774, intending to practice his profession, -that of a surgeon. He joined the army at the outset of the Revolution, and remained in service until the close of the war. In 1777 he was made a brigadier-general. He was thirty-two years of age at the time of the battle of Long Island, of fine martial figure, and distinguished among the officers for his noble horse- manship. After the war he held offices of civil trust, was a member of the Congress of 1784-85, and his name is affixed to the Pennsylvania constitution of 1790.
298
Position of the British Army from
C
22 nd. August to the 26 th, Lord Corn.
ISLAND
Col.Hand's Reg't retiring
Tennis unding of the British
Gravesend
L.t. G. Kleister
bom z m'aug. 25
Scale of Miles
Robina
Gowanuss Cou
Reef
Zt.G. Heister
March
„Flatland
Doyle's Ferry Whary.
New Utrecht British
Flatbush
of the British in I Column
Gover
Gallows Pt.
N
Croun
NEW YORK
A
Bergen
107
BEFORE THE BATTLE.
stationed upon heights near what is now Fort Hamilton, watched the scene with interest, and fell back with his command, driving before him what cattle he could, and setting fire to haystacks and provender along the route, taking position finally upon a hill commanding the central road leading from Flatbush to Brooklyn. Regiment after regiment crossed over from New York to meet the foe. Sullivan was on the wing, and threw out detachments in various directions to guard the passes through the natural depressions of the woody ridge of hills, of which there were four within six miles from the harbor. Lord Cornwallis advanced rapidly to seize the central pass; but, finding Hand and his riflemen ready for a vigorous defense, took post for the night in the village of Flatbush.
The Convention at White Plains was summoned that afternoon at a somewhat unusual hour by " the ringing of the bell." Livingston's letter to Washington had arrived, and was presented by John Sloss Hobart, who informed the gentlemen that the landing had already been effected. Information from Livingston that the British army " had eaten up all the cattle on Staten Island, and were now killing and barreling the country horses for food," induced the Convention to resolve upon a plan to hinder meat supplies ; Woodhull, the president, was in control of the militia of Long Island, and was at once directed to proceed with a troop of horse to points eastward of the British encampment, and remove or kill stock, burn barns, and destroy mills, as the urgency of the case might demand, and as far as practicable prevent foraging incursions. He was to depend for his force chiefly upon the militia of Suffolk and Queen's counties; although Washington was requested to order Smith's and Remsen's regiments to his assistance. But these regiments were unable to reach him, as the sequel proved.
For some reason unaccountable to the Americans the British did not push forward on the 23d as anticipated. General Howe issued a proclamation to the people of Long Island offering protection and favor if they would drop their rebellious arms, presumably forced upon them by their leaders, and was surprised at the limited number who responded. On the 24th this great military host, one of the finest and best officered ever Aug. 24. sent out of Great Britain, remained apparently idle, stretched along the country on the flats beyond the chain of wooded hills. Hand with his riflemen still guarded the chief Central Pass, having thrown up a redoubt ; and detachments numbering in all some twenty-five hundred were scattered along the thicket for full six miles- distant from the lines at Brooklyn from one and a half to three miles. Washington was aston- ished and chagrined at the unmilitary and irregular proceedings of his
299
108
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
troops in a multitude of instances, which he discovered on his visit of inspection during the day on Saturday. Detachments skirmished with the vanguard of the enemy without orders and with little method, and others, scarcely better than marauding parties, robbed dwellings, barns, and hen-roosts, and burned the houses of friend and foe alike. He issued severe orders for the suppression of such lawless conduct, and sent Put- nam to supersede Sullivan, as better able, in his judgment, to harmonize the diverse elements of which the army was composed. And to Sullivan, with Stirling as his second, was assigned the command of the troops out- side the lines.
These lines, extending for about a mile and a half, were defended by ditches and felled trees, the counterscarp and parapet fraised with sharpened stakes. Sunday the 25th and Monday the 26th were busy, anxious, watchful days for the American generals, and the troops were continually at their alarm-posts. Howe had miscalculated the opposing force, and believed he was to contend with at least forty thousand; hence his plan of attack was elaborate. Had he known what is now so clear to posterity, that not over seven thousand men fit for duty were in the American camp on the evening of the 26th (the numbers were swollen by the regiments ordered over from New York on the following day), he might have exercised less caution with greater success. His own com- plete force, including officers, was twenty-one thousand, outnumbering the Americans three to one.1
About two o'clock on the morning of Tuesday, Hand and his riflemen, who had been on almost constant duty for six entire days, were relieved,
and, returning to the lines, dropped upon the wet ground to sleep. Aug. 27. Even now the army of King George was in motion. The advance was by three distinct columns. It was arranged that a squadron of five ships under Sir Peter Parker should divert attention by menacing the city of New York in the early morning. Meanwhile Major-General Grant, moving along the coast road near the Narrows, was to feign an attack upon the Americans in that quarter, and De Heister with his Hessians, was to force the Central Flatbush Pass at a given signal ; the third division,
1 Authorities consulted in writing this brief description of the Battle of Long Island in- clude, Baneroft's History of the United States ; Stiles's History of the City of Brooklyn ; Jones's History of New York during the Revolutionary War; Johnson's Campaign of 1776 around New York and Brooklyn ; Thompson's History of Long Island ; Irving's Life of Washington ; Moore's Diary of the American Revolution ; Sparks's Life of Washington ; Morse's Revolu- tion ; Lord Mahon's History of England ; Nash's Journal ; Heath's Memoirs ; Journals of the New York Convention ; New York Revolutionary Papers ; New York in the American Revolution ; Force ; Gordon ; Dunlap ; together with biographical sketches, private letters, and documents too numerous to cite.
300
109
THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND.
really the main body, - a column ten thousand strong, - comprising the choicest battalions, and led by Sir Henry Clinton, Lord Percy, and Lord Cornwallis, and accompanied by General Howe himself, made a long détour of nine miles in the dead of night, guided by farmers of the region, to the Jamaica Pass. The intention was to interpose itself between the wooded hills and the lines before an alarm could be sounded, thereby cutting off the retreat of the scattering detachments. Tents were left standing and camp-fires burning, to deceive the American guards in the heights above. The march was conducted in strict silence, and the great hostile body as it moved along in the darkness irresistibly swept into its grasp every human being within its reach who might perchance give information. The first glimpses of early dawn were not yet per- ceivable, when, removing fences and taking a short cut across the fields, the column halted in the open lots in front of Howard's tavern, now standing at the intersection of Broadway and the Jamaica turnpike, a little to the southeast of the winding defile, which was guarded only by a inounted patrol of five officers.1 These guards were on the Jamaica road a little below, listening for signs and sounds of the enemy (never dreaming it could slip across lots so quietly) and were almost immediately discov- ered and captured; thus was the only obstacle on the Jamaica route through the Pass removed. The innkeeper and his son were com- pelled to guide the British around to the road as soon as it was found to be unguarded. About nine o'clock De Heister, who had been firing random guns without stirring from his post, to the great perplexity of Sullivan as he moved along the ridge with four hundred of his men inspecting the situation, heard two heavy signal guns and knew that Howe and his ten thousand had gained the rear of the Americans. He at once ordered Donop to carry the Pass, and the Hessians swarmed up from the Flatbush plains with drums beating and colors flying. The troops in the hills were apprised of the trap which had been sprung upon them by the same fiery mouthpiece. They were wedged in with walls of steel and fire on both sides. Retreat was the only alternative. But how ? At the redoubt in the Central Pass there was little opposition, and it was quickly occupied by the exultant Hessians. The riflemen had turned to engage the British, who were advancing with fixed bayonets, and fought with unparalleled bravery, but were thrown back upon the Hessians. Miles, Wyllys, Cornell, and other officers, with their little handfuls of men at different points (numbering, all told, less than two thousand), made herculean effort to reach roads that were the only possible avenue
1 Gerrit Van Wagenen, Jeronimus Hoogland, Robert Troup, Edward Dunscomb, and Lieutenant Gilliland.
301
110
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
to the lines, running in squads and fighting as they ran along the rough slopes ; but the road they sought, when reached, was a scarlet mass of warriors, by whom they were hurled back, like their comrades, upon the Hessians. The scene was too terrible for description. If we may credit the enemy's account of the struggle, the Hessians had been purposely told that the rebels had resolved to give no quarter - to them in particular ; thus they bayoneted without discretion. The fury upon both sides was extreme. The enemy were amazed at the valor of men struggling against such overwhelming numbers. For two hours the hills echoed with shouts and cries. Some succeeded in cutting their way through and reaching the lines, others fell or were captured; among the latter, after fighting with great heroism, was Sullivan himself.
A little before noon another signal-gun conveyed to Grant in the coast road - his line reaching into the Greenwood hills - the intelligence that Cornwallis had reached ground in the rear of Stirling and Parsons, with whom Grant had been playing an artillery duel ever since he drove in the pickets at early dawn. Stirling, ordered by Sullivan to check the progress of the enemy in that direction, had made a stand on the ridge about the site of what is now Twentieth Street, his force not exceeding sixteen hundred. Grant was seven thousand strong, including two com- panies of New York loyalists. Parsons, with Atlee's and Huntington's regiments, embracing some three hundred men, was detailed by Stirling to prevent the enemy from overlapping him on the left, and fought upon a hill further on between which and himself there was a great unprotected gap. Stirling was unaware of the web that was being spun and the scenes transpiring elsewhere ; with his men formed in battle array he had for four hours maintained an invincible front against the perpetual fire of Grant, who, in obeying orders, made only threatening forward move- ments until notified that the flanking columns were masters of the inner field. No message came to Stirling of Sullivan's defeat. No relief, or orders for withdrawal, reached him from headquarters, the British having intervened in such numbers as to render communication impossible.
Now with one simultaneous rush the devoted party were attacked on three sides, and Stirling's eyes were quickly opened to the fact that he was nearly surrounded by a vastly superior force. The Gowanus marsh and creek, here at its widest, separated him from the only way of retreat to the lines, the roads being all occupied by the enemy. With soldierly self-possession he ordered the main part of his command to attempt the perilous crossing as best they could; and to protect the men while they forded or swam the waters which the rising tide was rendering every moment less and less passable, he placed himself at the head of
302
111
THE DEFEAT.
about three hundred gallant Marylanders and dashed upon Cornwallis, who was posted in the old Cortelyou house. The attack was so spirited that they drove the advanced guard back upon the house and held the position for some minutes, then withdrew beyond a bend in the road; but only to gather strength for a renewed attack. Again and again this heroic band rallied about their general and returned to the encounter ; they charged upon the house, once driving the gunners from and seizing their pieces within its shadow, and seemed on the very point of dislodg- ing Cornwallis, but with prudence equal to their courage retired swiftly as fresh troops came running in great numbers to his aid. Furthermore, Stirling saw that his main object was accomplished. The rest of his command were on the safe side of the creek, conducting twenty-three prisoners to the lines and holding up proudly the wet and tattered colors of Smallwood's . regiment, under the protection of Smallwood himself, who had come out to meet them and prevent pursuit. A few had been drowned in wading and swimming the angry waters, but the number did not exceed eight, two of whom were Hessian prisoners. Stirling had sacrificed himself and party for the good of the whole, with less loss of life than tradition records, although scores of brave men fell in the ter- rible charge of the three hundred. With the survivors Stirling fled into the hills, but nearly all were captured ; he eluded pursuit until he could reach the Hessian corps, where he surrendered his sword to De Heister.
Parsons, meanwhile, was surprised to discover that the line whose flank he had been protecting for hours was no longer there. Stirling had not informed him of his sudden action, as no messenger could pass the gap under such a fire. Thus he must retreat without orders, but Corn- wallis had complete command of the road. In short, he was hemmed in on every side. He turned into the woods, and some of his men escaped ; but the greater part, including Atlee, were captured. He hid in a swanıp, and with seven men made his way into the American lines at daylight next morning.
The ships of the British line which were intended to menace New York during this attack were baffled by a strong headwind. Only one vessel, the Roebuck, was able to reach a point where it could play upon the fort at Red Hook. Washington had remained in New York until satisfied there could be no immediate attack upon the city, then hastened to the lines in Brooklyn, and was just in time to witness, with anguish, the disasters the reader has already learned. Before two o'clock in the after- noon the battle was over. The British were in possession of the outer line of defense, and the Americans were within the fortified camp on the Brooklyn peninsula.
303
112
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
The victory shed little glory on British arms. Both England and America were astonished that Howe, with an army of such proportions and by dint of an apparently overwhelming manœuvre, had not totally annihilated the scattering outposts! The Americans were seldom en- gaged less than five to one, and were compelled to fight in front and rear under every disadvantage. Considering the circumstances, they behaved admirably along the whole five miles. Had they been military experts, they would doubtless have surrendered without contesting the ground inch by inch, since nothing was to be gained by such a sacrifice. The struggle, however, taught a lesson to the foe which greatly influenced coming events. The loss of the Americans was, all told - killed, wounded, and prisoners - about one thousand, of whom three fourths were pris- oners.1 Howe reported three hundred and sixty-seven dead. Thus were more even of the British than Americans slain. Of American officers killed were, Caleb Parry from Pennsylvania, of Stirling's command, a gentleman of polish and culture, descended from an ancient and honor- able family long seated in North Wales; Philip Johnston, son of Judge Samuel Johnston of New Jersey, a gentleman of education, an officer of fine presence, and one of the strongest men in the army, who fell, near Sullivan, while leading his men to the charge ; Joseph Jewett of Lyme, Connecticut, an officer much beloved, " of elegant and commanding ap- pearance, and of unquestionable bravery "; and Harmanus Rutgers from New York, of the ancient and well-known Rutgers family, whose seat was upon the East River near Jones Hill.
Howe's generals, Clinton, Cornwallis, and Vaughan, are said to have pressed for leave to storm at once the fortifications, but he shook his head, saying, "Enough has been done for one day." His troops proceeded to dine, after which they spread their tents scarcely a mile from the Americans, their sentries stationed one fourth of a mile away. Towards evening a storm of wind and rain sprung up from the northeast. There was little or no sleep in the American camp. They had no tents, 110 fires, nor any opportunity for cooking, and the men working in the trenches were up to their waists in water. The next day there was some Aug. 28. firing between the two camps, but heavy rains kept the enemy chiefly under temporary shelter. However Howe was intending to carry the lines, whether by assault or direct approach, he was manifestly favored.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.