USA > New York > History of the state of New York. Vol. II, Pt. 1 > Part 5
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Stuyvesant vends to Nicolis, who re- plies.
Colonel Cartwright, Captain Needham, Captain Grove, and Mr. Thomas Delavall accordingly came up to the city 3. August. on Saturday morning with a letter from Nicolls to Stuy-
* Alb. Rec., xviii., 976-997, 011, 312: Colonial MSS .. x. (ilf.), 251, 209 ; xv., 140 ; Mass. Rec., iv. (ii.), 101-106; Palfrey, il., 576; New Amsterdam Rec., v., 352-554, 567-570 ; Val. Man., 1560, 502 : 1º61, 603-605; Col. Doc., il., 225, 248, 367, 368. 371, 872, 876, 867, 408-411, 421, 431-434. 438, 44), 441, 443, 446, 469, 474. 455, 494. 400, 595, 505; Gen. Ent., i., S, ?; Smith, i., 18 ; S. Smith, 37, 88 ; Hazard's Reg. Penn., iv., 50, 31 ; Letter of Drisius, 15 Sept., 1664; antr, vol. 1, 737, 753, 741.
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THE SURRENDER OF NEW NETHERLAND DEMANDED.
vesant, asserting the "unquestionable right" of the English CHAP. I. king "to these parts of America," and requiring the sur- render of the "town situate upon the island commonly Nicolle de- 1664. known by the name of Manhatoes, with all the forts there- mands the unto belonging," at the same time assuring him " and every of Manhat- surrender respective inhabitant of the Dutch nation that his majesty, tan. being tender of the effusion of Christian blood, doth by these presents confirm and secure to every man his estate, Terms of- life, and liberty, who shall readily submit to his govern- fered. ment, and all those who shall oppose his majesty's gra- cious intentions must expect all the miseries of a war which they bring upon themselves." A copy of the proc- lamation of the royal commissioners was also sent. Fond of parade, and determined to "keep up state" to the last, the Dutch director received the English delegates with a salute of artillery which expended a large proportion of his slender stock of powder. As Nicolls had omitted to sign his summons, it was returned to the delegates, and a Stuyvesant delay was thus gained. Stuyvesant, on his part, showed nates. procrasti- them his commission as Director General of New Nether- land, and the grant of the States General to the West India Company in 1621, which, he insisted, gave as much power and authority as the King of England had given or could give to any colony in America. The municipal authorities, with some of the burghers, now assembled at the City Hall, and agreed that the city should be so fortified as to prevent a surprise, that thus " good terms and conditions" might be obtained from the enemy. But, as protracted resistance was out of the question, a copy of the English communica- tion was to be demanded from the director.
On the following Monday morning, Nicolls, having signed his summons, sent it back with a note of apology by Cap- 22 August. tains Ilill, Needham, and Matthias Nicolls. Another salute Nicolle's ond summon< was fired, and on the departure of the English deputies the burgomasters asked Stuyvesant for a copy of the summons, to be shown to the citizens. But the director, fearing that its easy terms might lead them to capitulate at once, re- fnsed. The burgomasters endcavored to explain the pur- port of the summons, but the citizens insisted upon seeing for themselves. Stuyvesant then went in person to their theeting, hoping to dissuade them from their purpose.
£
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
CHAP. I. "Such a course," he said, " would be disapproved of in the 1664. fatherland : it would discourage the people, and he would be held answerable for the surrender." At last, finding it Communi- cated to useless to resist the popular will, the director furnished the the people. required copy, with a protest that he should not be held re- sponsible for " the calamitous consequences."*
22 August.
1 Septeni.
Stuyve- sant's let- ter to the W. I. Com- pany.
With a sorrowful heart Stuyvesant now drew up a dis- patch to the West India Directors, informing them of his "perilous and very alarming" situation. "Long Island is gone and lost." The capital, threatened by Old and New England forces, could not hold out long. "The company is scolded and cursed by the inhabitants, in regard that not- withstanding the so often renewed and successive warn- ings and remonstrances from time to time, no attention has been paid, and none of the solicited succor obtained. Yea, it is loudly and openly proclaimed, to the contempt and shame of your faithful servants, that your honors by pre- meditation abandoned the inhabitants, if you did not in- tend to expose them for sale, and endeavored to devote them to slaughter." This dispatch was intended to be sent by the recently arrived ship Gideon, which was to pass that night " in silence through Hellgate." But, upon considera- tion, Stuyvesant refused to let the vessel sail, and Gelde, her master, could only protest against his detention.t
Willett and Winthrop.
By this time Nicolls had become better informed of the state of affairs in New Amsterdam through Willett, who was "more acquainted with the manners and customs of the Dutch than any Englishman in the country." Win- throp had also explained to him how easily the citizens might be induced to compel Stuyvesant to surrender, if they were assured that their intercourse with Holland 22 August. 1 Septem. would not be interrupted. Nicolls accordingly wrote to Winthrop, " As to those particulars you spoke to me, I do assure you that if the Manhadoes be delivered up to his Winthrop. majesty, I shall not hinder, but any people from the Neth- erlands may freely come and plant there, or thereabouts ; and such vessels of their owne country inay freely come
Nicolls's promises to
* General Entries, i., 9-11; Alb. Rec., xviii., 311-917 ; xxii., 314, 315; Col. MSS., x. (iii.), 309, 311 ; xv., 143, 144 ; Col. Doc., ii., 411, 443, 462, 40%; Hazard's Reg. Penn., iv., 31, 41 ; Smith, i., 18-21 ; S. Smith, 38, 39 ; Thompson, i., 128; Bancroft, il, 314 ; O'Call., ii., 522, 523; ante, vol. i., 738, 730.
t AIb. Rec., xviii., 302-304; xxii., 315-321; Col. MISS., x. (iii. ), 313 ; xv., 141 ; Thompson, 1., 128, 129; General Entries, i., 34, 141 ; Col. Doc., ii., 222, 430, 469, 741.
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D
29
WINTHROP'S LETTER TO STUYVESANT.
thither, and any of them may as freely returne home in CHAr. I. vessels of their owne country ; and this and much more is contained in the privilege of his majesty's English sub- 1664. jects ; and thus much you may, by what means you please, assure the governor." In thus promising the people of New Netherland a free intercourse with Holland, in viola- tion of the English Navigation Acts, Nicolls exceeded his instructions from the king, which authorized him to assure the Dutch colonists only " the same freedom in trade with our other good subjects in those parts;" and he even as- sumed more power than his own sovereign possessed, who " could not dispense with the laws by permitting a com- merce which they had prohibited.""
Having, nevertheless, gained his point, Winthrop ad- dressed a friendly letter to Stuyvesant and his council, 22 August. 1 Septem. urging them to "speedily accept his majesty's gracious ten- der," and adding that " otherwise you may be assured that Winthrop's both the Massachusett colony and Connecticutt, and all the stuyve- letter to rest, are obliged and ready to attend his majestie's service; sant. and if you should, by wilfull protraction, occasion a gen- erall rising of the English colonies, I should be sorry to see the ill consequences which you will bring upon your people thereby, of which I hope and persuade, in reall com- passion, that you will not run so great an hazard to occa- sion a needless warre, with all the evills and miseries that may accompany the same, when nothing but peace, and lib- erties, and protection is tendered. I have, I hope, obtained of their honors this farther addition to their former free tenders for the good of yourselves, your friends, and allies, that any of your friends in Holland that will come over hither shall have free liberty to inhabite and plant in these farts, under his majestie's subjection, and to transport themselves in theire owne country ships, which (if you con- sider well) gives you such a settlement in your present con- dition, that you will find little alteration but your submis- don to and acknowledgment of his majestie's empire (for the most apparent future good of all your people), who Lath imployed such persons of honor and worth that your people may be happy under their government." To this
* 6-n. I'nt . L., 12; Morton's Memorial, 311, note; Col. Doc., iii., 57, 105; Chalmers, i., 241, 926, 0 Cal., 11 , 523; ante, p. 19; vol. i., 730.
30
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
CHAP. L.
1664.
letter Nicolls, Carr, and Cartwright added their autograph approval and assent " that it be sent to the governor of the Manhadoes."*
Winthrop, with his son Fitz Jolin, and Willys of Con- necticut, accompanied by Willett of Plymouth, and Clarke and Pynchon of Massachusetts, came up the next day with 23 August. 2 Soptem. Winthrop at New Amster- dam. this letter from Gravesend "in a row-boat with a white flag," to the city wharf, whence they were "immediately conducted to the nearest tavern." Another salute was fired as they landed, and Stuyvesant went with his council and the two burgomasters to greet them. The English delegates declared that they had come to offer "all the in- habitants, in the king's name, fair conditions, and, in case these were not accepted, to excuse themselves for any mis- chief that might follow-it being their business, as they had been ordered by England's majesty, and were therefore obliged to assist General Nicolls." Many "speeches and answers" passed at the long conference. On taking leave, Winthrop handed his own scaled letter to Stuyvesant, who, when he returned to the fort, opened and read it before the council and the burgomasters. Its effect was immediate. In a short time the burgomasters came back to the council chamber, and demanded a copy of Winthrop's letter to be communicated to the city authorities. This Stuyvesant de- clined to allow, thinking it "rather disadvantageous than favorable to communicate such letters to the inhabitants." The burgomasters insisted that the director "ought to com- municate to the commonalty all that had any relation to the public welfare." Stuyvesant explained the disastrous consequences of so doing; but the burgomasters persisted, and as they went away, " greatly disgusted and dissatisfied," Stuyvesant the director, against their protest, tore the letter in pieces, tear up letter. Winthrop's "in order thereby to prevent its communication." Shortly afterward, most of the burghers assembled at the City Hall; the work on the palisades suddenly stopped; and three of the principal citizens, "not belonging to the gov- ernment," came to the council chamber and peremptorily demanded a copy of the letter. The fragments were shown to them, but no reasoning would satisfy; and Stuyvesant
* This letter was published for the first time in 1863, from Winthrop's original drif., in Mass. II. S. Coll., xxxvi., 527-520 ; N. Y. II. S. Coll. (1869), 58.
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ΥΠOTeIn
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STUYVESANT'S JUSTIFICATION. OF THE DUTCH TITLE. £
was obliged to hasten to the City Hall, "to encourage and CHAT. I. appease the burghers, and bring them back to work." In vain did he try to pacify them; complaints against the 1664. company's shameful neglect of the people's representations were uttered on all sides; and a prolonged defense of the city, without hope of relief, was declared to be impossible, "seeing that to resist so many was nothing else than to gape before an oven." In vain did the director again re- fuse a copy of the letter, because "it did not concern the commonalty, but the government," and, moreover, it had been torn up. "The letter ! the letter !" was the only re- ply. Fearing a mutiny, Stuyvesant returned to the coun- cil chamber; and Bayard, the clerk, having made a copy A copy giv. en to the of Winthrop's mutilated writing, gave it to the timorous citizens. burgomasters.“
Meanwhile Stuyvesant had been preparing a reply to the summons of Nicolls. It was an overwhelming argument, 23 August. tracing the history of New Netherland, denying the English pretension, and maintaining the Dutch title by first dis- covery, uninterrupted possession, purchase of land from the the Dutch native owners, and the recognition of the sovereignty of the title. States General by the articles of peace with England. For these reasons, the unsoundness of the English claim was "as manifest and palpable as the brightness of the sun at noonday." At the same time, the director proposed to re- new the agreement with Scott in the previous March, that the question of boundaries on Long Island should be ami- cably determined by the king and the States General, " in order to prevent bloodshed here and further trouble in Eu- rope," which must follow any hostile aggressions.
This letter was conveyed by four of Stuyvesant's ablest advisers, two from the council and two from the city, who were instructed to "argue the matter" with the English 23 August commander. But Nicolls, declining discussion, told them that the question of right did not concern him; it was to be considered by the king and the States General. He must and should take the place; and if the reasonable terms he
* Col. Doc., il., 303, 360, 414, 415, 400, 476 ; iii., 165; Alb. Rec., xxii., 316; Col. MSS., x. 41.), 311, 313; Smith, i., 20; Trumbull, i., 2CS; Bancroft, il., 314; O'Call., ii., 523, 524 : Mars, H. S. Coll, xxxvi., 525, 523; ante, vol. i., 739. According to Smith, Trumbull, and ? 'hers, Stuyvesant tore Winthrop's letter " in a fit of anger;" according to his own account. 13 Alla Rxc., xxii., 316, and Col. Doc., ii., 415, " to prevent its communication" to the people.
2 Septem. Stuyve- ant's justi- fication of
2 Septetn. Nicolis de- clines die. cuesion.
32
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
CHAP. I. 1664. had offered were not accepted, he would attack the city, for which purpose, at the end of forty-eight hours, he would bring his forces up nearer. "On Thursday, the fourth," he added, " I will speak with you at the Manhattans." The Dutch deputies replied, "Friends will be welcome if they come in a friendly manner." "I shall come with my ships and soldiers," said Nicolls, " and he will be a bold messen- ger, indeed, who shall then dare to come on board and so- licit terms." To their demand, "What, then, is to be done ?" IIe answered, "Hoist the white flag of peace at the fort, and then I may take something into consideration." With this imperious message the Dutch delegates returned sad- ly to New Amsterdam .*
Nicolls's imperious reply.
24 August. 3 Septem. An attack ordered.
Seeing that Stuyvesant was disposed to hold out, Nicolls directed Hyde, of the Guinea, "to prosecute, with the ad- vice of the captains under his command, his majesties' claim and interest by all ways and means as they shall think most expedient for the speedy reducing of the Dutch under his majesties' obedience." The transport ship Wil- liam and Nicholas was also "pressed" for active service, and an agreement was signed with Morley, her captain, to indemnify her owners in case she should be damaged.t
4 Septem. Nicolls at Gravesend.
At the appointed day, a great number of the inhabitants 25 August. of Long Island assembled to meet the royal commissioners at Gravesend. Winthrop and the other Connecticut mag- istrates were present. Nicolls, in their presence, published the king's patent to the Duke of York, with his own com- mission, and demanded the submission of Long Island to his authority. On the part of the inhabitants living east of the Dutch towns there was no doubt respecting alle- giance. They were already British subjects, and under the jurisdiction of Connecticut. The only question was about coming under the Duke of York's government. Winthrop, on behalf of Connecticut, declared that as the king's pleas- ure was now fully signified by his letters patent, the juris- diction which that colony had claimed and exercised over Long Island "ceased and became null." Nicolls, on the part of the duke, replied that he would not displace any of
· Col. Doc., il., 406, 411-414; Gen. Ent., i., 15-20; Alb. Rec., xviii., 319, 320; xxii., 817 ; Col MSS., x. (iff.), 313; xv., 144; Hazard's Reg. Penn., iv., 41, 42; Val. Man., 1860, 592; Smith, i., 21-96; Bancroft, ii , 314; O'Call., ii., 526; ante, vol. 1., TOS, 740.
t Gen. Ent., i., 21, 22, 27, 28; Smith, L, 27 ; S. Smith, 40 ; Hazard, Reg. Penn., iv., 42, 4 '.
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2001
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NEW AMSTERDAM BELEAGUERED BY THE ENGLISHI.
the civil officers appointed by Connecticut, but would con- CUAP. I. firm them to act under him "until a convenient season served to convene deputies from all the towns on the isl- 1664. and, when and where laws were to be enacted and civil of- ficers established." This assurance seemed to explain the vague promise in the proclamation of the commissioners, that all persons submitting to the royal government should enjoy "all other privileges with his majesty's English sub- Submission jects." It was, at all events, considered satisfactory. Long
of Long IsI- to the Duke of Island, chiefly inhabited by Englishmen already subject to York. the crown, submitted at once to the authority of the Duke of York; and the volunteer forces from its eastern towns, joined by those of New England, marched from Amers- foort, and Midwout toward Brooklyn, to assist in reducing the Dutch capital .*
Observing the approach of the English forces, Stuyve- 25 August. sant wrote once more to Nicolls, that although by his or- Tyve- 4 Septent. ders he was " obliged to defend our place," yet, to prevent sant pro- the shedding of innocent blood, he proposed that commis- accommo- poses an sioners should be appointed on both sides to treat'about "a dation. good accommodation," and that in the mean time all hos- tilities should cease. The English commander replied from Gravesend that he would willingly appoint commissioners 25 August. "to treat upon articles of surrender." At the desire of 4 Septem. Stuyvesant's delegates, orders were given to Commodore Ilyde not to fire first on the city. But Nicolls refused their request that the troops should not be brought nearer. "To-day I shall arrive at the ferry," he added : "to-inor- row we can agree with one another."t
The regular soldiers, consisting of three full companies, eager for booty, were then landed at Gravesend, whence they marched up to the ferry at Brooklyn, where the auxil- The En- glish force: iaries from Long Island and New England were already sta- at Brock. tioned. Two of the ships moved up near Nooten, or Gov-" lyn. ernor's Island. The other two frigates came on with full sail, and guns ready to open broadsides, and, passing in front New Am. sterdamlite of Fort Amsterdam, anchored in the East River. Watch- lesguere.l. ing them from the parapet as they sailed along, Stuyvesant
* Derde, 1l., 43, 41 ; Wood, 27, 28, ST, 173, 177; Thompson, i, 126, 127; ii., 323, 323; Col. D'oc, IL. 407, 408, 414, 445, 501 ; Col. Rec. Conn., i. 424, 427, 429 ; ante, vol. i., 733, 731. · Gen. Ent., i., 1.3, 14, 15; Alb. Rec., xviii., 321 ; Col. MISS., xv., 144; Col. Doc., il., 414; Hazard, Reg. Pean., lv., 31; Smith, i., 27 ; S. Smith, 41, 42; ante, vol. i., 740. II .- C
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1
34
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
CHAP. I. was about to order his gunner to fire, when the two Domines Megapolensis led him away between thein, imploring him not 1664. to begin hostilities. Leaving fifty men in the fort, under the command of Fiscal de Sille, the director, at the head of one hundred of the garrison, marched into the city, in or- der to prevent the English from landing " here and there.""
Panic in the me- tropolis.
By this time the Dutch regular soldiers themselves had become more disposed to plunder than to defend. They openly talked of " where booty is to be got, and where the young women live who wear chains of gold." Warnings had come from Long Island that the New England auxil- iaries of Nicolls declared "that their business was not only with New Netherland, but with the booty and plunder, and for these they were called out and enrolled." The " curs- ·ing and talking" of these Eastern adventurers forced the citizens of New Amsterdam to look upon them as their "deadly enemies, who expected nothing else than pillage, plunder, and bloodshed." The whole population on Man- hattan Island was about fifteen hundred, of whom only two hundred and fifty were able to bear arms. Opposed to these were more than a thousand effective soldiers and sailors in the English squadron, besides the re-enforcements from New England and Long Island. Moreover, it was understood that six hundred Northern savages and one hundred and fifty French rovers, with English commissions, had offered their services against the Dutch. Seeing them- selves thus "encircled round about," with no means of de- liverance, and considering " the notorious and palpable im- possibility of being able to defend and hold the place," the city authorities, clergy, and officers of the burgher guard, at the suggestion of the elder Domine Megapolensis, adopt- ed a remonstrance to the director and his council, implor- ing them to accept the conditions offered by the English commander. His threats, it stated, "would not have been at all regarded, could your honors, or we, your petitioners. expect the smallest aid or succour. But God help us ! whether we turn for assistance to the north or to the south, to the cast or to the west, it is all in vain." Ninety- three of the principal citizens, including all the municipal
26 August. 5 Septem- Remon- strance to Stnyve- sant.
* Col. Dec., ii., 414, 422, 444, 445, 591, 502, 5 3, 519, 509 ; Val. Man., 1:00, 502; Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, 15 Sept., 1664; ante, vol. i., 740.
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1735127
STUYVESANT AGREES TO SURRENDER.
officers, and Stuyvesant's eldest son, signed the paper. The CHAP. I. threatening answer of Nicolls to the Dutch commissioners had meanwhile been spread among the people, and many 1664. of them, with their wives and children crying and praying, besought the director to parley. To all their supplications he sturdily replied, " I had much rather be carried out dead !" But now he was obliged to yield to inevitable ne- Stuyvesant cessity, and prevent the mischiefs about to overtake, " evi- yields. dently and assuredly, the honest inhabitants."*
The lesson in Saint Luke's Gospel taught Stuyvesant how vain it was, with ten thousand men, to resist him that came with twenty thousand. Yet there was one balm for the director's wounded spirit. Nicolls had voluntarily pro- poscd "to redeliver the fort and city of Amsterdam, in New Netherland, in case the difference of the limits of this prov- ince be agreed upon betwixt His Majesty of England and the High and Mighty States General." A full power to agree upon articles with the English commander or his 26 August. deputies was accordingly given by the Dutch director and & septem. his council to Counselor John De Decker, Commissary Dutch Nicholas Varlett, and Doctor Samuel Megapolensis, repre- sioners ap- cominis- senting the provincial government, and Burgomaster Cor- pointed. nelis Steenwyck, old burgomaster Oloff Stevensen van Cortlandt, and old schepen James Cousseau, representing the city. Nicolls was now encamped at the Brooklyn fer- ry, " before the Manhatans," with the royal "beleaguering" forces. On his part, he promptly named his two col- leagues, Sir Robert Carr and Colonel George Cartwright, Englich with John Winthrop and Samuel Willys of Connecticut, soncre commits- and Thomas Clarke and John Pynchon of Massachusetts, as his commissioners. "The reason why those of Boston and Connecticut were joined in the treaty," Nicolls after- ward explained to Arlington, " was because those two col- onies should hold themselves the more engaged with us if the Dutch had been over-confident of their strength."t
The next morning, which was Saturday, the plenipoten-
* Alb. Rec., xviii., 320, 321 : Col. MSS., xv., 144; Col. Doc., ii., 248-250, 369, 423, 444, 416. 476, 503; Drising's Letter ; Val. Man., 1860, 502, 503 ; ante, vol. i., 741.
* Col. Doc., il., 414, 440; iii., 103 ; Gen. Ent., i., 30-33 ; Alb. Rec., xviii., 322, 323: Col. M.s.s., xv., 144, 145; Hazard's Ann. Penn., iv., 44; O'Call., ii., 531; Saint Luke's Gospel. xiv .. 21 ; ante, vol. i., 741, 742. Smith, i., 27, inaccurately says that Stuyvesant agreed to surrender "on condition the English and Dutch limits in America were settled by the crow u and the States General."
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
CHAP. I. tiaries on both sides met by agreement at Stuyvesant's
"Bouwery," or farm. Their only dispute was about the
capitula-
1664. Dutch garrison, whom, as the English refused to do it, the city deputies agreed to convey back to Holland. The proc- Articles of lamation of the royal commissioners and the reiterated tion agreed promises of Nicolls formed the basis of the twenty-four upon. articles of capitulation. These declared all the inhabitants of New Netherland to be "free denizens," and secured to them their property. Any persons might come from IIol- land "and plant in this country," while Dutch vessels might " freely come hither, and any of the Dutch may freely return home, or send any sort of merchandise home, in vessels of their own country." For the next six months, intercourse with Holland was to continue as before the coming of the English. The Dutch inhabitants were to "enjoy the liberty of their consciences in divine worship and Church discipline," as well as "their own customs con- cerning their inheritances." All public buildings were to continue in their existing uses, and all public records to be respected. All inferior civil officers were to remain as they were until the customary time for new elections; and the town of Manhattan might choose deputies with "free voices in all public affairs." Owners of houses in Fort Orange were to enjoy their property " as all people do where there is no fort." The articles of capitulation were to be con- sented to by Nicolls, and delivered to Stuyvesant, together with copies of the king's patent and the Duke of York's commission, by eight o'clock the next Monday morning, " at the old mill."# Within two hours afterward, the fort and town " called New Amsterdam, upon the isle of Man- hattoes," were to be surrendered, and the military officers and soldiers to " march out with their arms, drums beating and colors flying, and lighted matches."+
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