USA > New York > Ulster County > Kingston > The history of Kingston, New York : from its early settlement to the year 1820 > Part 29
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At the time and place aforesaid, accompanied with all proper solemnity, the firing of a feu de joie by the military, and the ring- ing of bells, the proclamation was read announcing the assumption of power by the first governor of the State of New York.
There was not, probably, a more zealous and earnest advocate
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for the rights of the people and the freedom of America than the Rev. George J. L. Doll, the pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church in Kingston at that time. He did much to sustain and encourage the patriotic sentiment and ardor so strongly exhibited by the citi- zens of Kingston during the protracted struggle for independence. The wives and mothers in his flock received from him religious consolation and encouragement during the absence of their loved ones in defence of their country, and he taught them not to stay the hand which was ready to strike for liberty.
The following letter sent by him, in behalf of the Consistory, to Governor Clinton, upon the occasion of his inauguration, breathes the true spirit of patriotism :
" To His Excellency, George Clinton Esq Governor General and Commander in Chief of all the Militia, and Admiral of the Navy of the State of New York ;
"May it please your Excellency
" At the commencement of the new Constitution, and at the very hour of your Inauguration, the Minister Elders and Deacons of the Reformed Dutch Church of Kingston, in Consistory as- sembled, beg leave to congratulate your Excellency upon the high- est honours the subjects of a free State can possess, and to assure you of the part they bear in the public happiness of this occasion.
"From the beginning of the present war, the Consistory and People of Kingston have been uniformly attached to the cause of America, and justify, upon the soundest principles of religion and morality, the glorious revolution of a free and oppressed country. Convinced of the unrighteous design of Great Britain, upon their civil and religious privileges, they chose without hesitation, rather to suffer with a brave people for a season, than to enjoy the luxuries and friendship of a wicked and cruel nation.
" With an inexpressible perseverance, which they trust the greatest adversity and persecution will never change, they profess anew, to your Excellency, their interest in the Continental Union and loyalty to the State of New York.
" While the Constitution is preserved inviolate, and the rulers steer by that conspicuous beacon, the people have the fairest pros- pect of happiness, unanimity and success. With you, they choose to launch, that future pilots may form a precedent from your vigi- lance, impartiality, and firmness, and the system obtain an estab- lishment, that shall last for ages. For as nothing can be more agreeable to the conscious Patriot, than the approbation of his country, so nothing can more promote the general good, than plac- ing confidence in established characters, and raising merit to dis- tinguished power.
" Take, then, with the acclamations and fullest confidence of
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the public-take, sir, the government in your own hands, and let the unsolicited voice, of a whole State, prevail upon you to enter upon the arduous task.
" All ranks in placing you at their head, have pledged their lives and fortunes to support and defend you in this exalted station, and the Consistory of Kingston cheerfully unite in the implicit stipulation, and promise you their prayers.
" As a reformation in morals, and the prevalence of virtue is the immediate object of the Consistory of Kingston, they esteem themselves especially happy, in having cause to believe that re- ligious liberty (without which all other privileges are not worth enjoying) will be strenuously supported by your Excellency, and they congratulate themselves and the State, that God has given them a Governor, who understands, and therefore loves the Chris- tian religion, and who, in his Administration, will prove a terror to evil doers, and an example and patron to them that do well
"Signed by order of the Committee "GEORGE J L DOLL Præsis
" August 2, 1777"
The first court held under the first Constitution of the State of New York was opened by Chief-Justice Jay, in the Court House in the village of Kingston, on the 9th day of September, 1777. The Grand Jury was composed of twenty-two of the most respectable men in the county of Ulster.
After they had been sworn Chief-Justice Jay delivered the following charge :
" GENTLEMEN It affords me very sensible pleasure to congrat- ulate you on the dawn of that free mild and equal Government, which now begins to rise and break from amidst those clouds of anarchy, confusion and licentiousness, which the arbitrary and violent domination of the King of Great Britain had spread, in greater or less degree, throughout this and the other American States. And it gives me particular satisfaction to remark, that the first fruits of our excellent constitution appear in a part of this State, whose inhabitants have distinguished themselves, by having unanimously endeavored to deserve them.
" This is one of those signal instances, in which Divine Provi- dence has made the Tyranny of Princes instrumental in breaking the chains of their subjects ; and rendered the most inhuman de- signs, productive of the best consequences, to those against whom they were intended.
" The infatuated Sovereign of Britain forgetful that Kings were the servants, not the proprietors, and ought to be the fathers, not the incendiaries of their people, hath, by destroying our former
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constitutions, enabled us to erect more eligible systems of govern- ment on their ruins ; and by unwarrantable attempts to bind us in all cases whatever, has reduced us to the happy necessity of being free from his control in any.
" Whoever compares our present with our former Constitution, will find abundant reason to rejoice in the exchange, and readily admit, that all the calamities, incident to this war, will be amply · compensated by the many blessings flowing from this glorious revolution. A revolution which, in the whole course of its rise and progress, is distinguished by so many marks of the Divine favor and interposition, that no doubt can remain of its being finally accomplished.
" It was begun and has been supported, in a manner so singu- lar, and I may say, miraculous, that when future ages shall read its history, they will be tempted to consider great part of it as fabulous. What, among other things, can appear more unworthy of credit, than in an enlightened age, in a civilized and Christian country, in a nation so celebrated for humanity, as well as love of liberty and justice, as the English once justly were, a prince should arise, who, by the influence of corruption alone, should be able to seduce them into a combination, to reduce three millions of his most loyal and affectionate subjects, to absolute slavery under pretence of a right, appertaining to God alone, of binding them in all cases whatever, not even excepting cases of conscience and religion ? What can appear more improbable, although true, than that this prince, and this people, should obstinately steel their hearts, and shut their ears, against the most humble petitions and affectionate remonstrances, and unjustly determine by violence and force, to execute designs, which were reprobated by every principle of humanity, equity, gratitude and policy-designs which would have been execrable, if intended against savages and enemies, and yet formed against men descended from the same common ancestors with themselves ; men who had liberally contributed to their sup- port, and cheerfully fought their battles, even in remote and bale- ful climates ? Will it not appear extraordinary, that thirteen Colonies, the object of their wicked designs, divided by variety of governments and manners, should immediately become one people, and though without funds, without magazines, without disciplined troops, in the face of their enemies, unanimously determine to be free ; and undaunted by the power of Britain, refer their cause to the justice of the Almighty, and resolve to repel force by force ? Thereby presenting to the world an illustrious example of magnan- imity and virtue scarcely to be paralleled ? Will it not be matter of doubt and wonder, that notwithstanding these difficulties, they should raise armies, establish funds, carry on commerce, grow rich
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by the spoils of their enemies, and bid defiance to the armies of Britain, the mercenaries of Germany and the savages of the wilder- ness ?- But however incredible these things may in future appear, we know them to be true, and we should always remember, that the many remarkable and unexpected means and events, by which our wants have been supplied, and our enemies repelled or re- strained, are such strong and striking proofs of the interposition of Heaven, that our having been hitherto delivered from the threat- ened bondage of Britain, ought, like the emancipation of the Jews from Egyptian servitude, to be forever ascribed to its true cause, and instead of swelling our breasts with arrogant ideas of our prowess and importance, kindle in them a flame of gratitude and piety, which may consume all remains of vice and irreligion.
" Blessed be God ! the time will never arrive when the prince of a country in another quarter of the globe, will command your obedience and hold you in vassalage. His consent has ceased to be necessary to enable you to enact laws essential to your welfare, nor will you, in future, be subject to the imperious sway of rulers, instructed to sacrifice your happiness whenever it might be incon- sistent with the ambitious views of their royal master
" The Americans are the first People whom Heaven has favored with an opportunity of deliberating upon and choosing the forms of government under which they should live ; all other constitu- tions have derived their existence from violence or accidental cir- cumstances, and are therefore probably more distant from their perfection, which, though beyond our reach, may nevertheless be approached under the guidance of reason and experience.
" How far the People of this State have improved this oppor- tunity we are at no loss to determine. Their Constitution has given general satisfaction at home, and been not only approved, but applauded abroad. It would be a pleasing task to take a minute view of it, to investigate its principles, and remark the connection and use of its several parts-but that would be a work of too great length to be proper on this occasion. I must therefore confine myself to general observations ; and among those which naturally arise from a consideration of this subject, none are more obvious, than that the highest respect has been paid to those great and equal rights of human nature, which should ever remain invio- late in every society-and that such care has been taken in the dis- position of the legislative, executive and judicial powers of govern- ment, as to promise permanence to the Constitution, and give energy and impartiality to the distribution of justice. So that while you possess wisdom to discern and virtue to appoint men of worth and abilities to fill the offices of the State, you will be happy at home and respected abroad .- Your life, your liberties, your
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property, will be at the disposal only of your Creator and your- selves. You will know no power but such as you will create ; no authority unless derived from your grant, no laws, but such as acquire all their obligation from your consent.
" Adequate security is also given to the rights of conscience and private judgment. They are, by nature, subject to no control but that of the Deity, and in that free situation they are now left. Every man is permitted to consider, to adore and to worship his Creator in the manner most agreeable to his conscience. No opin- ions are dictated ; no rules of faith prescribed ; no preference given to one sect to the prejudice of others .- The Constitution, however, has wisely declared, that the ' liberty of conscience thereby granted, shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of this State.' In a word the convention, by whom that Constitution was formed, were of opinion, that the gospel of CHRIST like the ark of GOD, would not fall, though unsupported by the arm of flesh, and happy would it be for mankind, if that opinion prevailed more generally.
" But let it be remembered, that whatever marks of wisdom, experience and patriotism there may be in your Constitution, yet, like the beautiful symmetry, the just proportions, and elegant forms of our first parents, before their maker breathed into them the breath of life, it is yet to be animated, and till then may indeed, excite admiration, but will be of no use. From the People it must receive its spirit, and by them be quickened. Let virtue, honor, the love of liberty and of science be, and remain, the soul of this Constitution, and it will become the source of great and extensive happiness to this and future generations. Vice ;ignorance and want of vigilance will be the only enemies able to destroy it Against these provide, and, of these, be forever jealous. Every member of the State, ought diligently to read and study the Con- .stitution of his country, and teach the rising generation to be free. By knowing their rights, they will sooner perceive when they are violated and be better prepared to defend and assert them.
" This, gentlemen, is the first court held under the authority of our Constitution, and I hope its proceedings will be such, as to merit the approbation of the friends, and avoid giving cause of censure to the enemies of the present establishment.
" It is proper to observe, that no person in this State, however exalted or low his rank, however dignified or humble his station, but has a right to the protection of, and is amenable to the laws of the land, and that if those laws be wisely made and duly executed, innocence will be defended, oppression punished, and vice re- strained. Hence it becomes the common duty, and indeed the 18
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common interest, of every subject of the State, and particularly of those concerned in the distribution of Justice, to unite in repressing the licentious, in supporting the laws, and thereby diffusing the blessings of peace, security, order and good government through all degrees and ranks of men among us.
" I presume it will be unnecessary to remind you that neither fear, favor, resentment, or other personal and partial considerations should influence your conduct. Calm deliberate reason, candor, moderation, a dispassionate, and yet a determined resolution to do your duty, will, I am persuaded, be the principles by which you will be directed.
TAPPEN HOUSE, EXECUTIVE CHAMBER.
" You will be pleased to observe, that all offences committed in this county against the peace of the People of this State, from treason to trespass, are proper objects of your attention and enquiry.
" You will give particular attention to the practice of counterfeit- ing the bills of credit, emitted by the general CONGRESS or other of the AMERICAN STATES, and of knowingly passing such counter- feits. Practices no less criminal in themselves, than injurious to the interests of that great cause, on the success of which the happi- ness of AMERICA so essentially depends."
On the 1st of August, the time fixed for the meeting of the Leg-
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islature at Kingston, the condition of the country was such that the governor deemed it advisable to prorogue it until the 20th, and again until the 1st of September.
Governor Clinton when in Kingston made the house, in North Front Street, of his brother-in-law, Christopher Tappen, his head- quarters, and there performed his ordinary executive duties. When, however, he met the Legislature in joint convention it was at the Court House.
Colonel Levi Pawling, of Ulster County, was one of the senators elected from the middle district, and was the only representative of Ulster County in the Senate.
The Senate met and organized at the house of Abraham Van
SENATE HOUSE.
Gaasbeek, This house was located on the west side of East Front Street, now Clinton Avenue, near the corner of North Front Street. It was a long, low, one-story stone building with a steep roof. The main hall was near the north end, with a room on each side. At the south end was a room with a direct opening or doorway into the street. There is nothing in the legislative minutes showing in what room the Senate met, but from the fact that the south room was the largest, and also had a direct communication with the street, it is presumed that that was the actual Senate Chamber in which the first Senate of the State of New York met and was organized.
John Cantine, Johannis G. Hardenbergh, Matthew Rea, Corne- lius C. Schoonmaker, Colonel Johannis Snyder, and Henry Wisner, Jr., were the representatives from Ulster County in the Assembly.
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. HOUSE WHERE FIRST ASSEMBLY MET.
The Assembly met and organized at the public house of Evert Bogardus, situate at the northwest corner of Maiden Lane and Fair Street. They were unable to meet at the Court House as the Supreme Court was then in session there.
By reason of the want of a quorum in the Senate the Legislature did not become fully organized until the 10th of September.
With the organization of the Legislature the State government became operative and complete in all its three departments-the executive, the legislative, and the judicial-within the bounds of the then village of Kingston, and the wheels of government were there put in full perpetual motion.
The legislative session was brief, and was cut short by the invader's approach. The burning of the village in October put an end to any hope that might have been entertained of making Kings- ton the permanent seat of the State government. The Legislature after that partook for a time of a migratory character. When not specially convened by call they met at such place as had been fixed by resolution of adjournment at the last previous meeting. When no place was fixed, then at the place of their last meeting.
By special resolutions from time to time prior to their final location at Albany upon the completion of the Capitol, they met at Kingston in August, 1779, in April, 1780, and in March, 1783.
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CHAPTER XVII.
CAMPAIGN OF 1777, INCLUDING BURNING OF KINGSTON.
TN the last chapter was chronicled the complete inauguration of L the State government and the starting of its wheels in full oper- ation, but still surrounded with perils and dangers on every side, threatened by enemies from without, requiring its entire strength for defence, at the same time that the homes of its loyal citizens and the lives of their families were threatened by bitter and deadly foes from within. It becomes necessary to go back again in our detail to the fall and winter of 1776-77 to note the movements of troops and preparations for continuing the deadly conflict.
On the part of the British, General Howe, the commander-in- chief, chagrined at the failure of the campaign designed to crush New York in 1776, and finding that General Burgoyne, command- ing the Northern army, had retired to winter quarters without accomplishing anything, figured out extensive and crushing oper- ations for the year 1777, designed, as he wrote in his official com- munication to Lord George Germaine, under date of November 30th, 1776, " if possible to finish the war in one year by an extensive and vigorous exertion of his Majesty's arms." He should have added, with those of Russia and Germany.
His plan is thus set forth in his letter :
"1st. An offensive army of 10,000 rank and file to act on the side of Rhode Island, by taking possession of Providence, pene- trating from thence into the country towards Boston, and if pos- sible to reduce that town ; two thousand men to be left for the defence of Rhode Island, and for making small incursions, under the protection of the shipping, upon the coast of Connecticut. This army to be commanded by Lieut Gen Clinton.
"2. An offensive army, in the province of New York, to move up the North river to Albany, to consist of not less than 10,000 men, and 5,000 for the defence of New York and adjacent posts.
" By the last information from the northward, I learn the army from Canada was obliged, by the severity of the weather, to repass the lake, from Crown Point on the 5th instant, from which event, and a consideration of the difficulties that army must meet with before it reaches Albany, in the course of the next campaign, it is
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reasonable to conclude this will not be effected earlier than Sep- tember.
"3rd. A defensive army of 8000 men to cover Jersey, and to keep the Southern army in check, by giving a jealousy to Phila- delphia, which I would propose to attack in Autumn, as well as Virginia, provided the success of other operations will admit of an adequate force to be sent against that province
" South Carolina and Georgia must be the objects for winter. But to complete this plan, not less than ten ships of the line will be absolutely requisite, and a reinforcement of troops to the amount of 15,000 rank and file, which I should hope may be had from Russia, or from Hanover and other German States, particu- larly some Hanoverian chasseurs, who I am well informed are exceeding good troops.
"By this calculation the army, in the Southern district, would consist of 35,000 effective men, to oppose 50,000 that the American Congress has voted for the service of next campaign. . . . Were the force I have mentioned sent out, it would strike such terror through the country, that little resistance would be made to the progress of his majesty's arms in the provinces of New England, New York, the Jerseys and Pennsylvania after the junction of the Northern and Southern armies."
Such was the plan set forth by General Howe for the consider- ation of the ministry. In addition to this magnificent programme from below, preparations were being made for a crushing blow against New York from Canada at the North. General Carleton was superseded by General Burgoyne in the supreme command of the Northern army, and he made his preparations upon a grand and magnificent scale. His programme was to enter the State with his army in two divisions. The left wing, comprising the main branch, to be commanded by himself in person, was to enter through Lake Champlain. The right wing was to be under the com- mand of Colonel St. Leger, and was to enter the State by crossing Lake Ontario near its entrance into the St. Lawrence, and there to form a junction with their Indian and Tory allies.
As it was not expected that General Burgoyne could reach the upper Hudson until September, General Howe left a part of his forces in New York and some in Rhode Island under the command of Sir Henry Clinton, and then took the main body with him by sea to operate elsewhere.
Such delay on the part of the British to attempt the passage up the river with their fleet enabled the Americans to perfect their plans for the obstruction of the river in the narrow passes of the Highlands. They having no naval force worthy of the name, the only way to check the passage of the British fleet up the river was
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by obstructions in the channel, with forts located to command the passage. To accomplish this object the Americans stretched a chain across the river at West Point and erected Forts Mont- gomery, Clinton, and Constitution in the vicinity.
As long as those forts were in the possession of the Americans, and well manned, and the chain of sufficient strength to resist the force of vessels under full headway, the obstruction was com- plete, for the enemy could use no other means to remove the chain under the fire of the forts. There was also a chevaux-de-frise at Polopin Island, but without forts for protection.
It was vitally important, therefore, that the forts should be sufficiently manned at all times. But many circumstances com- bined to render that almost impossible. New York was hemmed in on the north by the invading forces from Canada, which gave employment for all, and more than all, the strength of Northern New York. On the south was the British army, with a naval force ready to transport it in any direction, or to any unexpected quarter, which gave employment to all the forces which could be gathered below the Highlands from all directions. So that Ulster, Orange, Duchess, and a part of Westchester, were substantially all that were left to furnish troops. Add to this that sufficient men had to be left in the border counties of Ulster and Orange to protect their outer settlements from Indian raids and incursions and to keep the Tories in check, and further consider the great hesitancy evinced on the part of adjoining States to aid New York with needed re- enforcements, and it can create no surprise that those forts were seldom, if ever, sufficiently garrisoned.
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