USA > New York > Westchester County > Westchester County, New York, during the American Revolution > Part 53
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? John Adams was either a very poor judge of human nature or n very begutted and hanglity aristocrat, regarding the masses as unworthy of his sympathy or respect, or both, when he wrote of these people, then
nothing else than a continued and a more than ever before besotted haughtiness, utterly uminindtil of the Rights of those who were assumed to be subject to their authority, and a continued and more than ever before mulish stubbornness, in their continued determination to reduce every one who opposed them, no matter how slightly, to an unconditional and abso- Inte submission of thought, word, and deed, to their oligarchic authority, regardless of any and every conse- quence to others or to the country at large-only such a hanghtiness and such a stubbornness, indeed, as had characterized the Colonial policy and the administra- tion of Lord Bute and Lord North and Lord George Germaine and their Tory associates, in England; the same as those which had controlled the three Congresses which had preceded it, after the members of the first of them had been induced to wander into the green pastures of the revolutionary faction-could have induced the master-spirits of this new Provincial Con- gress, under the peculiar circumstances which had recently arisen, to disregard the significant teachings of their earlier policy, and to create disaffection and to raise up enemies when harmony and a concert of action, in the cause of their common country, had become so vitally necessary. In the prosecution of that ill-advised and injudicious, as well as barbarous, policy, it continued to make arrests of individuals whom somebody had denounced as " suspected ; 3 and even individual members of the Convention, on their individual motions, without the slightest charge against their victims, ordered individuals into imprisonment .*
bleeding from every pore, from outrages inflicted on them by anthority or with the permission of the Provincial Congress, and rejoicing that protection had been extended to them and to their property, by stran- gers, in such words as these : " The unprincipled and unfeeling and un- "natural inhabitants of Staten-Island are cordially receiving the enemy ; "and, deserlers say, have engaged to tike armis. They are an ignorant, "cowardly pack of scoundrels. Their onnbers are small, and their "spirit less." ( Letter t.) Mrs. lilams, " PHILADELPHIA, July 11, 1776.")
Mr. Adams should have told just what he would have done, had he and his family passed through such an ordeal of " patriotism " as these islanders had sustained, and had he, as they were, been without hope of relief from his own countrybien. The record of his judgment would, then, have been complete.
3 See the instances of Christopher Templet. (Journal of the Conversation, "Die Lane, & ho., P.M., July 22, 17Th;") that of Robert Sutton, Ihr some, " Die Mercurii, 9 ho., A.M., July 24th, 1776 ;") that of Nichols Couwenhoven, (Imend of the Committee of Safety, " Tuesday afternoon " Ang(. 27, 1716 ; ") and many others.
4 See the instance of Henry Chase, "committed to the Jail at White " Plains, by un onder from the Major," [Mejor White, Di pity from Charlotte-county. ] (Journal of the Convention, " Die Jovis, 5 ho., P.M., "July 25, 1776.")
This case of imprisonment of Henry Chase very perfectly illustrated the despotie disposition and actions of those who were then in an. thority.
On the twenty-fifth of July, the date of the entry of his arrest on the Journal of the Convention, the may have been arrested much calice) be petitioned the Convention that he was "confined in Goal upt suspicion. " without money or frien Is," and begged that boly would "beow its "charity " upon him (Petion of Henry Chase and three ofly ". " WHITE "PLAINS, July 25, 1776:" Historical Munscripts, etc. : P'ditions, xxViii., 132.)
On the thirtieth of August, Chase again petitioned the Convention. as follows :
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WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
Arrests were thus made, very often, without the slightest reason, even from the standpoint of those ex ercising the authority ; 1 and even women, when they
" WIGHT PLAINS GOAL, Angust 30, 1776.
"GENTLEMEN: My confinement is the Reason of my Potitioning to " yon the lionorable Provential Congress, hopeing your Honoury will be " Please to Take my Car into Consideration for the Comet of Safety " [the Committee of Watchester county . Says that they have no Right to "try me so I leave my few to your Hannours and Begy that your " Nounours would Consider me for 1 bavo bih imprisoned . long time, "and nothing Appeared against me, So I bez; that your llonhours
" would consider me as Quick as Possible for I am a Poor man and itt is "a Great Dannnage to me to Ly in Prison, so Goutlemen I Leave my
" C'ase to your Honnours not Donting but your wisdoms Gentlemen will
"do me jestice, the Broken Petition from me,
"HENRY C'HA>K.
". POSTSCRIPT. GENTLEMEN I should be very glad if your Honnoury " would be so good as to send for me before your Honour as Quick an " Possible and in so doing you will greatly me.
"HENRY CHASE."
(Hidried Manuscripts, etc .: Petitions : xxxIII., (0)
The County Committee had officially informed Chiase, nine days pre- viously, that it had no jurisdiction of his case, and directed him to the Convention, (Westchester county Committee to Houry Chan, " Is Com- " MITTEE OF SAFETY FOR THE COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER, WHITE PLAINS, "Ang. 21, 1776"-Historiad Manuscripts, etc. : Petilima, xxXIII, 102;) but no attention whatever was paid to the poor man's Petition, by either the Committee of Safety of the State or the Convention to whom it was addressed-he was only "a Poor man," one of the "poor rep- " tiles," of earlier " patriotismi."
Ou the thirteenth of September. the unfortunate prisoner again pre- sented a Petition for relief, in these words :
" WHITE PLAINS GOAL, September 13, 1776.
"GENTLEMEN OF THE HONORABLE PROVENSHALL CONGRESS.
"This my Humble Petition to Beg of your Honhours to send for me " that I may have my tryal for the County Commiete and tli- Commete "of Safety says that they have no Right to try me and I have desird " theni to send me to the lonnonrable Provenshall Congress aud they "tell me they Dare Not send me without orders from your Houbours " Gentlemen so I shall be very Glad if your Honnours will be Good "Enouf to send for me as soon as Possible, for I have bin in Prison "Going on Eight weeks and I cant support myself any Longer, $ So "Gentlentes I Shall he very Glad if your Honnonrs would take my "case into Consideration if your Hounours Pleases so that I may be "clear' or condeind So Gentlemen I leave my case to your Honhours "wise consideration not Douting but your Honours will have compas- "sion ou a Poor Prisoner. " HENRY CHASE."
( Historical Manuscriptx, etc. : Petitions, xxxiii., 90.)
To this secont appeal, there does not appear to have been made the slightest answer, although it was receivedl by the Convention, and "'read," (Journal of the Convention, Tuesday morning, Sept. 17, 1776 ;) and Itis tory is silent concerning the remainder of the victim's career.
Those who shall desire to know who and what kind of a man it was who had thus possessed and exercised power enough to point his dirty finger at a man and cause him to be thus outraged. without any remedy, may te gratined by turning to a Dedom addressed to the Provincial Con- Crest, on the fourth of May. 1776, by William Duer, subsequently well known, (Historical Monscripts, etc. ; Petitions, xxxII., 25 ;) and to the Arest of Movie, på by the Treasurer for which no acest has been men- dered by the person to whom they were pail, reported by the Treasurer to the Convention, ou the eighteenth of September, 1776.
(Historical Mannagrinds, etc. : Marellavous Papers, NAXVI., 257.)
1 The instances of Christopher Templar, already referred to; that of Robert Sutton, Journal of the Convention, " Die Mercurii, 9 ho., A.M., "July 21, 1776 ; ") that of John Thomas, (the sun, " Die Sabbati, 9 ho., ". A. M., July 25, 1776 ;" that of John Sutton, (the same, " Die Sabbati, 3 "ho., P. M., July 27, 1776 ; ") and others.
" The reader will remember that such prisoners as this, those thrust into confinement because it suited somebody to " st-feet" them, were compelled to support themselves, while in Jail, or to starve, unless some- body should charitably help them to food.
refused to be made tools for their inquisitorial prac- tires, were ordered to be imprisoned "until they "should make discovery or declaration aforesaid."? Arrests were made by military officers, even for al- leged civil offenees ; 3 and, of course, the arbitrary arrests of those who were obnoxious to members of the several County Committees were continued, with- out abatement'-the Committee of the City of New York assumed authority to pass over the Hudson- river, into New Jersey ; to arrest six persons, "in "Bergen Woods, near Bull's Ferry ; " and to bring its prisoners over the river, and imprison them in the Jail of the City.3 Occasionally, food was provided for those who were thus seized and confined ; " but such a favor was exceptional : in some instances, the expense of being confined was increased by official extras ; " but there was an instance, also, wherein a prisoner, arrested by order of the Commander-in- Chief, was liberated from confinement, by the Con- vention, and given the largest liberty, with no other condition than that of an elastic parole, only because of his " connection with a large family of well-attached, "warm Whigs," and because it would be " the most "politic course to do so;"8 and a second instance, wherein " a person of equivocal character," in West- chester-county,9 and whose name was included in the List of Suspected Persons on which Frederic Philipse's name also appeared, "" and who was ostentatiously sum- moned to appear before the notorious "Committee to "detect Conspiracies," of which his half-brother and
2 See the instance of Elizabeth Hicks, of Rockaway, (Journal of the Convention, "Die Mercurii, 9 ho., A.M., August 14, 1776.")
3 See the instances of George Davy and Willinin Tucker, arrested by Major Graham, (Journal of the Convention, " Thursday morning, July "Is, 1776 ; ") those arrested by Lieutenant Brott, (the same, "Die Veneris, " 4 ho., P.M., Septr. 27, 1776; ") etc.
4 The instances of William Sutton and his son, John Sutton, (the latter discharged by the Convention,) arrested by the Cotamittee of Westches- ter-coutity, (Journal of the Convention, " Die Jovis, 5 ho., P. M. July 25. " 1776,"; and of Abraham C. Cuyler, Johu Duncan, Stephen De Lancey, John Monier, and Benjamin Hilton, arrested and banished into Comee- ticut, by the Committee of Albany-county, (the same, " Die Mercurii, 9 " ho., A. M., Augt. 21. 1776,") aro noteworthy.
& John Parrina, Chairman, to the Courration, "COMMITTEE CHANCER, "NEW-YORK, Angt. 2, 1776;" Jomrunt of the Comention, "Die Mer- "curii, 2 ho., A.M., Augt. 7. 1776."
" The instances of Binter Van Houser and Henty Dawkins, in the Jailat the White Plains. (Joursed of the Convention, " Friday Morning, " An ;t. 9, 1776,") may be notiert.
William Sutton was arrested and confined in the Jail at the Plains, furnishing his own food, as was usual ; but, soon after, he was banist e.l to Philadelphia, and there contined, " subsisting himself," besides hav- ing been required to pay to Lieutenant Alexander Hunt, who conveyed Lim to Philadelphia, the expenses of his own journey, the expenses of Huut while thus engaged in escorting him, and twelve shillings per diy to the latter, "for his trouble in the premises." (Journal of the Con- vention, " Die Sabbati, 3 ho., P. M , July 27, 1776.")
& See the instance of Willett Taylor, who was thus favored, at the in- stance of General John Morin Scott, (Journal of the Convention, " Thys. "day 'morning, Augt. 13, 1776;" the onme, "Thursday, A. M., August "15, 1776;" Gonored John Marin Salt to John M. Knew, "New-York, "hore reage 13th August, 17TH ;" the same to -- , "NEW-YORK, "Ang 13, 1770.")
2 Minutes of the Commithe to detect Conspiracies, " Thursday, A.M., "June 27. 1776." 10 Historical Miwuscripts, etc. : Miscellaneous Papere, xxxvL., 156
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WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
another kinsman were leading members,1 was made the "Judge of the High Court of Ministry of this "State," only thirty-four days after he had been thus summoned to answer a charge of having been "sas- "pected," and before he hal answered to that Sum- mons ; 2 and a third instance, when a leading member of the Convention itself, because of his known incli- nations and because of his continued and frequent correspondence with his friends, in the City of New York as well as with those in Philadelphia, after both those Cities had been occupied by the Royal Army ; and because of his expressed desire to go into the City of New York, for the purpose of visiting those friends; and because of his application for a flag, for the pur- pose of carrying those desires into effect; became gen- erally and very seriously "suspected,"" without lav- ing been officially disturbed, by any one-hre was not one of those "poor vipers" of whom he had told, only a few months previously ; " nor did he come within the circle of those whom the dominant, aristocratic clique of that period was inclined to degrade to the level of the common people. There have been some, from that time until this, who have seen that, in the hands of such as then controlled the affairs of New York, the scales of justice were sadly tilted; that there was one kind of justice for one class of the inhabit- ants and another kind of justice for another class ; that, in practice, the vaunted equality of all men was a fiction.
It was a favorite practice to remove the victims of these arrests from the vicinage of the alleged offence ; and the Tail at Kingston was touch employed, al- though Morristown, in New Jersey,6 and Hartford, in Connecticut,7 and the City of Philadelphia, and
1 Minutes of the Committee to detect Conspiracies, "Thursday, A.M., "Juun 27, 1776."'
" Compare the record of the Summous of Richard Morris, in the preced- ing Note, with that of his appointment, in the Journal of the Convention, " Die Mercurii, 9 ho , A. M., July 31, 1776."
3 Reference is made, in this place, to Gouverneur Morris ; and those who shall incline to know more of the subjects referred to, are referred to Ductor Sparks's Life of Gourernenr Morris, 1., 154-161, in which, not- withstanding the evi lent purpose of the kind-hearted biographer to say as little in disparagement of the aristocratie culprit as possible, the careful reader will perecive the unceasing hankerings of that distin- guished "patriot," for the fleshpots of monarchy.
+ Ville page 12, auta.
5 The instances of Bloomer Nelson, Samuel Haines, Josiah Disberry, and Jacob Schureman, resi hints of Westchester-county, (Journal of the Cuirentim, "Thursday morning, August 29, 1776 ;" Petition of John Sure, Blowner Sortant, and others, " KINGSTON GOAL, Ferry 19th, 1777 "- Historien Manuscripts : Petitions, xxxiii., 638 ; Petition of Bloomer Vitam and three other, " KINestoy GOAL, March 26, 1717-Histried More- wripls, etc.,: IVtifi ms, xxxiii., Gltt.) are sufficient for this purpose, although there are numerous others.
6. Junrad of the Conrentow, " Die Sabbati, Who , A.M., Angt. 17, 1776 ;" the President of the Convention to the Committee of Iluremonty, " Ix Con- " VENTION OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, "HARLEM, Augt. 17, 1776 ;" etc.
The instances of Abraham C. Cuyler, John Duncan, Stephen De Lancey, John Monier, and Benjamin Hilton, already referred to, will be remembered by the reader.
$ It will be remembered that William Sutton of Mamaroneck WAS banished to Philadelphia.
"others "of the neighbouring States," ?- of course, the older-time repository of the victims of New York's "suspicion," at Litchfield, in Connecticut, was in- cluded; 10_did not fail to receive their very welcome supply of well-to-do boarders.
During the first three months of the existence of the Convention, there were thus lawlessly seized, of tlre residents of Westchester-county, William and John Sutton, of Mamaroneck ; " John Rogers, a ser- vant of Lewis Morris, of Morrisania; 22 Joseph Reade, of Westchester ; " Isnac Underhill, of Yon- kers," and Philip Palmer" and James Horton, Junior,16 besides a number of others the names of whom were not recorded on the Journal of the Convention."
3 Journal of the Committee of Safety. " Saturday morning, Novr. 9, " 1776."
10 Journal of the Courenfim, " Die Jovis, 4 ho., P.M., July 18, 1776." 11 Vide page 2010, ante.
I? Journal of the Courration, " Wednesday morning, Augt. 23, 1756; " the same, " Thursday morning, Augt. 29, 1776."
13 The Affidavit ou which Joseph Reade was ordered to be arrested is such asingular production that we are inlaced to copy it.
"DUTCHESS COUNTY, số. Abraham W. D. Peyster, being sworn, dapor- "ethi and saith that, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, the fourth, "fifth, and sixth days of September instant, he was at New Rochelle, in "the County of Westchester; that ou one of the above-namel days, he "heard, (as far as he can at present recollect, ) either Theodosius Bartow, " of New Rochelle aforesaid, or Anthony Abrahams, of the Town of " Westchester, in substance, say, in a conversation this Deponent had " with the one or the other of them, on the American contest, that Jo- "seph Rende, late of the City of New-York, Attorney-at-Law, but, at "present, as this Deponent understood, a resident in the Town of West- " chester, was reputed a great Tory ; that the chief of his, the said Jo- "reph Reade's, conversarion wasof the Tory kind: and that he, the " said Joseph Reale, had reported that, in the late Battle on Long Is- "land, between the American Army and that of the King of Great "Britain, the Americans had lost either seveu or fourteen thousand men. "(This Deponent caunot now recollect which of the two numbers was "mentioned, but rather thinks fourteen.) This Deponent further says, "that the amount of all he heard at New-Rochelle, at the time afore- "and, respecting Joseph Reade, was, that the said Joseph Rend. was a "great Tory aud very nufriendly to the American cause, and further " this Deponent saith not.
"A. W. D. PEYSTER.
" Sworn before me, this 10th 2 Sept., 1776. ". ABM. YATES, JUNR., Presilent."
That Abraham W. De Peyster was an employe of the Convention, in its work of making arrests and conveying the victims into exile, Rs 8 copyist, etc. ; and he was evidently anxious for another job, of the sinte eliss, when be volunteered this singular testimony. But the Committee of Safety disappointed bis esilent exportations, by committing the Affi- davit to the Committee of Westchester county, " with a letter requesting "them to procent thereon," (Journal of the Committee of Sety, " Die "Martis, 8 ho., 4. 3 .. Septr. 10, 1776.")
14 Jourid of the Committee of Siirty, " Die Luna, 9 ho., A.M., October "7, 1776."
13 Ibid.
Is Jonrad of the Convention, "Wednesday afternoon, July 17, 1776." 17 " RESOLVED ; That General Morris he ordered immediately to appre- "Lend and seence the persons ordered to be apprefunded by this Con- "vention, yesterday, and that he ly furnished with a list of theme permets "jantes," almond of the Conception, " Die Sabbati, 4 ho., P.M., Angt. "1(, 1776.")
As no such Order for the arrest of any one as is recited in the atre Revolution appears in the published Impact of the Conradion of the pre- ceding day, it is evident that this is one of those instances of arbitrary lawlessures, familiar to despots, of which the reci als are burial in secracy.
21
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WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
Those who were supposed to have been " disaf- "fiete," whether they were really so or not, very much alarmed the Convention ; and the reports of the ill disposition of large portions of the inhabitants, in various parts of the State, were really and reasonably sufficient to create alarm, even among more resolute men than those of whom the Conven- tion was constituted. Those whom the Committees and the Congresses had persecuted and outraged and all whom their sufferings could intheuce, very naturally and very reasonably, were " disaffected," as the inhabitants of Staten-Island had been : many, great numbers, of those who had honestly and earnest- ly opposed the Home Government and who had bold- ly demanded a redress of the Colonial grievances, were also " disaffected," when the fire-eaters' Reso- lution of Independence was forced on them, nolens volen», as Colonel James Holmes, of Bedford,-who had represented Westchester-county in the Provincial Convention which had sent the Delegation of the Colouy to the second Continental Congress; who had represented the County in the First Provincial Con- gress ; and who had commanded, throughout the en- tire Campaign of 1775, the Regiment of Troops in which were the Companies from the same County- was "disaffected," thereby. The greater number of those who had held places of honor and emolument, in the Colonial Government, notwithstanding it was politic to keep quiet, was also, more or less " disaf- "fected ;" and the multitude, whose timidity would not permit them to eritertain a thought that Indepen- dence would be worth what it would evidently cost to secure it, was not very loud-toned in its favor, even if it did not, very often, lean toward "di-affection." Lastly, the inhabitants of the State, very generally, anxious only to attend to their business and their farms, without the distress and misery which a Civil War would necessarily produce, and seeing no ad- vantage to themselves or to their families by the violent overthrow of one Government and the equally violent establishment of another Government-the great majority, by far the greater number, if not the almost entire body, of the farmers of Westchester- eounty, was of that class-preferred to remain as they Had been, before they had been outraged by the new regime; and, therefore, were classed as "disaffected." There was reason, therefore, for the more tender anxiety of the Convention, composed of those who were cowards by instinet, since "its chickens had " come home, to roost ;" and, as we shall see, its anxiety was not relieved by what it was subsequently required to experience. Governor Tryon was eulist- ing as many as he could entice into the service of the King, both in New York and in other States; ' and
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those who were "disaffected," in Westchester-coun- ty and elsewhere, were beginning to organize and to arm, for their own defence and, now and then, in support of the Royal cause." The Troop of Hor-e, in Westchester county, of whom mention has been inade, when a quota of its members was ordered for the reinforcement of the Continental Army, at New York, early in July, 1776, had refused to comply with the Onder; " the Regiment of Westchester Mili- tin, commanded by Colonel Joseph Drake, of New Rochelle, also declined to be submitted to a Draft, for the same purpose, later in July; ' it knew that very few of the Militia of that County could be ex- peeteil to enter the service, even for the protection of the County itself; 5 and, on the earnest appeal of the friends of the Convention, in Salem and on Cort- landt's Manor, for the protection of the small revo- lutionary factions, there, from the greater number of those who were regarded as "disaffected, in those "portions of the County,'6 a special Company of thirty men, to be commanded by Captain Samuel Delavan, and in addition to the similar Company commanded by Captain Micah Townsend, previously organized,7 was necessarily ordered to be enlisted and established, at the expense of the State, for that particular ser- vice.3 Even the authority of the Convention and that of the Committee of Safety of the State were disregarded by Captain Varian, of Westchester-county;9 and there
Convention, "Die Sabbati, + ho., P.M., Sept. 21, 1776;" and many others.
The instance of Willhun Lounsherry, who refused to surrender and was killed, while four of his recruits-Bloomer Nelson, Jacob schure- man, Samuel Haines, and Joseph Turner-were captured, is noteworthy. Both Lounsberry and his fourteen recruits were Westchester county Loyalists ; and he and they were intercepted in Westchester county, by a party of Westchester-county Militia, on the twenty-ninth of . Angus!, 1776. (Journal of the fourention, " Thursday morning, Augt. 29, 17th ;" Committee of Safety to General Washington, "IN COMMITTEE OF SAFETY, "HARLEM, Augt. 30, 1776.")
2 The Commitke of Safety to General Washington, " Fishktur, 10 Oc- "tober, 1776."
A Corps of Westchester county Refugees was subsequently raised, the Lieutenant colonency of which was taken by the veteran, James Holmes, of Bedford, already mentioned, (1 Short Account of the Inscrut and Life of Jumes Holmes, Fsq., edit. 1815, reprinted, in extenso, in de Lancey's Nous to Jones's History of Sito York during the Rebels mary Wer. t., 621.) Two Battalions of Legalist were raised in Queens-county ; and in several of the other Countries, heavy enlistments were als . mode.
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