USA > New York > Westchester County > Westchester County, New York, during the American Revolution > Part 61
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* We have not found a file of Gaim's Nor- York Gazette and the W'velly Mercury of the latter portion of 1776 ; and The well-informed Mr. Kelly, of the New York Historical Society, informes us that such a hile is not known to him, anywhere.
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which it should have received, at an earlier day, and of which it was in great need.'
The enemy's Squadron got under way, again, dur- ing the evening, and sailed up the river, as far as Tarrytown; where it anchored, and remained during the entire period which was occupied by those stirring and momentous events of which their own movement, up the Hudson-river, was the earlier portion."
When the information of that movement of the enemy's ships reached the Committee of Safety, at Fishkill, it was, evidently, very much alarmed; but, with that promptitude which the emergency de- manded, it immediately ordered three hundred of the Militia of Ulster-county to be sent down, without any delay, to Peekskill, " well armed and accontred, "and with three days' provisions;" that a sufficient number of the Militia of Orange-county, below the mountains-now Rockland-county-should be called out for the due protection of that portion of the western bank of the river, and one hundred from the Militia of the same County, above the mountains, should be called out and sent to Peckskill, with three days' provisions; that all the Rangers which had been enlisted for the protection of the frontiers of Ulster- county should be marched to Fishkill, evidently for the purpose of holding the more violent of the di-af- fected, in Duchess-county, in check ; and it also sent expresses to General Schuyler, commanding the Northern Army, and to General George Clinton, at Kingsbridge, declaring its helplessness and begging " the most speedy succour." It also wrote a letter to General Washington, in which the condition of the country was thus described ; "Nothing can be more " alarming than the present situation of our State. " We are daily getting the most authentic intelli- "gence of bodies of men, enlisted and armed, with "orders to assist the enemy. We much fear that "those, co-operating with the enemy, will seize such " passes as will cut off all communication between the " Army and us, and prevent your supplies. We " dare not trust any more of the Militia out of this " County, [ Duchess.] We have called for some aid " from the two adjoining ones ; but beg leave to sug- "gest to your Excellency the propriety of sending a " body of men to the Highlands or Peekskill, to
1 General Washington to the Continental Congress, " HEIGHTS or HAER- "LEM, 7 October, 1576," postscript dated, "October 9th ; " the same to General Schuyler, "HEAD-QUARTERS, HARLEM HEIGHTS, October 10, " 1776."
2 Lieutenant colonel Tilghman to the Convention, " HEADQUARTERS, " HARLEM HEIGHTS, October 10, 1976; " Colonel Sargent to General Heath. " Half past two o'clock at night, Dost's FraRy, October 10, 1776;"* Colonel alan Hourkes Hay to the convention, " HAVERSTRAW, October 10, "1776;"
* It is very evident that this letter was written at half-past Iwo o'clock in the morning of the tenth of October, since it was received, at King's Bridge, and answered, by General Heath on that day ; and the Colonel | Committee of Safety.
and his commaod, pur-nant to orders Thus conveyed, countermarched to King's Bridge, where they arrived " At Night," of the same day .- (tiene- ral Heath'a Orders to Colonel Sargent, " Fixes Brance, October 10, 1776;" David How's Diary, 10 October, 1976; M. mor of General Health, My
" Seenre the passes, prevent in uerections and - "awe the dissected. We support your Excelle " has taken the necessary steps to prevent their att "ing of any men from the ships, should they le ... " inclined, as no reliance at all can be placed on the "Militia of Westchester-county."3 Two days after- wards, Robert R. Livingston, himself a member of the Committee of Safety and present when the letter from which we have quoted was written, addressed a personal letter, appealing to General Washington to do, for the protection of the Highlands-behind which all the immense estates of the Livingston family were, then, very securely situated-and for that of the State, what he, therein, elaborately describeil ; although he must have known, when it was written, that General Washington could not, possibly, comply with a single one of the many requests which that letter contained."
In the same connection, and in order that the reader may understand the temper of the great body of the people, beyond the limits of Duchess and Westchester-counties, we find room for the reply of the Colonel commanding the Militia of Orange- county, below the mountains, to the requisition which was made, by the Committee of Safety, for men enough to protect that portion of the western bank of the river, to which reference has been made. It was in these words: "We are in daily expectation of "their" [the ships] " proceeding up the river; and I am "sorry to inforin the Committee of Safety that, should "they attempt to land with one barge, I cannot com- "mand a force sufficient to prevent their penetrating "the country. I have exerted myself to muster the "Militia, but have not been able to raise a guard of "more than thirty eight men of my Regiment, at one "time, at Nyack. The wood-cutters employed by "order of General Heath have been with me, but "have received orders to proceed in cutting wood for "the Army ; and I have not, at present, but eleven "men to guard the shore between Verdudigo Hook "and Stouy Point.6 In this situation, I leave the "Committee of Safety to determine what can be ex- "peeted from me, in a way of opposition.
" My whole Regiment consists of Unt three hundred "men : most of them are without arms, they having "been taken for the Continental troops. Most of my "men refuse to attend the service, though repeatedly
a Journal of the Committee of Safety, " Thursday afternoon, Octor. 19, # 1726.11
Robert h. Livingston to General Washington, " FISHKILL, 12 October. "1776."
3 .As the ships were anchored off Nyack as well as of Tarrytown, the se villages being exactly opposite, the former on the western and the lister on the eastern bank of the river, and as two boats' crews hand made J" attempt to go isliore, at Nyack, on the preceding Sunday, it will be seen why the Colonel mentioned Nyack, especially, in his despatch to the
" The shore-line thus described includesthe entire western bank of that portion of the lholow.river which is known as Haverstraw Bay, extend- ing from a short distance nhove Nyack to within a short distance from the southernmusst entrarce into the Highlands
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"suithond. Many reasons are assigned for this " Assertion of the service, such as, that the troops last
Isurmises of General Washington and those of the Convention were thrown out before the ships had " raised were, by the Convention, expressly levied for reached the anchorage-ground to which they had "the purpose of protecting the -hore; that this in- "duced many of their people to enlist, but they have " been drawn off from the immediate defence of their " wives, children, and property, to guard the castern " shore of the river, contrary to their expectations. "Others declare that if they live their business, "their families must starve, as they have all their "Corn and Buckwheat to serure, and have been so "called off, during the Summer, by the public "troubles, as not to have been able to put in the " ground, any Winter Grain, and would. therefore, as "leave die by the sword as by famine. A third set, " and the most numerous, declare that the Congress " have rejected all overtures for a reconciliation, in- "consistent with Independency; that all they desire "is peace, liberty, and safety ; and that if they can "procure that, they are contented." 1
It will be seen, from this official statement, that there were other Militia than that of Westchester- county on whom " no reliance at all could be placed," in that hour of extreme danger; and, when token into consideration, in connection with the facts that the Counties of Richmond. Kings, Queens, and Suf- folk had returned to their allegianee to the King; that Duchess-county was in open and armed opposi- tion to the Convention, and was kept in subjection only by the occupation of the County and the support of the few friends of the Convention who lived there, by five hundred armed men, drawn from Connecticut; and that the Manor of Livingston, including the whole of the lower portion of Albany-county, was almost entirely "disaffected," Colonel Hay's exposition of the temper of the farmers of Orange-county very elearly established the fact that "disaffection " was not peculiar to the farmers of Westchester-county ; and that the Declaration of Independence had not ! season, which would have required not more than one- been received with any favor, by the greater number of the inhabitants of New York.
The purposes of the enemy, in sending the Phoenix a .. ' her consorts up the Hudson-river and in anchor- ing them off Tarrytown, as we have seen, were var- iously interpreted by General Washington and the Committee of Safety; and they have continued to receive the scattered attention of those who have written on the subject, to this day.2 But, while the
been ordered and, therefore, before either their des- tination or the purposes for which they had been ordered to move up to Tarrytown were definitely made known to any one, except to their own Officers, there is no evidence whatever, in the sub-cquent conduct of those ships, to give the slightest weight to any of those carlier surmises, no matter by whom originated ; and the direction in which the alarm of the Commander-in-chief and the Convention trended, in the light afforded by immediately subsequent events, was, certainly, not the right one-the ships certainly made no attempt to renew the previously unsuccessful attempt to give countenance and sup- port. for military purposes, to the disaffected farmers of Westchester-county: they certainly made no at- tempt whatever to seize the forts in the Highlands and to occupy the water communication through the Highlands: and there is not the slightest evidence that they effected or attempted to effect combinations with anybody, on shore, for any purpose whatever. Had their purpose been to ent off the supplies of the American Aniny, as some have supposed and stated- a project which would have been unnecessary, if the American Army was to be obliged to abandon its strong position, near Kingsbridge, in order to prevent the enemy from falling on its rear-the ships would not have anchored at so great a distance from the Ameriean lines; nor would they have chosen, as their station, the widest part of the river, at that place quite three miles wide, of which two-thirds or more are shoal-water, over which the small river-eraft could pass and re-pass, with impunity ; while, within four miles, equally good anchorage grounds could have been found, equally safe from interference from the Americans, less exposed to the heavy winds of the
half the extent of guard-duty, and, at the same time, which would have been equally effective, for the pur- pose named. Had the purpose been, as others have supposed, to have obstructed the retreat of the Amer- iean Army and the removal of its stores and heavy guns, by water, it is equally strange that the place which was designated for the anchorage of the ships was situated not far from ten miles above the Ameri- ean lines, within which General Washington held an
1 Colonel And Hughes Hay to the Convention, " HAVERSTRAW, Octor. ". 13, 1776."
2 Marshall, (Life of George Washington, Ed. Philadelphia : 144, ii., 495, 496,) very accurately, stated the object of the movement was to s. cure to General Howe the possession of the North-river aleve King- bridge, without, however, stating more than that. Sparks, Hide of Charge Washington, Ed Boston : 1 . 12, 194, ) said They " secured a free passage to " the Highlands, the rely preventing any supplies, from coming to the "American Anny, by water." Hildreth, History of the Board States, iii., 151, 1 said, outy, they " cut off all supplies formen the country, South " and West of that river," the Hudson. Bancroft, (History of the Child States, original edition, ix., 174; the same, centenary edition. v. 432.)
referred to nothing else than to the J'irais and the Rowlow & and the ton- ders ; and, very cantiously, for reasons which are not unkoown to us, he said nothing whatever concerning the purposes of the expedition. Ir- ving, (Life of Washington, Fil. New York: 1838, il, 307-37%) in the most carefully prepared description of all, with a grave error in his de- scription of the passage of the ships through the destructions, and another in making General Washington do what was done Iy General Heath, recited all the surmises of the inhabitants and others, concern- Ing the object of the movement, withont pretending to offer any of his own.
No other writer of the history of that period has noticed the sulgect, nutwith-tamhng its great importance.
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undisputed line of communication with New Jersey, protected by the guns of both Fort Washington atil Fort Lee, over which, if adversity hadovertaken him, he could have securely retreated. For these reasons, and with the knowledge which all the events of that period in which that particular Squadron was cou- cerned, has imparted, we have seen no reason for con- curring with those who have already written concern- ing the purposes of General Howe, in the removal of ; the Squadron which had covered the left flank of his lines, from its anchorage, off Bloomingdale, to a dis- tant anchorage, off Tarrytown, when he had no fur- ther use for it, at the former station, and expected to make it useful, for the same purpose, in the latter ; and, at the same time, from the best evidence which we have been able to control, we have formed an opin- ion, concerning those purposes, which differs from all those to which we have referred and of all of which we have heard. That opinion may be thus stated : when preparations were being made by Gen- eral Howe, for the military occupation of the City of New York, before any movement for that purpose was actually made, these ships were moved up the Hudson-river, on the opposite side of the island, for the purpose, as General Howe subsequently informed the Home Goverment, of drawing the attention of the Americans to that side, while the real operations were to be made on the other side. In short, the movement, on that occasion, was, primarily, a feint ; but it had served, also, to command the lower por- tion of the river ; to prevent the retreating Americans from removing their stores or heavy guus, from the City to Kingsbridge, by water; aud, therefore, to throw into the hands of the Royal Army, both stores and guns which the Americans could ill-afford to lose. Subsequent to the establishment of the former, in the City of New York, the Squadron. at its anchor- age, off Bloomingdale, had effectually covered the left flank of the enemy's lines, which, without such a protection, would have been negligently exposed to the well-known enterprise of the Americans ; and, as far as we have seen it, there is not the slightest evi- dence that the Squadron had been engaged in any other service. At the time now under notice, Gen- eral Howe was again preparing to move his great command, at that time, by way of the Sound, into Westchester-county ; and he did no more, concern- ing that Squadron, in that connection, than he had done, in the former instance, when he had moved that command from Long Island to the City of New York-he caused it to be moved further up the river, evidently, again, in order "to draw the enemy's"
in whatever operation- it should become engag !. within that County. We believe that there are 1 .. only purposes for which the Squadron was moved u ... the river; and we also believe that, for the purposent afciut, the movement was, again, an entire success : be- cause of the subsequent movements of the two Armies, it was not required for any other purpose.
Having detached two Brigades of British and one Brigade of Hessian troops, the whole under the com- mand of Lieutenant general Earl Perey, to occupy the exterior lines, on the high grounds to the south- ward of the Harlem-plain, for the protection of the City of New York,' and another Brigade of British troops to garrison the City itself,? "all previous arrange- " ments, having been made," early on the morning of Saturday, the twelfth of October, the first detachment of the forces designated for that purpose, under the personal command of General Howe, embarked, at Kip's-bay,' in the City of New York, in flat-boats, batteaux, etc. ; and. having passed through Hell- gate, landed-the Carysfort, frigate, having beeu -0 placed that she could cover the descent-about nine o'clock in the morning, on Throgg's-neck, in the Borough Town of Westchester, in Westchester- eonuty.'
It was an exceedingly foggy morning ; 3 and, from the fact that General Washington made no allusion to the enemy's movement, in letters written by him, ou that day, respectively, to the President of the Con- gress and to Governor Cooke, of Rhode Island, not- > withstanding his Headquarters, in the elegant man- sion of Colonel Roger Morris, more recently owned
1 General Howe to Lord George Germaine, "NEW YORK, November 30, " 1776."
2 General Howe made no mention of a third Brigade of British troufs having been left, to garrison the City ; but common sense tells us there must have been such a Garrison, within the thickly settled portions of the City; and Captain Hall, (Hotory of the Civil War in America, i., 203,) and Stednato, (History of the american War, i., 210,) both of them oficer of the Royal Army, have left records of the fact.
3 Captain Hall, (History of the Cied War in America, i., 23) said the troops were embarked, for this movement, in That'e-bay ; but, insaauch as the naval portions of the movement were made goder the personal superintendente of Admiral Lord Howe, we have preferred his statement, in his despatch to the Admiralty, (" EAGLE, OFF NEW-YORK, November "2%, 1770") that the embarkation was at Kip's bay.
4.Admiral food Have to Me. Style nes cretary of the Adin.mais. " FAGLE, "OFF NEW-YORK. November 28, 1:58:" Green Time . In fol Germaine, " NEW-YORK, November 30, 1776;" General Washington to General Heath, " HINDQUARTERS Of tuber 12. 1776;" the me to the. ... gress, "HEIGHT OF HABELEM, 12 October, UM," postscript data, " De- "tuber 13th ; " Diary of Frit Hore, October 12, ET ; Gnet Wasim- ton to Governor Cooks, " HEADQUARTERS, HARLEM HEFIGHTS, October 12. "177 %;" justscript dated "October 13th:" Colour Smalimoni to the Maryland Convention, " CAMP OF THE, MARYLAND REGULARES, HEM, TAR- " THIS, October 12, 1996;" Extract of a letter from Harlem, in The Penn- -ylvania Evening Post, Volume 2, Senter 271, PHILADELPHIA, Theley, [the Americans'] " attention to that side," while he . October 16, 150; the same, in The Pennsylvania Journal, Na 17", l'au- and his command should effect a landing, on the AFFIDATA, Websday, October 16. 154; (Hall'-) I story of the 0 8 : other side of the County, with lesser opposition and difficulty ; and it is not improbable, in view of the in America, L. 201; Stedont's History of the Ameri in War. 1. 201; For- don'- History of the American Revolution, in., 36 ; Memoir of Gen ral HI .. .. 70 ; etc. recognized purposes of General Howe, in propo-ing to move his command into Westchester-county, that it was expected, also, to cover that flank of the Army,
6 .Admiral Lord Howe to Mr. Stephens Secretaryto the Adiniquity. " F ... "ALE, OF NEW-YORK, November 23, 1776; " Gueret Here to Be? George Germaine, " NEW York, 30 November, 1576;" [Hall's] Harry of the Civil War in America, i, 203.
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by Madame Jumel,' commanded a fine view of the "make a dash, in that direction, instead of m wing the Fast-river and Sound; and because the intelligence of the movement which he first received, was con- veyed to him, by express, front General Heath, after the landing had been made,? it may be reasonably supposed that the movement of the Royal Army, into Westchester-county, was unknown to him, until after it had been accomplished ; that the left flank of the American Army had been successfully turned, a sec- was placed, again, by reason of that successful move- ment of the enemy, in such a critical situation that
also, that if a dense fog had served to secure the es- cape of the American Army from what appeared to have threatened its entire destruction, at Brooklyn, a similarly dense fog, on the occasion now under notice. had afforded a similar advantage to the Royal Army, in its effort to recover the great military advantages which it had lost, on the former occasion.
During the afternoon of the same day, [October 12, 'of Westchester-county, which stretches upwards of 1776,] the second detachment of the Royal Army passed Hell-gate, in forty-two sail of vessels, includ- ing nine ships ; and it was, also, safely landed.3
The naval portion of that very important movement , which we write, a bridge across the ereck, connecting with a causeway across the marsh, afforded means for --- communication between the mainland and the Neck ; besides which, however, the upper end of the creek was fordable, at low-water.9. As early as the third of Oc- tober, General Heath, who commanded those detach- ments from the Army who were in Westchester-county, had reconnoitred his position, accompanied by Colonel
was performed under the personal supervision of Admiral Lord Howe, assisted by Commodore Ho- tham ; and the assistance of most of the Captains of the Fleet and that of the naval officers, in general, which were freely given, secured, for that difficult movement, the most complete success, the only loss sustained having been that of an artillery-boat, with three six-pounders and three men, which was upset and sunk by the rapidity of the current, probably in Hell-gate.
General Howe, notwithstanding his successful oc- cupation of Westchester-connty, was made the object of much censure, because of his movement to Throgg's-neck, first, because of the danger to which the City of New York was exposed by the withdrawal of so large a portion of the Army ; and the tempta- tion which was offered to General Washington to
1 The fine old mansion still occupies its place, with few, if any, alt-ra- tious, on the high grounds forming the southern bank of the B.r. m. river, bear Que buodred and sixty- pinthestreet a little below the High- bridge of the Croion-acqueduet. Madeon Jemed, who was also the willow of Aaron Burr, has been dol, many years ; and the right to the owner- ship of the property has been bitterly contested, in the Courts; but the old bouse remains-and long may it remain. .
" Colonel Harrison's reply, under General Washington's instructions, "HEADQUARTERS, October 12, 1978;" Colonel Ering to the Maryland Council of Safety, " CAMP NEAR HARLEM, Detober 15, 1776."
3 General Washington to the Congress, " HetenTs OF HARLEM, 12 Octo- " ber, 1776;" postscript, dated " October 13th ; " the same to lien ral Bard, " HEMIOQUARTERS, HARLES Extraits, October 15, 1996;" Estort of a letter from Harlem, dated October 13, in The Pronglcania Lerning Post, Volume 2, Number 271, PHILADELPHIA, Tuesday, October 1, 1776; the some, in The Pennsylvania Journal, No. 1707, PHILADELPHIA, Wednes. day, October In, 1776; Memoire of General Health, 71.
+ Admiral Lord Howe to Mr. Stephens, Secretary to the Admiralty, " F.a. " GLE, OFF NEW-YORK, November 23, 1176 ;" General Hoce to Bord Bourge Germaine, "NEW York, 30 November, 1996; " [Hall'of History of the Civil War in America, 1., 202.
3 Anun .I Register for 1776, Hutory of Europe, 176 *.
" [Hall's] History of the Civil War in America, i., 203; Stedman's History of the American Way, i., 210 ; etc.
It is very evident, from in lirect questions put to the Government's wit-" boss against Sir William Howe, General Robertson, before a Committee of the House of Commons, on the fourteenth of June, 1779, that Lord Georg" Germaine was also inclined to criticize the occupation of Tbrigg's- neck, wlvirkely.
: It is said that the place for the lanling of the troops was entirely entrusted to the naval officers, by whom Throgg's-neck was selected, because of the unhiness of Pell's-neck, for that purpose ; and a glance at the olh ial Chart of the Coast Survey, will satisfy ony one of the wisdom displayed in the choice - the shallowness of the water, elsewhere, would have presented the co-operation of the larger vessels of every class ; and, certainly, the landing of the troops at Pull's-ack could not have been .wered byany weselef force sufficient for salea purpose, with out which no prudent other would have attempted a landing, anywhere.
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