USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > Annals of Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania in the olden time; being a collection of the memoirs, anecdotes, and incidents of the earliest settlements of the inland part of Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 33
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A superficial thinker may, possibly, deem it unimportant to attempt thus to preserve some of the facts transpiring in Philadelphia, con- cerning the war of Independence; and especially that portion of them relative to the entry and possession of the city by the British army. Some may think the incidents so like to those of other captured cities, as to be unworthy of any special observation. But to minds of more reflection, many sufficient reasons will appear for preserving the memorial for posterity ; especially in a book which is to treat of all the past events of the city. There are specialties of interest to be told, which no other work has or will embrace. The interest of them we conceive to be enhanced, by the hopes we all entertain, that Philadelphia will never again be invaded or possessed by any conquering foe. Remote as seems the extremity from us, the desire is more increased to conceive what were the feelings which agitated the bosoms of our kindred in that day. Facts, hereinafter detailed, may serve to gratify such inquirers. The general army reports, which we may have heretofore read on these subjects, have been too generalized to awaken our sympathies or feelings; but in the present exhibition, the mind will find itself brought down to single and individual contemplation, in a manner which cannot but extort its sympathetic emotions and regard. It is a duty which we owe our fathers for their rich bequests to us, that we should thus strive to appreciate their generous services, by entering into the just sense of their peril and sufferings.
I call it their generous devotion for us, because I think it probable that the leaders of the revolution had long cherished the idea of devoting their lives and fortunes to the eventual independence of their sons. The time which has elapsed, since the passions and excitements of the day drove every mind to extremities, may now be favourable to calm and dispassionate inquiry -to such as enables the honest historian to record the truth without partiality -" nothing to extenuate, nor aught set down in malice." It is not my proper business to pursue this inquiry, but traces enough may be found to invite and encourage the investigation of professed historians. It may sometimes be discovered in the answers to, and conflicts with our governors, long before the war of the revolution. It was, indeed, our policy and interest to disclaim it, and even to conceal it; and, therefore, we may not have much to expose thereon on our records. But in England, at the time, I suspect, governors' and agents' reports, if we knew them, would show that they much apprehended such a spirit and purpose in us. Several facts to that effect may be seen in the sayings and doings concerning the Stamp Act pro- ceedings, as given in this book. The American Whig, begun at
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New York, in March, 1768, has an article in its fifth number, im- puted to William Livingston, Esq., afterwards governor of New Jersey, which shows such sentiments; it says: "The day dawns, in which the foundation of this mighty empire is to be laid by the establishment of a regular American constitution-before seven years roll over our heads, the first stone must be laid. As we con- duct now, so will it fare with us and our children hereafter." In May, 1755, Governor Morris, of Pennsylvania, in one of his angry messages to the assembly, says, "They trifle with the king's com- mands and interests-thus to aggrandize themselves, and to promote their scheme of future independency."
I have seen a letter from Doctor Franklin, then in London, to the venerable Charles Thomson, dated 11th July, 1765, wherein, speaking of the Stamp Act, he says, "None could be more con- cerned to oppose it than myself ; but the tide was too strong. The nation was provoked by American claims of independence ; and all parties (and we had numerous friends too) joined in resolving by this act, to settle the point," &c. And when, on the 27th Sep- tember, 1766, he writes to the same, concerning the repeal, he says, " He must leave to a personal interview the causes of repeal; ob- serving, however, that our release was chiefly imputable " to what the profane call luck, and the pious call Providence." I have, indeed, my conjecture, that it was the sense of these facts, among other things which I have elsewhere ascribed, that induced Charles Thomson to destroy his History of the Revolution, to the performance of which I know he was stimulated by the Hon. John Jay, " as the most competent man in the world for its proper execution."-[See his letter from Passy, of 19th July, 1783.] A paper of Charles Thomson's, which I have preserved in my collection, [see MS., book second, in Historical Society, p. 312,] shows that the proceed- ings of the congress of 1774, and subsequent-but preceding the war-purposely avoided the word province, and assumed the word government, &c. I have seen too, among the MSS. of Charles Thomson, the measures, told by me in another place, by which he and three others, of Philadelphia, overruled the people into their measures of resistance, in 1775.
Probably we felt our maturity ; and the law of our nature prompts us, when so grown up, to cast off our leading strings, and to become parents and heads of families ourselves. It is, as Buonaparte, in his characteristic way, said to Col. Wilkes, of us: " The youth must become a man-the time must arrive when the child must cease to sleep with its mother!" I take no party side in this subject ; but I have given the clue to a closer inquiry, and so I leave it.
It might, however, afford interest to some, to see at what an early time the spirit of independence in our countrymen was supposed to be operating. Although we had sufficient love and loyalty to the king and parent country, it was natural enough that we should love our own soil, and its apparent interests, still better. Some scarce
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works of the olden time, present some views on these topics, that may be quite new to many readers, to wit :
Evelyn, in his Memoirs, has declared the fact, that the crown, in his day, was quite jealous of its American possessions, as leaning too much to independence, even before the settlement of Pennsylvania. To this cause he imputes the establishment of those well-known state inquisitors, called the lords of trade, that they might take an oversight of their conduct, in a concealed manner, and so stand ready to report the same to the monarch-and withal be able to check in time the aspirings to independent power. The board of trade, says he, had their first meeting on the 26th of May, 1671, and were " to advise and counsel his majesty for the well governing of his plantations," &c. "Their first letters to the governors required them to render us an account of their present state and government ; but what we most insisted on, (for he was one of the board, and is, of course, first rate authority in this case,) was to know the condition of New England, which appeared to be very independent as to their regard to Old England, or his majesty. Rich and strong as they now were, there were great debates in what style to write to them, and there were fears of their breaking from all dependence on this nation. His majesty, therefore, commended this affair more expressly. Some of our counsel were for sending them a menacing letter, which those who better understood the peevish and touchy humour of that colony, were utterly against. We therefore thought fit, in the first place, to acquaint ourselves as well as we could of the state of that place, by some [of the crown officers, pro- bably,] that were newly come from thence." The same work con- tains other similar remarks bearing on this subject.
P. Heylin's Cosmography, London edition, 1703, contains this remark : "This plantation (New England) has ever pretended to be more free than any of the rest of our western plantations, and will not be governed by acts of parliament as the rest are, but have set up a mint of their own, (a two shilling piece of this coinage is now in my possession,) and trade whither they please in their own ships; and although they reverence [fear] the crown of England, and so trade not with its enemies, yet they, in the two last reigns, did scarce acknowledge themselves subjects till the charter was taken away, and a governor sent to them, on whom they wreaked their ven- geance at the revolution." [This means Sir Edmund Andros, I presume.] " This, though true of the whole, is mostly applicable to New Boston, which about twenty years ago had fifty sail of stout merchant ships, and now (in 1692) are much more in number." "Till the reign of King James II., they would never submit to any governor sent from England, but live like any free state. But a quo warranto being sent against them in 1683, by his late majesty, they submitted to Henry Canfield, Esq., and in 1686, accepted Sir Edward Andrews [Andros] as governor." In another place, he sums us up as a people " who longed for innovations in church and VOL. II .- 2 L 24*
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state," and New England itself, like old Rome in the eyes of Livy: " ad quæ turba omnis ex finitimis gentibus novarum rerum cupidæ confluxit!"
Joseph Bennet, Esq., in his MS. History of New England, in possession of I. P. Norris, Esq., written about the year 1740, makes these remarks, to wit: "I remember it was talked some years ago, that the people of New England were grown so rich and powerful, that there was danger of their revolting from the crown and setting up for themselves." In another place he says, "The people here affect to talk very big sometimes, when they think themselves out of danger." "It has been conjectured by some, that the dissenters in England had their friends in New England, with whom they hoped, in case of failing to subvert the ecclesiastical and civil go- vernment at home, they might have fulfilled their darling schemes of independency in the church, and democracy in the state, and become here the founders of some new religion as well of a new republic." This notion he however admits is "strongly repelled by others as malicious."
The Swedish traveller, Professor Kalm, has set down his impres- sions on the case, as received when at New York, 1748 .- See his vol. i. p. 265. There he says : " I have been told by Englishmen, either born here or in Europe, that the English colonies here, in the space of thirty or fifty years, [the time which actually occurred!] would be able to form a state by themselves, entirely independent of Old England. But as the country which lies along the sea is unguarded, and on the land side is harassed by the French, these are sufficient to prevent the breach from the mother country. The English have, therefore, sufficient reason to consider the French in North America as the best means of keeping the colonies in their due submission." In another place he says : "There is reason to believe that the king never was in earnest to expel the French, be- cause they being much fewer in numbers, might have been with little difficulty. The restrictions of the crown in its trade, &c., was on purpose to restrain their growth. These things [the sense of them] occasioned the colonies to grow less tender for their mother country ; and this coolness is increased by Germans, Dutch and French, &c., settled among them."
With a design to elicit from some of our aged citizens, their recol- lections of incidents occurring while the British held possession of Philadelphia, from November, 1777, to May, 1778, I drew up a paper of interrogatories, not needful to be repeated here, which inquiries will account for some of the following communications taking the form of answers, to wit:
The Entry of the Army-as told by Captain J. C
The grenadiers, with Lord Cornwallis at their head, led the van when they entered the city ; their tranquil look and dignified appear-
-
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ance have left an impression on my mind, that the British grenadiers were inimitable. As I am relating the feelings and observations of a boy then only ten years old, I shall mention many things, perhaps, not worth relating; for instance, I went up to the front rank of the grenadiers when they had entered Second street, when several of them addressed me thus,-" How do you do, young one-how are you, my boy"-in a brotherly tone, that seems still to vibrate on my ear; then reached out their hands, and severally caught mine, and shook it, not with an exulting shake of conquerors, as I thought, but with a sympathizing one for the vanquished. The Hessians composed a part of the van-guard, and followed in the rear of the grenadiers-their looks to me were terrific-their brass caps-their mustaches-their countenances, by nature morose, and their music, that sounded better English than they themselves could speak- plunder-plunder-plunder-gave a desponding, heart-breaking ef- fect, as I thought, to all ; to me it was dreadful beyond expression.
Recollections of the Entry of the Army-by a Lady.
In answer to my esteemed friend Watson's queries, respecting what I can remember of the state of things, facts, and the expres- sion of public opinion, during the memorable years of 1777 and '78, when the hostile army of Great Britain occupied Philadelphia, I will give my recollections as briefly and as simply as I can.
I can well remember the previous gloom spread over the minds of the inhabitants, from the time it was thought the enemy would advance through the Jerseys; the very darkest hour of the revolu tion appearing to me to be that preceding the capture of the Hes- sians at Trenton. The tories who favoured the government at home, (as England was then called,) became elated, and the whigs depressed. This may account for a good deal of severity that was used before the constituted authorities of that time left the city, in visiting the inhabitants, and inspecting what stores of provisions they had, taking in some instances what they deemed superfluous, espe- cially blankets, of which our army were in great need. After the public authorities had left the city, it was a very gloomy time indeed. We knew the enemy had landed at the head of Elk, but of their procedure and movements we had but vague information ; for none were left in the city in public employ, to whom expresses would be addressed. The day of the battle of Brandywine was one of deep anxiety We heard the firing, and knew of an engagement be- tween the armies, without expecting immediate information of the result, when towards night a horseman rode at full speed down Chestnut street, and turned round Fourth to the Indian Queen public house; many ran to hear what he had to tell, and, as I remember, his account was pretty near the truth. He told of La Fayette being wounded.
We had for a neighbour, and an intimate acquaintance, a very
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amiable English gentleman, (H. Gurney,) who had been in the British army, and had left the service upon marrying a rich and excellent lady of Philadelphia, some years before. He was a person so much liked and esteemed by the public, that he remained unmo- lested at a time when the committee of public safety sent many excellent citizens into banishment without a hearing, upon the most vague and unfounded suspicion ; but contented themselves with only taking his word of honour, that he would do nothing inimical to the country, nor furnish the enemy with any information. He endeavoured to give my mother confidence that the inhabitants would not be ill-treated. He advised that we should be all well dressed, and that we should keep our houses closed. The army marched in, and took possession of the town in the morning. We were up-stairs, and saw them pass to the State-house; they looked well, clean, and well clad, and the contrast between them and our own poor barefooted and ragged troops was very great, and caused a feeling of despair-it was a solemn and impressive day-but I saw no exultation in the enemy, nor indeed in those who were reckoned favourable to their success. Early in the afternoon, Lord Corn- wallis' suite arrived, and took possession of my mother's house. But my mother was appalled by the numerous train which took possession of her dwelling, and shrank from having such inmates; for a guard was mounted at the door, and the yard filled with sol- diers and baggage of every description ; and I well remember what we thought of the haughty looks of Lord Rawdon* and the other aid-de-camp, as they traversed the apartments. My mother desired to speak with Lord Cornwallis, and he attended her in the front parlour. She told him of her situation, and how impossible it would be for her to stay in her own house with such a numerous train as composed his lordship's establishment. He behaved with great politeness to her, said he should be sorry to give trouble, and would have other quarters looked out for him-they withdrew that very afternoon, and he was accommodated at Peter Reeve's,t in Second, near to Spruce street, and we felt very glad at the exemp- tion-but it did not last long-for directly the quarter-masters were employed in billeting the troops, and we had to find room for two officers of artillery, and afterwards, in addition, for two gentlemen secretaries of Lord Howe.
The officers, very generally, I believe, behaved with politeness to the inhabitants, and many of them, upon going away, expressec their satisfaction that no injury to the city was contemplated by their commander. They said, that living among the inhabitants, and speaking the same language, made them uneasy at the thought of acting as enemies.
At first, provisions were scarce and dear, and we had to live with
* Since the Marquis of Hastings, and who died at Malta, in 1826.
+ Now David Lewis' house, 142 south Second street.
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much less abundance than we had been accustomed to. Hard money was, indeed, as difficult to come at, as if it had never been taken from the mines, except with those who had things to sell for the use of the army. They had given certificates to the farmers as they came up through Chester county, of the amount of stores they had taken, and upon these being presented for payment at head- quarters, they were duly honoured. My mother received a season- able supply in this way, from persons who were in her debt, and had been paid for what the army had taken.
Every thing considered, the citizens fared better than could have been expected, and though it was extremely disagreeable in many places, on account of the dirt, yet the city was healthy. The enemy appeared to have a great deal of shipping in the Delaware ; I counted sixty vessels, that looked of large size, moored so close to each other, that it seemed as if you could not pass a hand between them, near to where the navy yard now is-and all the wharves and places seemed crowded. There was scarce any thing to sell in the shops when they came into the town, and the paper money had depreciated to nothing. I remember two pieces of silk that I saw on sale a little before their arrival, at 100 dollars per yard Tea was fifty and sixty dollars per pound.
The day of the battle of Germantown we heard the firing all day, but knew not the result. Towards evening they brought in the wounded. The prisoners were carried to the State-house lobbies, and the street was presently filled with women taking lint and bandages, and every refreshment which they thought their suffering countrymen might want.
General Howe, during the time he stayed in Philadelphia, seized and kept for his own use Mary Pemberton's coach and horses, in which he used to ride about the town. The old officers appeared to be uneasy at his conduct, and some of them freely expressed their opinions ; they said, that before his promotion to the chief command, he sought for the counsels and company of officers of experience and merit-but now, his companions were usually a set of boys-the most dissipated fellows in the army.
Lord Howe was much more sedate and dignified than his brother, really dignified, for he did not seem to affect any pomp or parade.
They were exceedingly chagrined and surprised at the capture of Burgoyne, and at first would not suffer it to be mentioned. We had received undoubted intelligence of the fact, in a letter from Charles Thomson, and upon communicating this circumstance to Henry Gurney, his interrogatories forced an acknowledgement from some of the superior officers, that it was, as he said, "alas! too true !"
One of my acquaintance, indeed an intimate one, performed the part of a " nymph of the blended rose," in the splendid festival of the Meschianza, but I saw no part of the show, not even the deco- rated hall where the knights and ladies supped, amidst the " grand
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Salema" of their turbaned attendants; nor even the ridotto part, which was gazed at from the wharves and warehouses by all the uninvited population of the town.
The streets seemed always well-filled with both officers and sol- diers, and I believe they frequently attended different places of wor- ship, but Friends' meetings were not much to their tastes. They had their own chaplains to the different regiments, which appeared to us a mere mockery of religion. Parson Badger was chaplain to the artillery, and he was billeted at John Field's, who, with his wife, were very plain Friends, in our neighbourhood. The house was very small, and he had the front room up-stairs, and as he was a jolly, good-tempered person, he was much liked by the young fel- lows who used to call to see him after parades.
Even whig ladies went to the Meschianza and to balls, but I knew of very few instances of attachments formed-nor, with the exception of one instance, of any want of propriety in behaviour.
When they left the city, the officers came to take leave of their acquaintance, and express their good wishes. It seemed to us, that a considerable change had taken place in their prospects of success, between the time of their entry and departure. They often spoke freely in conversation on these subjects.
"The Honourable Cosmo Gordon" stayed all night at his quarters, and lay in bed so long the next morning, that the family thought it but kind to waken him, and tell him " his friends, the rebels," were in town. It was with great difficulty he procured a boat to put him over the Delaware. Perhaps he and his man were the last that embarked. Many soldiers hid themselves in cellars and other places, and stayed behind-(I have heard.) In two hours after we saw the last of them, our own dragoons gallopped down the street.
When our own troops took possession of the city, General Arnold, then flushed with the recent capture of Burgoyne, was appointed to the command of it, and his quarters, (as if we had been conquered from an enemy) appointed at Henry Gurney's! They were ap- palled at the circumstance, but thought it prudent to make no resistance, when, to their agreeable surprise, his politeness, and that of his aids, Major Franks and Captain Clarkson, made the imposi- tion set light, and in a few days he removed to Mrs. Master's house in Market street, that had been occupied as head-quarters by Gene- ral Howe, where he entered upon a style of living but ill according with republican simplicity, giving sumptuous entertainments, that involved him in expenses and debt, and most probably laid the foundation, in his necessities and poverty, of his future deception and treason to his country. He married our Philadelphia Miss Shippen.
Further Facts-by J. P. N., Esq
I recollect seeing the division march down Second street, when Lord Cornwallis took possession of the city-the troops were gay
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and well clad. A number of our citizens appeared sad and serious. When I saw them, there was no huzzaing. The artillery were quartered in Chestnut, between Third and Sixth streets-the State- house yard was made use of as a Park-the 42d Highlanders occu- pied Chestnut below Third street-the 15th regiment were in quar- ters in Market street, in and about Fifth street.
When the enemy were bombarding Fort Mifflin, we could see the path of the bomb from the top of my old house. The blowing up of the Augusta was attended with a shock similar to that of an earthquake. I immediately started for Schuylkill point, where the British had a battery, and saw some firing. The officers appeared much chagrined at the events of the day. On our way down, we met several wagons with wounded soldiers-many of them in great pain-their moans and cries were very distressing. These men had been wounded before Red Bank fort.
I was present when some of the troops were going off for Ger- mantown, the morning of the battle-they were in high spirits, and moved in a trot.
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