THE CRISIS OF THE REVOLUTION FROM THE oniatNAl PAINTING flv ANDRE. IN THE POeSESBION OF J. W. BOUTON EBQ. , NEW VORK. THF: CRISIS OF THE Rl- VOLUTION i^' r- !Mt-. Sroi't OF w::\»)l,D AND ANDRE * V. ' i-rU-.i l-l?i )V AM. S( il fi'CJS -NL' ll.-,|.- r"\ 1' .' ^1 \: )- Pi \(.i:- i;t'i.t'S » "le naie. On the night of Monday, the i8th of September, 1780, there was a brilliant military assemblage in New York City, then occnpied by the British anny under General Sir Henry Clinton. The place was the ancient stone house of the Kip family, built in 1696 (and standing as lately as i"r's Point.'^' Reaching her about 7 P. M., he waited all the next day (Wednesday) without message or news from Arnold." The next point of interest in the drama — its opening scene, in fact, regarding the Williams dinner as the prologue, — is the spot where the interview with him occurred. At the period we are noticing, the correspondence with Arnold liad continued for eighteen months,' or from about the spring of 1779, under the guise of proposed mercantile transactions. His letters, in a disguised hand, were * It is sinnificaiit that so early in the story I have to note that while I insert this name on the strength of Lossing, I can find in Mr. Worthington C. Ford's valuable I.isl of liiilish Officers, /yy^-So, no Williams who was a Colonel, nor any Williams amoti^ the 8otI- officers. I'rom whom diil Ivossing ^t^ of 2 ist September," and written by Andre though A^ (X^i-V^'^-i^ signed by Sutherland, was sent to Colonel James /y ^ 1 It became necessary at this instant that the secret correspondence under feigned names, which had so long been carried on, should be rendered into certainty ; both as to the person being General Arnold, commanding at West Point, and that in the manner in which he was to surrender himself, the forts and troops, to me, it should be so conducted under a concerted plan between vs, as that the Kii;g's troops sent upon this expedition should be under no risk of surprise or counterplot ; and I was determined not to undertake the attempt but under such particular security. I knew the ground on which the forts were placed, and the contiguous country, tolerably well, having been there in 1777; an.1 I had received many hints touching both, from General Arnold. But it was certainly necessary that a mteting should be held with that officer, for settling the whole plan. » » • General Arnold had also his reasons, which must be so very obvious as to make it unnecessary for me to explain them. Many projects for 1 meeting were formed, and conse- quently several attempts made, in all of which General Arnold seemed extremely desirous that some person who had my particular confidence might be sent him ; some man, y& he described it in writing, of his own mensuration. I had thought of a person under this important description who would gladly have undertaken it, but his peculiar situation at the time, from which I could not release him, prevented. ♦ » * General Arnold finally insisted that the person should be Major Andr^, who had been the person wlio managed and carried on the secret correspondence. — CLINTON, in Sparks. The "Hon. and Rev." (as he is generally styled ) Jonathan Odell was bom in Newark, N. J., September 25, 1737, and died in Fretlericton, N. B., November 25, 1818. He studied medicine, and became a surgeon in the British army, but by 1767 had studied theology, and eventually became rector of the Episcopal church at Burlington, N. J. His Toryism obliged him to le: ve the state, and he settled in New York, where he became chaplain of one of the Loyalist regiments. He was possessed of considerable musical ability, and one of his songs is said to havi: suggested the tune of Hail Columbia. He left the United States wiih the British army, and settled in New Brunswick, where, and in Nova Scotia, his descendants still live. 2 To Arnold. That Arnold or his messenger would come aboard. Livingston, of the Additional Continentals,' who commanded at both Verplanck's and Stony Points. It complained of a violation of a flag of truce the day before.' Wlien the letter was shown Aniold, the handwriting of course showed him that his currcsi)()ndcnt " Anderson" was aboard the vessel. Having previously had his own l)arge go up Canopus Creek, above Peekskill, and bring thence to Crom Island, in Haverstraw Creek, a rowboat, he was now ready to have / . dre and Robinson' brought ashore. To do this required a third person, as confidant. Such an one he had found not long before, in Joshua Hett Smith, of Haverstraw. This man's character is of great interest. He was very well connected, rich, if not wealthy, intimate with prominent patriots, and was a lawyer by profession, as were also two of his brothers.* He was bom May 27, 1749, being a brother of William Smith, the Chief Justice of New York, and in 1770 married Elizabeth Gordon, of Belvedere, South Carolina.' When General Robert Howe turned over the command of West Point to Arnold, the previous third of August, he recommended Smith to him as a man who could be very useful in securing important news of the enemy's plans. Having secured his consent to aid in the desired interview, Arnold gave him an order on Major Kierse" for the rowboat, furnished him with the necessary passes, and left him to get the two rowers for the boat. Two tenants of his own, the Colquhoun brothers, Samuel' and Joseph, were asked to serve. Refusing at first, Arnold threatened then with arrest as persons disaffected to the American cause, and they reluctantly yielded. ' James LIvlnKSton, not Henry B,, as Lossing says. (See Washington's letter to Lamb, Chap. II.) He is alsi) foiiiul as Colonel of the First Canadian regiment, and was with Montgomery at Chambly and yiict>ec. lie was liorn in Canada, March 27, 1747, and died in Sarato a County, N. Y., November 29, 1832. Wi\shington, after these events, wrote him : " I am gratified that the post was in the hands of an officer so devoted as you were to the cause of your country." Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton is his granddaughter. ^ To this occurrence a good deal of invention attaches, with ihe necessary result of confusing history. A careful examination of all authorities leads me to summarize it thus : On the 20th, Moses Sherwood and Jack Peterson ( a nmlatto soldier of Van Cortland's — the 3d — regiment of Westchester militia, who had been ii prisoner in the/crjcv ship, and who died at 103, in Tarrytown), concealed in the underbrush at North Point, fired on a boat— presumably a flag — from the Vulture. On this one fact a mass of traditionary and legendary romance has been built. As a specimen : So practical a man of business as Freeman Hunt (Letters about the Hudson) states that the eveut was on the 22d ; that the Ixjat was filled with men, but that they had only one musket among them (!) ; that it was to take abo.ird Aiidid, who, soon after its repulse, came down near the shore, but had to go back to Crompond (!!) where he spent the night at the house of Mr. Smith (!!!) Such is history "as she is wrote," even forty years nearer Andr6 than are we to-day. The firing of Livingston's cannon, on the 22d, was an entirely separate affair. ' There is no doubt he expected and wished to see Robinson. < While jireviously living in New York, he is said to have been one of the "Sons of Liberty," with Marinus WiUett and other Whigs. Jones (A'. }'. in the Revolution^ says Smith was one of tlie mob which, in 1775, tried to seize Rev. Dr. Myles Cooper, President of King's (now Columbia) College, and maltreat him for his Tory sympathies. In 1776 he and his brother-in-law. Colonel Hay (of whom more hereafter), were members of the New York Convention, which drafted the State Constitution. He always asserted his ignorance of Arnold's design^!, but Dr. Thacher (Military Journal) says he "had long been suspected of a predilection for the British interest." Compare Lamb's opinion of him, post. '< They had three children— Joshua Gordon, Sarah and Laura Sophia (the latter by his second wife, see Chapter v.). Sarah married Thomas Hay, probably son of Colonel A. H. Hay. Laura married — West, and a daughter of Thomas Smith (Joshua's brother) married John C. Spencer, Secretary of the Navy in 1842, and became the mother of the unfortunate Midshipman Philip Spencer, of the brig Sotners. Dr. Thacher, who had met her at West Point, at the house of Major Bauman, says: "Mrs. Smith was an accomplished and interesting woman." « Major and Quartermaster, 1 ^ Samuel had previously, J P^S^ 5- t^^ta^^i^^^^^ FROM THE ORIGINAL CY TRUM8ULL. The passes read : Headquarters, Robinson House, Sept. 20, 1780. IVnuission is given to Joshua Smith, Esquire, a gentleman, Mr. John Anderson, wlio is with him, and his two servants, to pass and repass the guards near King's Ferry at all times. •• B. Arnold, M. Gen'l. Headquarters, Robinson House, Sept. 21, 1780 IVnuission is granted to Joshua Smith, Esq., to go to Dobbs' Ferry with three men and a Hoy with a Flag to carry some Letters of a private Nature for Gc.itlemen in New York, and to return immediately. B. Arnold, M. Gen'l. N. B. He has iiermi.ssion to go at such hours and times as the tide and his business suits. B. A. To protect him still further he was given a letter to Beverly Robinson, who had previously written Arnold for an interview on the subject of his con- fiscated property:' " This will be delivered to you by Mr. Smith, who will conduct you to a place of .safety. Neither Mr. Smith nor any other person shall he made acquainted with your projx)sals. If they (which I doubt not) are of such a nature that I can officially take notice of them, I .shall do it with pleasure. I take it for granted that Colonel Robinson will not propose anything that is not for the interest of the United States as well as himself." The start was made at about midnight of Thursday, the 21st. By Arnold's orders the oars were muflfled with pieces of sheepskin. As the moon did not rise until six o'clock Friday morning, the flag of truce could not have been seen, had it been used that night — a fact which had an important bearing on the results of the trip. The countersign, to pass the American guard-boats, that night, was "Congress,"^ The boat was allowed to come alongside, or seems to have done so almost unperceived by the sentinel, and Smith got aboard by a convenient rope, only to be received — as he says — with threats from the watch- « Major and Quartermaster William Kiers (Kierse or Kierce), seems to have been in charge at Stony Point. It is to be presunied he was of Livingston's regiment, though the only record of him in the State's archives is as a captain of the Haverstraw militia, in 1778. This regiment was commanded hv Colonel Hay. I have found it impossible to find his de.scendants, or to obtain any definite information about him. 7 Sanuiel had previously refused to row Smith to the Vulture on the twentieth, and Smith sent him on horseback to Arnold, with a letter to that effect, which brought the traitor at once to Haverstraw. 1 On the seventeenth, when Washington and Arnold were together at Smith's house, Arnold showed the Chief a letter from Robinson about his confiscated estates, addressed to General Putnam, or the officer com- manding at West Point. The writer requested an interview, which Washington discouraged, adding that Arnold might send a trusty representative if he chose. In telling the story to Luzerne he added : " I had no more susjiicion of Arnold at the time than of myself." -' The question of, page6. officer, who evidently had not been taken into his superiors' confidence. He was allowed to enter the cabin, where he found Sutherland and "old Colonel Robinson.'" The third person, who was to play so important a part in the events of the week — Andre himself — was in his berth at the moment, but soon came out and joined the party. After Smith liad given Robinson the letter from Arnold and announced his errand, Andre offered to go ashore with him, as Robinson refused. vScveral authorities agree that both Robinson and Sutherland expected Arnold, though it is difficult to understand why, in view of his letter. In fact each party to the transaction seems to have expected the other to take the risk of coming to him. Robinson and Arnold were each too cautious to run into danger, but not so Andre. Though both Robinson and Sutherland opposed him, he was tired of inaction aboard ship, and was not to be dissuaded from trying to dose the long correspondence by a personal interview. Entering Smith's boat, both were soon on shore, at a spot at the foot of Long Clove Mountain, about two miles below Haverstraw. It is now identifiable only by the remains — visible at low tide — of " Andre's dock," on the beach at the terminus of a road extending from the Clove to the river. The slope is steep, and the road itself, many years disused, is overgrown with trees and underbrush, yet its course, northeast from the old liighwa}'," is still fairly plain. In the view of the landing-place" the large boulder on the left stands almost on a line with the north side of the dock, and is the most prominent object on the shore. Suitably inscribed, this would con- stitute an admirable monument for the spot identified with an event of so miich historic importance. 2 The qiitstion of the tide on this occasion is one which apparently does not admit of solution. Sargent says tile hiKit was started on 'he last of the ebb, and by the time the I'lilltiiv was reached it was young flood. But Caine's A'i;i;ts/fr for 1780 siiys high tide was at three A. M. of Thursday, or about four A. M. of Friday. "Tints the tide would have been against the rowers all the way down — nearly twelve miles. The Coast and (leodetic Survey authorities at Washington give me the time of high water as 3,12 A. M, Friday, which makes no material diflerence." ( E, H. Hai.i,, Spirit o/'y6, March, 1898.) Smith's historic statement is that it was strong ebb at about that time. In this connection the table from Gaine's Register will be found interesting : Moon, September, 1780. First Quarter, Tuesday 5th, .5 P. M. I'ldl Moon, Wednesday, 13th, 8 " Last Quarter, Thursday, 21st, 6 a. m. New Moon, " 28th, 2 " Tides. High 1 Water. Sun ri.ses. Sept. 20, Wetl. 21 ir. 2 5-57 21, Th. 3 " 5.58 22, Fri. 3 " 54 5-59 23, Sat. 4 " 50 6. 24, Sun. 5 " 48 6. I 25, Mon. 6 " 40 6- 3 26, tnes.May rain 7 " 38 6. 4 27. Wed. 8 " 30 28, Thurs. 9 " 27 6. 5 29, Fri. 10 " 12 6. 7 30, Sat. ir " 6 6. 8 Oct. I, Sun. It " 56 6.10 2, Mon. 12 " 50 6.13 ' His son, Ileverly, Jr., was lieutenant-colonel of his regiment. ■I See map, opposite page. 8 In the view, page 7. ^M ^ I 'J U3 /. fl I § 5.2 ■ ^ *i 3J O 01 •7. .H E — r' ^ "rt 'So U5 ■^ 3j o 3 5 £ .!. — "^ 5 » !•- ^ 4= .5 « S J3 il -71 rt SH (-< H-« H^ y. a: a: y. y. y. We may now return to our traveller for a brief retrospect of his career. Having been captured at St. John's in 1775/ and imprisoned successively at Lancaster and Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Andre was not unfamiliar with the American character — in fact, by 1780 he had probably been longer in the coiu-slry than most of his companions in arms. It was to Clinton's esteem he owed the personal request to tlie War Office, in the previous August, which had secured his promotion to the rank of Major (in the 54th Regiment), and the appointment as Adjutant-General. That same esteem had won his Chief's consent when Arnold asked that he be sent as the British representative ; but, in spite of his personal attractions and professional attainments, his course in the important business now entrusted to him clearlj' shows him to have lacked the prudence and readiness vital to success under such conditions. It was a fortunate choice, for the patriot cause, for, as I shall have occasion to show, Arnold's treason was several times almost successful, failing only because of trifles which a cooler liead than Andre's might have easily foreseen and as easily overcome. This leads me to call these three weeks the crisis of the Revolution. Clinton remembered that the capture of Fort Washington, the first great success of the British anus — if we except the battle of Long Island — was achieved by the liberal use of gold, securing the defection of the " first American traitor,"" Demont (or Dement), and he naturally looked for much greater success in Arnold's case, for the stake was greater, and he was as ready to buy at any cost as Arnold to sell. The time was opportune, for the colonies had had five years' ceaseless fighting. Continental money was practically worthless, and the future was very dark. Even Washington wrote that he had " almost ceased to hope." The plan was simple enough, and, so far as Arnold was concerned, was carried out — the fatal weakness lay with Andre.' West Point once in British hands, what might not have been the change in our national history? Could independence have been achieved — and at how much greater cost of time, blood and money ?* s In the view from Uie south showing Haverstraw in the distance. The other view shows Teller's Point, nearly opposite. 1 He was quartennaster of the post. His first comniission was as Second Lieutenant in the Royal Fusiliers (7th Foot), March 4, 1771. The regiment was sent to Canada by way of Philadelphia, in 1773, so that he was in the future capital of the Colonies while the first Congress wtis in session. I.os.sing ( Two Spiis) says he dic£ (- ■r. X 1 X X o W II originals in size and form. The whole design is that of the best residences of its day, and when new and in good condidon it must have been a handsome and dignified abode for a man of means and good social position, which Smith certainly was. A complete list of its visiters of note would be interesting. In its dining- room Arnold, his host and Mrs. Smith dined when the former made his frequent visits from West Point. Mrs. Arno'id, with her child, was there overnight, Tuesday, the twelfth' of September, and there were to be other and more distinguished guests soon after. Wayne was there on the twenty-seventh, and wrote to Washington, dating from " Smith's white house." William Irvine followed, then Lafayette, and finally Washington, again," nearly a year later, on his way to Comwallis and Yorktown. Though contemporary opinions as to Smith's politics varied widelj', he was in excellent repute with many good Whigs. Though Colonel Lamb, commanding the artillery at West Point, would not visit him (although their wives were relatives) as he deemed him a Tory, Knox and Robert Howe testified in his favor at his trial, and Major Kierse, of Stony Point, testified that Smith had lent him a thousand dollars that very summer, to aid in shipping quartermaster's stores, and that his predecessor, Quarterma-.ter Henry, had had a similar loan. Colonel Hay testified that in Jul}', 1776, Smith was one of thirteen men who, in the absence of ilie militia, successfully resisted the landing of a force from some British vessels, to carrj' off some stores from Haverstraw. In the parlor, the floor boards attest the building's age. They are spruce, unusually wide and thick, and but little worn, considering their century and a quarter of use. The grate, fender, and iron-work of the fireplace are said to be the originals, but the marble mantel and jambs have been transferred to the dining-room and replaced by others. Thej' are of white marble and were brought from England. On the mantel, some Vandal has roughly scratched the name Bui " In the second story the \isitor is shown a curious secret closet under the gai t stairs, and then the most interesting apartment of the house, the southeast bedroom, where Arnold and Andre breakfasted.^ Smith himself brought the meal upstairs, and Arnold returned to the Robinson House as soon as it was over. Every detail of the conspiracy had been settled between Andre and himself, and 1 There has been some variance of opinion alraut Uiis date, some writers claiming it was the nineteenth. I have followed Leake, who says Arnold "brought Mrs. Arnold to the Robinson House, the next day," which was the thirteenth. 2 King (see Cli. Ill) says he heard Washingi.on tell Luzerne in October, that he dined with Arnold at Belmont the day he started for his conference with Rochanibeau at Hartford. As Washington was crossing from King's Ferry, in Arnold's boat, two incidents occurred, which although almost unnoticed at the time, assumed .some importance when the treachery became known. The Viilhire was in full view, and while Washington was regarding her through his spygla.ss, and speaking in a low tone to one of his officers, Arnold was observed to appear uneasy. A second was Lafayette's remark to Arnold, {)/»v/>een forced out of New York City, whether by want of practice during the British occupancy, or because suspected of Whig sympathies is uncertain. The first seems more likely, as a third brotlier, William, was Chief Justice of New York and in Clinton's confidence (see Chapter IV). As Jo.shua says he himself had met Burr before, this was apparently not his first visit to Haverstraw. He read law with Thomas at "Belmont" for six months. In the New York Packet of November 15, 17S3, Thomas advertises "Bel- mont " for sale or to let, as containing " 150 acres or more of good land, situate three miles from King's Ferry, giKnl house, with six fireplaces." (The property was his, not Joshua's). < According to Th.icher, this was not until ten o'clock. Smitli had sent his wife and cliildren away to Fishkill (see Chai)ter II). I Smith siiys he saw the firing bejjin while he w!is returning in his boat. This, however, may mean just as he was landing. He s.iys, " firing from Gallows Point," and several who quote him have evideiitiv not looked at his eirata, where he says it should be Teller's. On some old maps the name is printed Tallus. That printed opposite ii from the latest survey (1898) made by Mr. E. H. Hall, of the Sons of the American Revolution. ■ This must have been without Arnold's knowledge. ' " Tiring at a ship with a four-pounder," he wrote, " is in my opinion a waste of powder." Yet, as Leake ver\- truly says, in commenting on this remark of Ijiinb, " Hiid Colonel l.anib been aware of the bles.sed effects to be produced by this cannonade," etc. (see Leake, page 25,S) " he would not have disjiensed his munitions so grudgingly ; for never were balls .so well expeniled as those which were fired upon that occasion." < In 1863 the late Mrs. Williams, one of Teller's twin daughters, told Miss Cornelia Van Cortland that she remembered the event, and that she and her si.ster followed the party all the way over " Cortland's Neck " to Teller's, weeping for fear the horse would never be returned to the' farm. " " Just here I, page 13. JosiuA Hett Smith's Housk. The Andre Window (whence he saw the firing on the I'lillnir HAVE CROTON POINT EXPLANATION OF MAP. Place whence Peterson anil Sherwooil fireil on the boat from tlie I'lilliiiv. September 2()lli, ly.St ants of Peterson have the musket. 2. Linden Colta^e. .1 Descend- Cannon l)all found by Kufjene .\nderson, who now has it It weighs five pounds. 4 Old nmsket ram-rod found in clay. In possession of II. C, Morehouse. 5. I'nder- hill Homestead. 6. Olil oak tree, a landmark. Xo one knows how old. 7. Vine Cottage. «. Pish house. Q Cannon ball weiKhing nearlv six pounds, plowed up in meadow. 10. S(|uaw Point. Directly opi)osile, on the western bank \ndre landed from the I'ltlliiir and first met Arnol.l. 11. Picnic Point, where .'.noch Crosby, Cooper's Sf>Y once enticed a.sliore and helped capture a boat-load of Uritish soldiers. 12. I'arm house 135 years old 1 ; Itahan villa built bv Dr. Robert T. fnderliill, deceased. 14. Cannon ball found lodged 111 a tree about eigiitv years ago bv Dr I'nd'crhill. The ball is now ill possession of S. \V. rmlerbill and weighs alxjut six pounds' The tree ii not now standing, and the oldest inhabitant does not remember in whicli .side of the tree the ball lodged. 15. Place where earthworks were thrown up by Americans* when they brought the cannon down to the point. Vouched for bv S. \V. riiderhill, wlio livc(l there for si.xty years. Where the shore has declivity marks it is high and rocky. Dijtted shore is low and sandy. E. H. Hall. •I,iviiig.stoii's cannon may have lieeu .shifted from one pl.icc to another, as the Vullurt got under way. u exquisite discomfort. Siuitli served him dinner' in the same upper room, and he accepted — as he liad to — his offer to escort him to the British lines, near Wliite Plains. (It was really Arnold's plan. See Andre's statement later.) lu changinj^ his uniform co;U; and hat for such as Smith lent him, he made another mistake, as he had previously made one in acceptinj^ from Arnold the various papers — now preserved at Albany — containing details of the post and garri-son at West Point.- Thus, in less than one day, Clinton's three specific cautions had all been disregarded. The transaction of the papers is incomprehensible, as they were in no way necessary to his mission. As Sargent suggests, their salient points could easily have been memorized, or embodied in a brief form, intelligible only to himself. To receive and carry them was surprising rashness.' Sargent may be right in thinking he exacted them of Arnold as a proof of sinceritj-, or that the latter offered them as such. The latter seems more likely, as he had them ready. During the day Smith must have crossed the river on the errand which was so nearly successful, and would liave ^-ra^nw^^ -*> changed the whole subsequent histor}- if it had been. The incident has never received the historical prominence it deserves. In 1844 Mrs. Gerard G. Beekman (Cornelia Van Cortland, daughter of General Pierre) was living at Tarrytown, and, although .i.,,^ ,^^„^,> TABr.K. nearlj' ninety- years old, in full mental I' Jiisl liert I may remark mi wliat seems ti> iiie a singular omission on the part of all authorities — vi?.., the action of the / 'iilliiir lurself during the camionaile. Does anyone sup])osc the ccminiander of a vessel mounting fourteen j;uns woulil remain (|tiiescent while a four-pounder was firiiiK on her? Yet no one seems to have thought the " fire " wliich Smith saw was what it nuist unuriiue, for what reason nolxxly ever knew.— yo«f.r, I, page .172. B As Sargent remarks, it is very possible this humble retainer, had he been given a "half-joe" (about $A specie), and warned to keep silent, might readily have contrived a way to put Andr6 safe aboard the Vulliirc again. But nobody gave his possible aid a thought. 4/>?^>»^'^^^^^7^'/^ C oi. ■f. ~ ^5 of which a timber or two can be seen at low tide, was between the two rows of huge old willows seen in the view. This was taken from the Ten Eyck property on the north, and the boulder seen on a line with the post in the nearer stone wall shows the exact spot. Lonely and deserted as it now is, it is hard to realize that during the Revolution it was the ferry-place of the patriot army and the public, and a link of communication' between New England and the South. As a natural sequence, it was constantly occupied by the ferrymen and a detail of soldiers, and near it our party met some of Livingston's officers. One was Captain Cooley, probably Adjutant John, late of the Third Westchester militia, but then of the Fourth (Colonel Crane's). A second was William Jameson. - Smith asked Cooley if they could get a boat, and was told they might catch the Government boat if they were quick about it. They had previously met ALijor John Burrowes, of Spencer's New Jersey Regiment (often called the Fifth Battalion of the Jersey Line)," / to whom Smith dexterously gave the slip after a brief ^^^^-i^ -y^-y-^rTfh.e^^ colloquy, and near a tent — of either Livingston or ^ a__£Z— -^— ri ~Q^ these officers, probably the latter'— Smith stopped, t::=*C:-^^< — -^ — ^V chatted, and without dismounting drank grog or punch from a bowl handed him. Andre and the negro meanwhile rode on. It may easily be supposed the former was in no mood for unnecessary^ conver- sation with the officers, to whom Smith was well known. The ferryboat, which was probably a bateau (flatboat or scow) was just starting as they boarded her. Among the rowers were Cornelius, Lambert and Henry Lambert and Benjamin Acker. Henry Lambert"* was steersman, William Van Wert — or Van Wart — was the ferrymaster, and on reaching the eastern shore Smith paid him eight dollars Continental money for the ferriage. Smith's presence doubtless saved Andre from unwelcome questions, and once the boat reached her docl-, in the deep bay called Green's Cove, nearly a mile southeast of the extremity cf Verplanck's Point he was free to continue his journey — henceforward to be full of danger. I It was caUed the lower route, to distinguish it from the upper, temiiuating at Fishkill. At this time there were i66 "bateau-men " at Verplanck's and Stony Points. '^ He was apparently an officer, as, witnessing at Smith's trial, he spoke of "my tent." Possibly the company tent was meant. The New York records do not contain any officer of the name. Another account says they also met Major Kierse. s John Burrowes first appears as Captain in I'orman's New Jersey Regiment, 1776, then in 1779 as Major in Spencer's. After the war he bec-iine Sheriff of Monmouth County, N. J. He setn\s to have been commanding officer at Haverstraw, as Smith, on his trial, asked him whether his guards at the lower end had reported to him "meeting (being passed by) two strange gentlemen the night bridge " (Thursday). These two nuKst have been Arnold and Audrd. I On bis trial Smith .stated that he met Living.ston at Ver,,lanck's Point. Livingston corroborated him, adding tbal he gave Smith two letters to deliver, one e.'ich for .Arnold and Governor Clinton. Smith adds that Livingston was related to Mrs. Smith, and that he asked Andrd and hhn to remain to supper, but Andrd (Uelined. While Smith, as a rule, is a discredited authority, I think he may be trusted on minor points. Names wliich show the craft must have been the Government boat, for all were soldiers. Cornelius was a veteran who had served in the Third New York Levies (Colonel Morris Graham). Ir the previous May he had enlisted in the Fimrth New York Continentals (Colonel James Hughes) in which Acker was also a priv.ite. Lambert was a private (Combs' company) and Henry a lieutenant (Orser's company) of the Pirst Westchester militia. i6 The followinR nre true copies of the several papers : '* "West Point, September 5th, 1780. " Artillery OrJen. —The following disposition of the corps is to t.ike place in Case of an alarm : "Capt. Dannills with his Comp'y at Fort rutnaiii, and to detach an OlTicer with 12 Tnen to Wyllys's Redoubt, a Non Commissioned Oflicer with 3 men to Webb's Redoulit, and the like number to Redoubt No. 4. "Captain Thomas and Company to repair to I'ort Arnold. " Captain Simmons and Comimny to remain at the North and South Redoubts, at the Ka.st side of the River, until further Orders. "Lieutenant Ilarber, with 20 men of Ca])t. Jackson's Company, will repair to Constitution Island; the remainder of the Comi)any, with Lieut. Mason's, will repair to Arnold. " Ciipt. Lieut. Cieorge and Lieut. lilakc, with 20 men of Captain Treadwell's Company, will Repair to Redoubt No, I and 2 ; the remainder of the Company will be sent to P'ort Arnold. " I.,ate Jones's Company, with Lieut, risk, to repair to the South liattery. "The Chain Battery, Sherburn's Redoubt, and the Brass b'icld pieces, will be manned from Fort Arnold as Occation may reout one half mounted 142 "Batteaux Men and Artificers 250 Total, 3086." The following document is in the handwriting of Villefranche, a FVench engineer : " Estimate of the Number of Men necessary to Man the Works at West Point and in the Vicinity. ' Fort Arnold 6jo Putnam 450 Wyllys 140 Webb 140 Redoubt No. I 150 'N.B.— The Artillery Men are not Included in the above Estimate.' Redoubt No. 2 150 120 100 '39 ditto .1 ditto 4 ditto 5 ditto 6 Redoubt No. 7 78 North Redoubt 120 South Redoubt 130 Total, 243S c y. 17 The following table is in the handwriting of Baunian, Major Comniamlaiil of Artillery : 'RETURN OF THK ORDNANCE IN THE DIFHKRKNT FORTS, BATTKRIES, etc., AT WEST I'OINT AND ITS DE- PENDENCIES, SEPT. 5, I7S0. 2 n n C n 'E 5 1 « ■■r. t 3 be fl '** 2 M u n ■E 5 1 n .2 u n U ■B 1 i ■E 09 u c s •c u « ■E rt U n $ a .5 t ic a ■c u i E t n E a .5 > a H CO '■J 2 i- M C artnrs Howit- ier«. ■a 1 (3 U b£ .5 s 11 ii .4 24 18 12 9 ! '. 6 '2' 4 I 3 1 5H ••:- 8 1. Fort Arnold | Fort Putnam | Constitution Island Brass Iron Brass Iron Iron Iron Iron Iron Iron Iron Iron Iron Iron Iron Iron Iron Iron Brass Iron ■ "i 6 5 4 '3 * 2 I 2 4 I I I I 3 1 2 .«. ? 5 '2 3 1 I 1 3 3 5 5 4 2 1 I I }'3 }I4 10 5 Chain Ratterv 3 2 2 . . Webb's Redoubt Sherman's Redoubt Me^'^i! Redoubt South Redoubt 4 2 2 I 4 2 ■ * 4 5 2 5 6 Wyllys's Redoubt Rorkv Hill No A 5 2 No. I 5 No. 2 Verplanck's Point 2 3 4 1 1 I Il8 3 1 14 1 .S 1 q 1 14 1 .S 1 2 1 1 Is 6| S 1.I2 1 100 ' — J i N.B. — The following ordnance not distributed : No. 6 iron 12 pounder. 4 " 9 " 1 •■ f) 1 " 4 2 " 3 14 J brass 24 pounders. 7 " 12 I " 8-inch howitzer. 1 1 ving description of the works at West Point and its dependencies is in he handwriting of Arnold, arks on Works at West Point, a copy to be transmitted to his Plxcellency (General Washington. The follow! endorsed "Remarks ' "Fort Arnold is built of Dry Fascines and Wood, is in a ruinous condition, incompteat, and subject to take Fire from Shells or Carcasses. " Fort Putnam, Stone, Wanting great repairs, the wall on the Ea.st side broke down, and rebuilding From the Foundation ; at the West and South side have been a i.'lievaux-de-l'rise, on the West side l)roke in many Places. The East side open ; two Bomb Proofs and Provision Magazine in the I'ort, and Slight Wooden Barrack.— A commanding piece of ground 500 yards West, between the I'ort and No. 4 — or Rocky Hill. "Fort Webb, built of Fa,scines and Wood, a slight Work, very dry, and liable to be .set on fire, as the approaches are very easy, without defences, save a slight Abaltis. " Fort Wyllys, built of stone 5 feet high, the Work above plank fdled with Earth, the stone work 15 feet, the Earth 9 feet thick.— No Bomb Proofs, the Batteries without the Fort. "Redoubt No. I. On the South side wood 9 feet thick, the Wt. North and East sides 4 feet thick, no cannon in the works, a slight and single Abattis, no ditch or Pickett. Cannon on two Batteries. No Bomb Proofs. " Redoubt No. 2. The same as No. i. No Bomb Proofs. "Redoubt No. 3, a slight Wood Work 3 Feet thick, very Dry, no lioinb Proofs, a single Abattis, the work easily set on fire — no cannon. i8 " Rccli>ul>t N) 4, « WcmkUii work about lo feet high nnd fore or five feel thick, 'he West side faced with a rtoiie w.ill » feet liixii ami four thick. No Ilonib I'nKjf, two six pounders, a slight . battis, a commanding piece o X^'lI'Ipi^^'I^.^^Jj',, Redoubt, on the Kast side, Imilt of stone 4 feet higl' ; above the Stone, woo<>rtion of Militia have been a.ssenibled. .iiid the supplies have been so iiiade(|uale that there was a necessity for dismissing all the Militia whose 'inii-caiate services could l>e dispeii.se.l witli, to les.sen our consumption, nolwitlistaiiding which the Troops now in the Pield are severely suffering for want of Provision. That the army at this Post and in the vicinity, in operating P"orce, consi.sts of 10,400 Coutineiital Troops and alKml 4(X) Militia, besides which is a Regiment of Continental Troops of about 5m) at RuimIc Island, left there for the as.sistance of our Allies against any attack of the Enemy, that way, and two Connecticut Slate Regiments amounting lo Sco at North Castle. "Thai the Times for Service for which the L,evies are engaged will expire the first of January, which if not replaced, allowing for the usual Casualties, will reduce the Continental Army to less than 6o<«) men. "That since llic Stale of the Council above referred to, the p;nciny have brought a delachmcnt of about ,V>os and a considerable body of the Militia would be cut off. The State of Virginia has been some lime exerting itself to raise a Body of 3000 Troops to serve till the end of December, 1781, but how far it has succeeded is not known. "That Maryland has resolveil to raise 2000 men, of which a .sufTicieut number lo compose one Battalion was lo have come to this army. The remainder to recruit the Maryland line — but in consequence of the late advices, an order has been scut to march the whole southward. "That the IJnemies force in Canada, Halifax, St. Augustine and at PenoKscot remains much the same as staled in the preceding Council. " That there is still reason lo believe the Court of Prance will prosecute its Original inleiilion of giving efTectual Succor lo this Country, as soon as circunislances will permit ; and it is hoped the Second Division will cerlaihly arrive in the course of the fall. " That a P'leet greatly superior to thai of the Enemy in the W'est Indies, and a formidable land Porce had .sailed some time since from Martinique to make a combined attack upon the Island of Jamaica — that there is a possibility of a re-iuforcement from this (piarler also, to the P'leet of our Ally at Rhode Islan... "The Commander in Chief having thus given the Council a full view of ld Albany Post Road a little north mt.i iiKiTisii HKciDii NT. ot wlicrc aHotlicr road leads east, down the ridge to tlie Montrose station of the New York Central. Onr travellers turned north at the junction and in about two miles and a half reached the present Peekskill, and turned east on the Crompoiid Road. This is a winding, hilly road, now bordered after settled Peekskill is past, by modern residence property and well-kept farms. Diversified by hill and dale, open fields, trim dwellings and spreading trees, it affords a most delightful drive to tlie lover of Nature. In 1780 the region must have been rather a lonely one, with here and there a farmhouse whence, in most cases, had gone a son or brother to the army or militia. At about four miles from Peekskill, and eight from Verplanck's, occurred Smith's first check, and the one which ultimately caused his companion's capture. Here, at about half-past eight,'' the party met a sentry, who halted them until his officer. Captain Ebenezer Boyd,' of the Third Westchester militia, appeared. Smith dismounted, and talked some time with him, producing Arnold's pass. He took this into his quarters^ to read by lamplight, and was satisfied with it, but proved uncomfortably inquisitive as to the travellers' business and their wish to proceed that night. Smith tried to meet and parry his questions, but For this button and succeeding similar ones, I an indebted to Mr. \V. L. Calver, of New York. All three regiments — the 26th, 7th and 54th were Andre's. ' The view shows it at about midway of its length. 2 Sunset was at seven that day, so it must have been deep gloom by this time. 3 Ebenezer Boyd was born either in Scotland or near liedford, Westchester County, alrout 1735, and died at lioyd's Corners, in the town of Kent. Putnam County, June 29, 1792. He was Captain of what would now be called the second or " n " company. Coionel Van Cortland had been promoted to Brigadier, and was succeeded in command of the regiment by Lieut. Colonel Drake. < The house long since disappeared, and was replaced by a barn, which is ju.st west of Stony Street. On the map it is marked by the figure 3, 2') iii.kIl' a false stei) hy sayiii),' tlicy would stop ovcrniKht further on, with either Coloiicl CilhcTt Drake' or Major Joseph Strang, 'x'tli of Boyd's regiment. At this Boyd iinist have suspected him, for he told him Strang was absent, and Drake removed to another town. He represented the danger of travelling White Plains- ward by night as so great, heeause of a hand of "Cowboys" known to be within the lines, that Smith's fears were aroused" (i)robably also by Boyd's evident suspicious of hiuii, and he agreed to stop at a house nearby. Andre, to whom the marauders were far more likely to be friends than foes, and who was depressed by his anomalous and dangerous position, disgui.scd and in the enemy's country, was naturally an.xious to i)ush ahead. But vSmith carried his point, and they went back to Andreas Millei's house,' on the south side of the road, about one-third of a mile east of Hog Lane (an existing road now bearing the more euphonious but absurd name of "Lexington Avenue") and just over the boundary line in the town of Yorktown (Peekskill is in the town of Cortland). Miller's accommoda- tions for travellers were decidedly limited — apparently to one bed, which Smith shared with Andre, who went to bed in his toots, not even removing his spurs, and spent the time in restless weariness, disturbing Smith's slumbers. The dwelling' has disappeared, save the foundation and a few tir.ibers. A growth of young locust trees and flowering shrubs surrounds the spot, and some search is required to fiiul it. Before dawn — Saturday, the twenty-third — the trio were again in the saddle, and rode to a point half a mile east of the Presbyterian church," at Crompond Corner. By this time Andre had recovered his spirits, as though feeling entirely safe, and displaj'cd to the full those accomplishments of mind and manner which had invariablj- charmed all who met him, and which had their effect on Smith. At the Corner, in the angle made by the junction, from the north, of the Somerstown road, stood a tavern known as Strang's' (or Mead's). Near it, the three riders were suddenly halted by a picket-guard, and detained ' One accoiiiil has IJeutcnaiit Colonel Delavan instead of Drake. - If Sniitli snspi'cUd Amlro's real cliaracter, he knew there could not be much rt, trying to "run with the hare and hunt with the iionnds." It was mure prudent to allay lioyd's suspicions by .staying over night — but the delay was fatal to .\ndre the next day. •' Marked 2 on the map. Smith's A'd/ru/m' is clearly misleading here, when bespeaks of going "back some miles, to a tavern kept by one McKoy." At his trial. Captain Boyd te.stified that Miller's house was " close by." * In the case of this house lradili' 1 fcjBjf^TE^ - '^^^^^^M ^U < I^^ '^ ^ lajllm ^^^nH^H^H^H ' ' '^Hhk I^C^ l^BBSil^gy * -*^> ^^^r^^^H ^WiW»MB'' > TnffiQSHfl ^ ' ^H^^^M 91 \^ N^P^/^^Nf'^k ^H B^Mhm 'jjf^Jffl^M bt ^.'^^^H^^^H ^L^^ iillS^i^l &(C'iS^H^ ^^B^ mNo^ n^^^l B : '^^'^R^^^l M^ \ii^,fc^^B HISV'li^Hfn ^If t " ''-B^^^f'^^BB ^X ^^^H^l wgnKvi ^ ^BB ^ HH^^BP^BnP ''^^^^H^^!^ wBtSt^^^R^^ whSA HpI v^^^H ■BmhMH jBH s^m ' : '^M Ji^H Bp|a|' .1 . fv ^^B Hm|-> -'^ ^^^^^D raHRrav ^'v^l J* J , / laJ^^^^^H m^^^^^Bme.' «i^^l ^^f^^ft 2* ' ^S^^^^^^^^^H HH^^B^bUk '^I^HI ^SS^al^^B ^9IHHe^%^H L> ^ -5 O 21 while the officer in command, Captain Ebenezer Foote,' of tlie Commissary Department, was notified. Arnold's pass was again produced, but the moniing was yet too dark" for open-air reading, and the Captain went into Strang's — his headquarters — and read it by lamp-liglit. The scene outside at the moment is readily imaginable to one who has visited the spot, and is worthy the brush of a historical painter. The atmosphere was foggy, threatening rain. Nearb}- objects were indistinct and distant ones invisible through the gloom. In the foreground the watchful guard, the .sentrj' in front of the tavern, the two white men, one muffled in a light-blue cloak covered with moisture, sitting his horse like a soldier, the other in civilian's dress, and intently awaiting the opening of the tavern door and the re-appearance of the officer. In the middle foreground, a small frame building, and inside, seen through the small-paued window, a grave-faced young officer intently scanning the paper — since grown historic and carefully preserved at Albanj' — which allows " Mr. John Anderson " to " pass the guards to the White Plains and below if he Chuses." Nothing wrong about it, thinks the Connecticut Captain, less suspicious than Boyd, so he returns it, and, like Boyd, misses his chance of historic dis- tinction.'' Andre's spirits must have risen again with this second escape, and the ' Ebenezer Foote, son of Daniel ami descendant of Nathaniel, who settled in Watertown, Mass., in 1633, was born in Colchester, Conn., .April 12, 1756, and died Deccniher 2K, iSig, in Delhi, .N. V. At nineteen we find him in the ranks of the Minnie Slen at Hnnker Hill, and afterwards as a sergeant of the Second Connecticnt. lie was taken prisoner at the snrrender of I'ort Washinnlon. With several companions he escaped from the Bridewell in New York, at night, in the month of December following, gained what were then the ojien fields, and reached the Hnds(m at the village of Greenwich, eluding all the British sentinels. On the bank they found no means of esca|)e bnt an unseaworthy boat, and here the ]iarly divided, and his companions, going further, were mo.st or all recaptured. He determined to trust himself to a single plank, rather than run risk of capture. .Vccordingly he proceeded lo swim the Hudson by means of the plank, and after being several hours in the icy water, ami .safely passing an anchored British man-of-war, he was floated ashore below Hoboken. At first unable to stand after his terrible experience, he eventually reached H house where he was succored. Reaching the Americai-. lines we find him in tlie army at the ca])ture of Trenton, and during the terrible winter at Valley I'orge. This, however, adiled lo his previ"us experience, broke down his constitution, anil soon afterwards he sccnreil a transfer to the Connnissa y De]'arlment, where he remained until the end of the war, rising to the rank of Major, .\ftir 17S3 he began mercantile life in Newburgh, and then went into I'olitics, eventually becoming member of the Legislature, and holding many minor offices until appointed b'irst ( Presiding) Judge of I)elaware County, an office he held for many years, and to universal Kitisfaclion. His military ability was inherited by his son. General b'rederick I'oote, who died ])rematurely as a result of hardships endured on the frontier during the war of 1S12, and by his grandson. Captain and Brevet-Major (really acting Colonel) William Uensselaer l-'oote, of the Sixth V. S. Infantry, who was killed at tlie battle of Gaines' Mills, in I.S62. - Sunrise was at .si.v. This shows bow early the party must have left Miller's — apparently willnml breakfast. ■^ Poote told Smith — who di . li K ■r £ a. X ■y. ►J ■" .J is X '6 b: c w ■g 55 !s D M ^ a rt H 23 about 1700. For more than a century, and up to 1895, it was owned and occupied by those by whose name it is still known — the Uuderhills. In 1780 its owner was Isaac, whose widow, Sarah, survived until 1.S12. Tradition — practically history, as in the case of the Miller-Requa house — says that a band of Cowboys — (probably those Captain Boyd had referred to) — had driven off all but one of her cows the previous night. The present highway wall did not then exist, so our travellers rode up to the backdoor — now hidden by the "lean-to" — where both alighted and asked for breakfast. All Mrs. Underliill could give them, under the circumstance of her loss, was the humble dish of " suppawn '" (mush and milk), ''••ated on the step of the back door,-' the talented young Adjutant ate his last r al as a free man. At this stage of the journey. Smith and he parted — to his .^jjcedy ruin. Nothing has ever been disclosed as to why this was done. White Plains was still fifteen miles distant ; Andre knew nothing of the region between, while Smith knew it well. He had agreed to take liis companion there, but made no further effort to that end.' The other could not force him to do it,' and possibly did not greatly desire his further company, feeling tolerably confident, as Smith told him he was now beyond the American outposts.** So, paying Mrs. Undcrhill, dividing with Andre his Continental money, and giving him a message" to his brother William, the Tory Chief-Justice at New York, whom Andre knew, he and his servant returned to Crompond and thence northwest to Arnold's quarters at the Robinson House, just below West Point on the east shore, and told his story to the expectant traitor, with whom he says he dined.^ Unless Arnold was concerned about Andre's being abandoned short of White Plains, he must have felt assured of the success of his plot. Smith went on to Fishkill to rejoin his family. His Whig connections have a fresh proof here. Colonel Ann Hawkes Hay, of the Haverstraw militia, was married to Smith's sister, Martha, and lived at Fishkill at this time. It was to his house that Mrs. Smith and the I A curious coincidence is that of .\nilr^'s contemptuous reference to this homely dish, in the Core Cliacf. See Appendix. •-' The view of this was made under difficulties, it heinj; necessary to place the camera outsiile the back window. The house is in good cumlition, and may last another century. If the owner, Mr. (leorge Gregory, carries out his expressed intention of removing the " lean-to," the back will appear in its original condition, showing the "Andrd door," In the side view Miss Gregory is sho\vn standing just where the " lean-to " joins the original building. :i The hor.se and ecjuipnients Andr^ promised should be returned or paiil for. * A singular fact is that Andre, although knowing he was entering the enemy's country when leaving the Vulture, was unarmed. ^ Had .Smith forgotten Koote's statement that Sheldon's force was at Robbins' Mills? « One of his captors subse!;?■/(/ Hiiiimioiul hi ii<^y. *■ The " Andr ■• well" still furnishes excellent water. In the illustration it is not shown, but is directly on a line with the left end of the house. » Mrs. Ilaniniond, according to Campbell UaviJ lived until 1.S53, and to the end clearly recalled the scene. 26 Vdiniir's tavern, wliich was doubtless tlie route Arnold laid out for liiui, or had he been hut an liour aud a half earlier, all would have been well with him, for the road was then free. At this ])oint I would digress a niouient, to consider the state of that part of Westchester County — its greater part — then known as the Neutral Oround, from not being permanently occupied by either army. Strictly speaking, the Neutral Ground was all below the Croton river, l)ut the frequent British forays beyimd that line rendered its actual extent indefinite. Dr. James Thacher,' surgeon of the vSixteeutli Massachusetts, whose Military Journal is so full of valuable details of the period, was present with his regiment during November, 1 7.S0, when a large detachment of Washington's army, under Stark, crossed the Hudson and moved down through the county as far as West Farms, on!}- eight miles from King's Bridge, and endeavored to draw the British into a general engagement.' He thus graphicallj' describes the region and inhabitants : " Tlie iiiiserahlc inh.ihitants arc not iinicli favored with I'x' iirivilegcs which their neutrality ouKlit to secure to them. Tliey are conliiuially e-xjx>se(l to the ravaj^es and insults of infamous banditti, composed of royal refugees and Tories. The countr>- is rich and fertile, hut now has the marks of a country in ruins. The few farmers who remain find it ini|)ossil)le to harvest the [iroduce. The meadows and pastures are covered with grass (if a sunnner's growth, and thousands of bushels of apples and other fruit are rotting in the orchards. Some on either side have taken up arms, and become the most cruel and deadl)' foes. There are within the Hrilish lines, banditti of lawless villains who dexote ihenisches to the most cruel jjillage and rol>bery among the defenceless inhabitants lielwein the lines; many of whom lhe\- carr\' off to New York after plundering their houses and farms. These shai Tl ' marauders have received the names of Cowboys and Skinners. \\\ their atrocious deeds they have become a scourge and terror to the i»o]ile." Rev. Timothy Dwight, of New H^'cn, who was Chaplain to General Silliuiau's Connecticut Brigade — the P'irst — in 1778-9, and afterwards President of Yale College, has left a still more distressing description of the same region : " These unhappy people were expo.sed to the depredations of lx)th armies. Often ihey were actualh- plundered, and always were liable to this calamity. They feared tverybody whom they saw, and loved nol)ody. Fear was apparently the only pas.sion by which they were animated. The power of volition .seemed to have deserted them. They yielded, with a kind of a])athy, what you a.sked and what they supjxj.sed it imix).s,sible for them to retain. Their houses were in a great measure scenes of desolation, and their furniture was extensively plundered or broken to pieces. The walls, floors and windows were injured Ixith by violence and decay, and were not repaired, lx;cause ihey had not the means and because they were ex]x)sed to the repetition of the same injuries. Their cattle were gone, their enclosures were burnt where they were capable of l^econiing fuel, and thrown down where they were not. Their fields were covered with a rank growth of I James Thacher was born in Hanistable. Mass., IVbruary .4, r754, and died in I'lynioulh. May 24, \M\- 11l' > iitertil llic army in 1775, anil servc-d throiij^liout \\\v war, successively as surgeon of Uie i'"irst Virginia uikI the Sixteenth Massiichusetls. He was prominent professionally and socially tlirou^houl his life after the end of llie war, and exerted a ma-ked indnence for good on the conimunity in which he dwelt. ■-' I'nder pretext of a foraging espedilion, this force was intended by the Connnander in Chief to co-opirale with the uniin army in an attack against the Kneniy's post on (New) York Island. Hy some cause, known only to the Chief, this enterprise was unfortunately defeated.- - Tliaclicr. moir^m "■'-i ^"■s. '"•■* #'■ H^* ^*" H»r^ ^WS ^,'mV'^~ V ^R^RH^^ ^^^^^F^^Mnl^^' ^^B r ^ ' liiiaK^ in C X J > X O C a. w Q O w X y. u.* fi c X ■J, c y. c !/; < 27 weeds and wild grass. Their world was motionless and silent, except when one of these unhappy people went upon a rare and lonely excursion to the house of a neighiwr no less unhappy, or a scouting party alarmed the inhal)itants with exjiectations of new injuries and sufferings. The very tracks of the carriage roads were obliterated by disuse, and when discernable resembled the faint impressions of chariot wheels siiid to Ije left on the pavements of Herculaneum. The grass was of full height for the .scythe, and strongly realized to my own mind, for the first time, the proper imiwrt of that picturesque allusion in the Song of Deborah : ' In the days of Shamgar, the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through by-ways. The inhab- itants of the villages cea.sed, they ceased in Israel.' " (Judges V., 6, 7.) It wa.s through this very region, and among a people thus harried and ruined tlial Clinton's Adjutant-General was now making his way — and it was to the recent l)rulalities of a party of Cowboys that he was indirectly to owe his capture, within an hour of the time he left Hammond's house. At about one o'clock in the afternoon of the previous day — Friday, the twenty-second — John Dean, John Paulding, James Romer, Isaac vSee, Isaac Van Wart, Abraham Williams and John Yerks,' all young men,' left Salem on a "scout" or errand of more or less independent and irregular warfare, having for its object the capture of any Cowboys or others who might drive cattle towards New York. As they passed the house of Joseph Benedict, where David Williams was at work, he recognized them, asked their errand and volunteered to join them. His personal aim was to revenge the death of a neighbor named Pelhain, killed by Cow- boys the day before, and his property stolen. All of Yerks' party were militiamen,' and had secured, through Paulding, leave of absence from their officers to take part in the scout. Sleeping that night in John Andrews' hay barn at Plea.santville,' they reached Tarrytown Saturday morning, at about half-past seven, and went to the house of Jacob Romer, father of James, which has now disappeared. It stood close to the present reservoir, near the Tanytown station of the New York and Putnam road. Here they had breakfast, and Mrs. Romer put up dinner for them in a basket." They went next to Isaac Reed's house, borrowed a pack of playing 1 Yerks oiigiiuilcd the scout, having propo.sed it to Paulding. - r>avid Williani.-i, tlie oldest, wa.s not quite twenty-three. Van Wart and Taulding werecousin.s ; al.so, apparently, Uomer and ranlding. Verk.s was a cousin of Dean's on his mother's side. To Willi.mis, nmre than anyone else, history is indebted for many minute details about the capture and the ovcnl.s imuuiliately preceding it. Ife only it is th.it has given the particulars about the party of Cowboys (if which Hoyd, I'oote and — later — Jameson and Washington himself, were apprehensive. He savs the 1 land had raided Poundridge (the easternmost town in the ro\inly, lying next to Coutiecticut) the night before his ])arty started (Thursday the twenty-first) and that they were lcs Clark's Kill, but ever since as .\ndre Brook, Just opposite was afterwards built St. Mark's Episcopal Church. (The old Bedford road at that time came into the Post road at that point.) The other five were to watch the old Bedford road on Davis' H'll.- The two were not far apart, atul it was agreed that either party needing aid should fire a gun, and that any plnndcr taken should be shared equally b}' all. While they are waiting, we may consider the epithets of "marauders," "banditti," etc., after- wards applied to them, and tlie irregularity which .some have insisted attended llieir action and nullified their ])atriotism. Certaiuly they were not an organized body, detached by superior authority for a definite military expedition. But all were militia accustomed to active service — Dean, David W^illiams and Paulding ])articularly so. Paulding had been twice a prisoner in British hand.s'' in New York. The party was actually under the direction of one of their number who was a veteran, not only of militia service, but of the Canada expedition of 1775. There he had endured great hardships, and left behind him an elder soldier- brother, entombed in the tremendous snowdrifts of the Plains of Abraham. He alone of the party was not a private, being at the time a sergeant in the First Westchester, and was later promoted and commissioned as ensign. I refer to John Dean,^ to whose methodical disposition of the party ^ J ^ (T)c^i/n ^*^^ success was probably largely due, yet whose modesty ^y '' ]) •evented his receiving a just .share of the praise bestowed on the three kuown to history.'' To return to our story- — they, whom l'\)rtuue was to favor that day, had the pack of cards, and drew lots to see who should watch while the others played. Van Wart lost, and took his place by the roadside," at about eight o'clock. None but persons whom he knew passed until about half-past nine, when the sound of horse hoofs was heard on the bridge ' Liiiminidivii. U was 112 feel hinh, and stood, a noted landmark, until July 31, iSol, when destroyed liy liRlitninu. .\ coincidince was that on the same day the news readied Tarrylown of Arnold's death in London. The si'ot is marked 12 on the map. - It is a curious fact that on Tarrytown Heights Andre rode past tlio.se who were watchiiiR the Ueilford road from I>avis' Mill, without heinj; .seen by them. — Jiitli^i' J. O. /)yi'iiuvi. in a note to the author. ■I lie says the first time he was confined in the Su)i;ar House, and the second in the North Dutch Church. ' That he was reco^jiiized as the leader appears from Jameson's question. See/*(«/'. '■ John Dean was horn Seplemlier 15, 1755, and died in Tarrytown April .|, 1817. Aher his service in Canada, as noticed, he was in the militia almost constantly until the end of the Revolution. Ill most of the eucounteis between the patriots and their enemies, whether British re>;iilars. their Tory allies, or the Cowboys, he bore a promiueut jiart, and his death was directly due to an injury received in a skirmish at Kiuj;'s nridge in 17.S1. llis entire life after the close of hostilities was sp"!!!! in Tarrytown, where his descendants .still reside, and where his name ap))ears amongst those of his companions in arms of the Neutral Ground, on the inoiniineiit erected in iSg| to the memory of the soldiers of the Revolution. • Williams says all sat down. 2 20 spanning the " kill.'" The rider was intently scanning a small map, though his animal was galloping.-' On this, cither Van Wart or Williams said, " Here comes a gentleman-like looking man, who appears well-dressed, and whom you had better step out and stop, if you don't know him."" Paulding did so, presenting his musket at the rider's breast.^ " I asked him which way he was going." "My lads," he replied,"! hope you belong to our party.'""' "What party?" "The lower."" "We do — my dress shows that," artfully said Paulding, who wore the uniform coat, green, faced with red, of a German J'Jgrr. This dress naturally helped to deceive Andre.' As a matter of fact, Paulding had but a few days before escaped from a British prison — the North Dutch church, Fulton Street — in New York, and by the friendly- keeper of a livery stable had been furnished with the coat, to help him pass the King's Bridge outposts." The horseman, now addressing the group collectively, said : "I am a British officer, have been up the couutrj' on particular business, and would not wish to be detained a minute" — and to prove his claim to be an officer, took out his gold watch." " Upon this, I told him to dismount,'" and we told him we were Americans."" At this the stranger started, changed color, and " fetched a deep sigh."" " God bless my soul," he exclaimed, " a body must do anything to get along now-a-days,"" and produced Arnold's pass. Paulding, who alone of the three could read or write read it. " You had best let me go, or you will bring yourselves into trouble, for your stopping me will detain General Arnold's iMisiuess : I am going to Dobbs' Ferry, to meet a person there and get information for him," said the rider, whom Van Wart afterwards accurately described as " a light, trim-built man of a bold military countenance, and with dark eyes." The pr.rty hesitated — Arnold's pass was uudoubtedly genuine, and his authority ' Vail Wart. - Williams, Van Wart sivs he w.is ruliiij,' slowly, which seems more likely. Both may lie right, for he may have checked the .iiiimal just .is he crossed the bridge. As he was halted he thrust the map (which .\riiold or Smith had given him) into his ofT boot-leg. ■' Paulding. ■• Van Wart says all three presented their guns. '"' Williams. " .Vndre's fatal (piotiou has been the wonder of all historians. With the pa.ss in his pocket which had brought him siifelv through so many dangers, he iii,-ide his crowning blunder. The suddenness of the surprise seemed to deprive him of his wonted presence of mind. — /("/('(. Instead of producing .Arnold's pass, which would have extricated him from our parties, and couhl have done him no harm with his own, he asked the men if they were of the " upper" or " lower " jvarty.- - Hamilton. With a want of self-possession so difficult to be accounted for in a mind e(|Ually brave and intelligent that it would almost seem Providential, iu.slead of jiroducing the pass from .\riiold, he asked the man (Williams) where he belf nged. — Afarshall. 7 General Van Cortland savs Andr^ exclaimed: "Thank God! I am once more among friends." The buttons of this coat were loiig jireserved at the Van Cortland manor house at Crotoii. '- Tlie "fierce spirit of liberty" which the Rriti,sh acknowledged actuated the people of New Kngland, was found also in the devastated Neutral Ground. Twice a jirisoner, yet in arms again as soon as he escaped, is a tvpical record of a young militiaman. '■' He carried two, one of silver. 1" Paulding. 11 Van Wart. extended to Tarrytown.' Once more Andre's fate hung in the balance," but he had just avowed himself a British officer,' displaying as a proof a gold watch, an article possessed by but very few Americans at the time — and Paulding, the master spirit of the three, whose acquaintance with British officers was recent and ]irobably painful, was not satisfied, and said, doubtfully, " I hope you will not be offended, we do not mean to take anything from you, but there are many bad people on the road, and I don't know but you may be one. What is j'our name?" "John Anderson," was the reply. ^ Still unsatisfied, Paulding told him he must dismount and accompany them into the thicket, where they would be out of sight of passers-by.'" This was done, Williams bringing up the rear and replacing the fence rails behind them." Paulding told Williams to search him, wliich was done, and even his outer clothing removed, but to no purpose. Then he was told to sit down and take off his boots, " which," naively adds Williams, " he seemed to be indifferent about, but we got one off and found nothing in it." \'an Wart says : " We found his stocking sagged a little, and, taking it of?, found three unsealed letters within. Paulding hastily read them, and exclaimed, ' He 's a spy!'" ^^''illiams continues : " We found three more papers in the other stocking, then made liim dress himself, and I asked him what he would give us to let him go."' " Any sum you want," was the prompt reply — if money could save him, tlie fugitive had no fear of the result. "A hundred guineas, with the horse, saddle, bridle and your watch ?" queried Williams. " Yes, and the money shall be .sent here if jou want." "Will you not give more ?" pursued the relentless ' .\.s Sheldon's regiment, on duty as low as While Plains, was under .\rnold, I infer that his authority extended to Tarrytown. Vet on August 3, Washinjjton, in appointing him conunander at West Point, made out his notice; "West Point and its dependencies, in which all are included, from I'ishkill to King's I'erry." Possibly this refers only to the fortifications. - We were about allowing him to pass, and he was reining his horse into the road, when Paulding exclaimed, iu an undertone, " I) n him ! I don't like bis looks." — lyUliaiin. •1 •■ I would have let him go, had he shown his pass before he said he was a British officer," Paulding afterwards .idmilted. A curious story may be found in the "Life and Observations of Rev. K. V. Newell" (C. W. Ainsworth, Worce.ster, Mass., 1849,) to this effect : In 1799 he was told by Rev, Duncan McColl, a well-known Metbodi.st clergyman, in Connecticut, and an associate of Rev. Jesse Lee, the founder of New Kngland Methodism, that during the Revolution he was employed as a clerk by the British " fielil-officers " (Ilead- ijuarters?) and in such capacity was aboard the /'h//«Vc when she lay in the Hudson awaiting the return of .AndriJ, " who had gone ashore to ascertain whttlier Burgoyne had reached .\lbany, ana.ssed on to Clinton. — hiii/;, in 1.S23. Sargent prints this interesting affidavit : Croni I'omI, July 9, ij.S"). Miss Hannah Sniflen says that * * ' and Isaac Van Wart did, on the night of the i-;\\\ ult. take from XIr. James Sniffen, an inhabitant of White Plains, without civil or military autl.,)rity, three milch cows, which they converttil to their own private use. Hannah Snifi'Kn, in behalf of her father. Sargent says this is among the Rufus I'utnam ])apers in Ohio. Sargent further says that Williams ami others, twice in the Summer of 17S0, made sei/'uris of pcojile and callle, but the civil authorities interfereil and compelled restitution in both cases. The disbelief of Tallmadge, King, and others, in the ]mrity of the captors' motives, is an old story, and need not be repeated here. 1 am, however, enabled to give a valuable statement bearing on the cbaraclers of \'an Wart and Williams, which has never before been printeil, and which jjroves beyond i|iiestion that the\ had l)eeu niarauilers (as Colonel A. O. Hanmiond wrote to Tallmadge). My informant is Rev. Chester C. Thome, of Windham, New York, grandson of Jesse Thorne, whom 1 have quoted on page 2.). " My grandfather came to visit my father at the lime we were living near West Onconta, N. Y., and I remember his calling me to him, saying, 'I have something to tell thee'— and he told me this story so vividly that I never forgot it: In spealting of the captors, he said repeatedly (referring to Williams and Van Wart) 'They were Cowboys.' (While my great-grandfather, Stevenson Thorne, suffered terribly at the hands of the 'Cowboys' he never complained particularly of the 'Skinners.' Ho was reijealedlv ]>lunilered by the former — of live stock and household goods.) It become known that he had mom- v secreted, and one day (the exact date cannot be positively given, but was probably in 1777 or '7.S1 an armed gang came to his house, and demanded it. I'ailing to force him to surrender it or reveal its hiding place, they endeavored to break open a wardrobe where it was really hidden, but failed. They then proceeded to hang him to one of the trees in his orchard, and strung him up twice, each lime letting him down just in time to .save his life, and then demanding the surreucfer of the gold. .\ third time they drew him up to the limb, and on letting him down life was almost extinct. Convinced that death would he his portion if he persisted in further resistance, the unfortunate man, after being revived, surrendered the hidden treasure, which amounted to $i,3cx) in gold. One of the gang engaged in the robbery was Isaac Van Wart and David Williams was not far off, (So naively adds Jesse Thorne. in the written narrative.) This incident in his life is known to all of Steven.son Thome's posterity, and being given in such detail by his son, an eye-witness to the cruel treatment of his father, the slatiis of \au Wart and Williams not long before 1780 may be regarded as definitely settled, as that of Cowboys. I Though neither knew it, captive and captor had met before, for when Andr^ was captured at St. John's, in '775. Williams was a soldier of Montgomery's command. '' " .Xiiy amount you may name, in cash or drygoods."— Dr. Bustis to Dr. Thacher, on Van Wart's testimony. '■> .\s Grant Thorburn remarked in 1840 (when Williams, the la.st survivor, had been dead only ten years) this sum would have made the three so rich that they could have owned more live stock than Job in the height of his prosperity. The very magnitude of the sum may have over-reached its object. It is highly probaljle no one of the three had ever possessed a hundred guineas at any one time. He offered also to let them keep him concealed while their messenger should go to the British lines with the letter he would write. They held a long consultation (as he told Tallmadge subsequently) but finally decided the risk was too great, "a detachment would probably be sent out against them, they be captured anil iniprisone