Chapter XCI: The Wadsworth Longfellow House, Portland, Maine 400 (3)

"For freedom of conscience this town was first planted;
Persuasion, not force was used by the people:
This Church is the eldest, and has not recanted,
Enjoying and granting bell, temple, and steeple."

The pastor at the time the new church was first occupied, on May 28, 1775, was president of Rhode Island College, an institution which had been located in Providence in 1773, in consequence of the generosity and activity of the members of the church. The institution later became Brown University. Every one of the presidents of the college has been a member of the First Church.

A church whose building was dedicated "midway between the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill" should have a patriotic history. The story of Providence during the Revolution shows that the members were keenly alive to their opportunities. The first suggestion for the Continental Congress came from Providence. Rhode Island was the first State to declare for independence. Pastor and people were ardent supporters of these movements. Many soldiers were furnished to the army by the congregation.

Naturally, then, people would be interested in a man like Stephen Gano, who became pastor in 1792. He had been a surgeon in the Revolutionary Army, and had been taken prisoner, put on board a prison-ship, and bound in chains, which made scars that lasted for life. His pastorate of thirty-six years was the longest in the history of the church.

The stately building erected in 1774 is still in use. The gallery long set apart for the use of slaves has given way to a square loft, the old pews have been displaced by modern seats, and the lofty pulpit and sounding-board have disappeared. Otherwise the church is much as it was when the first congregation entered its doors in 1775.

TWO: WHERE PATROONS AND KNICKERBOCKERS FLOURISHED

_Where nowadays the Battery lies,
New York had just begun,
A new-born babe, to rub its eyes,
In Sixteen Sixty-One.
They christened it Nieuw Amsterdam,
Those burghers grave and stately,
And so, with schnapps and smoke and psalm,
Lived out their lives sedately._

_Two windmills topped their wooden wall,
On stadthuys gazing down,
On fort, and cabbage-plots, and all
The quaintly gabled town;
These flapped their wings and shifted backs,
As ancient scrolls determine,
To scare the savage Hackensacks,
Paumanks, and other vermin_.

_At night the loyal settlers lay
Betwixt their feather-beds;
In hose and breeches walked by day,
And smoked, and wagged their heads.
No changeful fashions came from France,
The vrouwleins to bewilder;
No broad-brimmed burgher spent for pants
His every other guilder._

_In petticoats of linsey red,
And jackets neatly kept,
The vrouws their knitting-needles sped
And deftly spun and swept.
Few modern-school flirtations there
Set wheels of scandal trundling,
But youths and maidens did their share
Of staid, old-fashioned bundling._

EDMUND CLARENCE STEDMAN.

TWO: WHERE PATROONS AND KNICKERBOCKERS FLOURISHED

XVII

THE MORRIS-JUMEL MANSION, NEW YORK CITY

WHERE WASHINGTON ESCAPED FROM THE BRITISH BY A FIFTEEN MINUTE MARGIN

"A Pleasant situated Farm, on the Road leading to King's
Bridge, in the Township of Harlem, on York-Island, containing
about 100 acres, near 30 acres of which is Wood-land, a fine
piece of Meadow Ground, and more easily be made: and commands
the finest Prospect in the whole Country: the Land runs from
River to River: there is Fishing, Oystering, and Claming at
either end...."

When, in 1765, Roger Morris, whose city house was at the corner of Whitehall and Stone streets, saw this advertisement in the New York _Mercury_, he hungered for the country. So he bought the offered land, and by the summer of 1766 he had completed the sturdy Georgian house that, after a century and a half, looks down on the city that has grown to it and beyond it.

In an advertisement published in 1792, in the New York _Daily Advertiser_, a pleasing description of the mansion of Roger Morris was given:

"On the premises is a large dwelling-house, built in modern
style and taste and elegance. It has ... a large hall
through the centre; a spacious dining room on the right....
On the left is a handsome parlor and a large back room.... On
the second floor are seven bedchambers ... On the upper floor
are five lodging rooms ... and at the top of the house is
affixed an electric conducter. Underneath the building are a
large, commodious kitchen and laundry and wine cellar,
storeroom, kitchen pantry, sleeping apartments for servants,
and a most complete dairy room...."

For nine years Roger Morris and his family lived in the mansion on the Heights. As a member of the Legislative Council much of his time was given to the interests of his fellow-citizens. But as time passed he found himself out of sympathy with his neighbors. They demanded war with Great Britain, and he felt that he could not join the revolt. Accordingly, in 1775, he sailed for England, leaving his large property in the care of Mrs. Morris.

Mrs. Morris kept the house open for a time, but finally, taking her children with her, she went to her sister-in-law at the Philipse Manor House at Yonkers.

On September 14, 1776, General Washington decided to abandon the city to the British. He planned to go to Harlem, to the fortification prepared in anticipation of just such an emergency. On September 15 he took possession of the Roger Morris house as headquarters. Two days later his Orderly Book shows the following message, referring to the battle of Harlem Heights:

"The General most heartily thanks the troops commanded
yesterday by Major Leitch, who first advanced upon the enemy,
and the others who so resolutely supported them. The behavior
of yesterday was such a contrast to that of some troops the
day before [at Kip's Bay] as must show what may be done when
Officers and Soldiers exert themselves."

During the weeks when the mansion remained Washington's headquarters the curious early flag of the colonists waved above it. In the space now given to the stars was the British Union Jack, while the thirteen red and white stripes that were to become so familiar completed the design. This flag the English called "the Rebellious Stripes."

On November 16, 1776, Washington was at Fort Lee, on the New Jersey shore, opposite the present 160th Street. Desiring to view from the Heights the British operations in their attack on Fort Washington, he crossed over to the Morris house. Fifteen minutes after he left the Heights to return to New Jersey, fourteen thousand British and Hessian troops took possession of the Heights, the Morris Mansion, and Fort Washington.

The period of British occupation continued, at intervals, until near the close of the war. Since the owner was a Loyalist, the British Government paid rent for it.

After the Revolution the property was confiscated, as appears from an entry in Washington's diary, dated July 10, 1790:

"Having formed a Party consisting of the Vice-President, his
lady, Son & Miss Smith; the Secretaries of State, Treasury, &
War, and the ladies of the two latter; with all the Gentlemen
of my family, Mrs. Lear & the two Children, we visited the
old position of Fort Washington, and afterwards dined on a
dinner provided by a Mr. Mariner at the House lately Colo.
Roger Morris, but confiscated and in the occupation of a
common Farmer."

For nearly thirty years after the Revolution the stately old house was occupied as a farmhouse or as a tavern. In 1810 it became the home of Stephen Jumel, a wealthy New York merchant, whose widow, Madam Jumel, later gave such wonderful entertainments in the house that the whole city talked about her. After many years of life alone in the mansion, in July, 1833, she married Aaron Burr. He was then seventy-two years old, while she was fifty-nine.

Madam Jumel-Burr lived until July 16, 1865. During her last years she was demented and did many strange things. For a time she maintained an armed garrison in the house, and she rode daily about the grounds at the head of fifteen or twenty men.

The mansion passed through a number of hands until, in 1903, title to it was taken by the City of New York, on payment of $235,000.

For three years the vacant house was at the mercy of souvenir hunters, but when, in 1906, it was turned over to the Daughters of the American Revolution, to be used as a Revolutionary Museum, twelve thousand dollars were appropriated for repairs and restoration. This amount was woefully inadequate, but it is hoped that further appropriation will make complete restoration possible.

The spacious grounds that once belonged to the mansion have been sold for building lots, but the house looks down proudly as ever from its lofty site almost opposite the intersection of Tenth Avenue and One Hundred and Sixty-first Street with St. Nicholas Avenue. The corner of its original dooryard is now Roger Morris Park.

XVIII

THE PHILIPSE MANOR HOUSE, YONKERS, NEW YORK

THE HOME OF MARY PHILIPSE, IN WHOM GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS INTERESTED

At first glance one would not think that the name Yonkers was derived very directly from the name of the first settlers of the region, de Jonkheer Adriaen Van der Donck. When, in 1646, he secured a large tract of land bounded by the Hudson, the Bronx, and Spuyten Duyvil Creek, this was called "Colen Donck" (Donck's Colony) or "De Jonkheer's" (the Young Lord's). As the Dutch "j" is pronounced "y," the transition from Jonkheers to Yonkers was easy.

On September 29, 1672, after the death of the original owner, 7,708 acres of the princely estate were sold to three men, of whom Frederick Philipse (originally Ffreric Vlypse) was one. A few years later Philipse bought out the heirs of the other two purchasers, and added to his holdings by further purchases from his countrymen and from the Indians. On June 12, 1693, he was permitted to call himself lord of the Manor of Philipsburgh. From that day the carpenter from Friesland, who had grown so rich that he was called "the Dutch millionaire," lived in state in the house he had begun in 1682.

This lord of the manor became still more important in consequence of the acceptance of his offer to build a bridge over Spuyt-den-duyvil, or "Spiting Devil" Creek, when the city declined to do so for lack of funds. The deed given to him stated that he had "power and authority to erect a bridge over the water or river commonly called Spiten devil ferry or Paparimeno, and to receive toll from all passengers and drovers of cattle that shall pass thereon, according to rates hereinafter mentioned." This bridge, which was called Kingsbridge, was a great source of revenue until 1713, when it was removed to the present site. Then tolls were charged until 1759, or, nominally, until 1779.

Part of the Manor House was used as a trading post. Everything Philipse handled seemed to turn into gold. All his ventures prospered. It was whispered that some of these ventures were more than a little shady, that he had dealings with pirates and shared in their ill-gotten gains, and that he even went into partnership with Captain Kidd when that once honest man became the prince of the very pirates whom the Government had commissioned him to apprehend. And Philipse, as a member of the Governor's Council, had recommended this Kidd as the best man for the job! It is not strange that the lord of the manor felt constrained to resign his seat in the council because of the popular belief in the statement made by the Governor, that "Kidd's missing treasures could be readily found if the coffers of Frederick Philipse were searched."

Colonel Frederick Philipse, the great-grandson of Captain Kidd's partner, enlarged the Manor House to its present proportions and appearance. He also was prominent in the affairs of the Colony. He was a member of the Provincial Assembly, and was chairman of a meeting called on August 20, 1774, to select delegates to the county convention which was to select a representative to the First Continental Congress. Thus, ostensibly, he was taking his place with those who were crying out for the redress of grievances suffered at the hands of Great Britain. Yet it was not long until it was evident that he was openly arrayed with those who declined to turn from their allegiance to the king.

The most famous event that took place in the Philipse Manor was the marriage, on January 28, 1758, of the celebrated beauty, Mary Philipse, to Colonel Roger Morris. A letter from Joseph Chew to George Washington, dated July 13, 1757, shows that--in the opinion of the writer, at least--the young Virginian soldier was especially interested in Mary Philipse. In this letter, which he wrote after his return from a visit to Mrs. Beverly Robinson in New York, the sister of Mary Philipse, he said:

"I often had the Pleasure of Breakfasting with the Charming
Polly, Roger Morris was there (Don't be startled) but not
always, you know him he is a Lady's man, always something to
say, the Town talk't of it as a sure & settled Affair. I
can't say I think so and that I much doubt it, but assure you
had Little Acquaintance with Mr. Morris and only slightly
hinted it to Miss Polly, but how can you be Excused to
Continue so long in Phila. I think I should have made a kind
of Flying March of it if it had been only to have seen
whether the Works were sufficient to withstand a Vigorous
Attack, you a soldier and a Lover, mind I have been arguing
for my own Interest now for had you taken this method then I
should have had the Pleasure of seeing you--my Paper is
almost full and I am Convinced you will be heartily tyred in
Reading it--however will just add that I intend to set out
to-morrow for New York where I will not be wanting to let
Miss Polly know the Sincere Regard a Friend of mine has for
her--and I am sure if she had my Eyes to see thro would
Prefer him to all others."

While it is true that George Washington went to New York to see the charming Polly, there is no evidence that he was especially interested in her.

Colonel Morris later built for his bride the Morris-Jumel Mansion, which is still standing near 160th Street. Mrs. Morris frequently visited at the home of her girlhood. The last visit was paid there during Christmas week of 1776. Her father, who had been taken to Middletown, Connecticut, because of his activities on the side of the king, was allowed to go to his home on parole.

In 1779 the Manor House and lands were declared forfeited because the owner refused to take the oath of allegiance to the Colonies, and Frederick Philipse, III, went to England.

The property was sold in 1785. Until 1868 it was in the hands of various purchasers. To-day the Manor House is preserved as a relic of the days when Washington visited the house, when loyalists were driven from the doors, and when it was the centre of some of the important movements against the British troops.

XIX

ST. PAUL'S CHAPEL, NEW YORK CITY

WHERE WASHINGTON ATTENDED SERVICE ON HIS FIRST INAUGURATION DAY

In the New York _Gazette_ of May 14, 1764, appeared this notice concerning St. Paul's Chapel:

"We are told that the Foundation Stone of the third English
Church which is about erecting in this City, is to be laid
this day. The church is to be 112 by 72 feet."

For two years those who passed the corner of Broadway and Partition (Fulton) Street watched the progress of the building. On October 30, 1766, it was ready for the first service.

On the opening day there was no steeple, no organ, and no stove. But those who entered the doors were abundantly satisfied with the work of the architect, who is said to have been a Scotchman named McBean, a pupil of Gibbs, the designer of St. Martins-in-the-Fields, London, to which church the interior of St. Paul's Chapel bears a marked resemblance. In the account of the opening the New York _Journal and General Advertiser_ said that the new church was "one of the most elegant edifices on the Continent."

Between April 13, 1776, when Washington arrived in New York, and September 15, 1776, when Lord Howe occupied the city, the church was closed, since the rector did not see his way to omit from the service the prayers for the king. But when the British took possession of New York the doors were opened once more. Until the city was evacuated, November 25, 1783, Lord Howe and many of his officers were regular attendants at St. Paul's.

Six days after the beginning of the British occupation the church had a narrow escape from destruction. A fire, which Howe declared was of incendiary origin, burned four hundred of the four thousand homes in New York. St. Paul's Chapel was in the centre of the burnt district. Trinity Church was destroyed, and St. Paul's was saved by the efforts of its rector, Dr. Inglis. This was the first of five such narrow escapes. The steeple was actually aflame during the conflagration of 1797, but the building was saved. Three times during the nineteenth century, in 1820, 1848, and 1865, fire approached or passed by the chapel.

Immediately after the first inauguration of Washington, at the City Hall, he walked to St. Paul's to ask God's blessing on the country and his administration. During his residence in New York, until Trinity Church was rebuilt, he was a regular attendant at the services. From 1789 to 1791 his diary records the fact many times, "Went to St. Paul's Chappel in the forenoon." At first he used the pew built for the Governor of New York, but later, when a President's pew was built, he moved to this. Canopies covered both pews, while they were further marked by the arms of the United States and of New York.

Dr. Morgan Dix, in his address at the Centennial anniversary of the completion of the building, told of an old man who had said to him that when he was a boy he used to sit with other school-boys in the north gallery, and from there he would watch the arrival of the General and "Lady Washington" as they came up Fair Street to the church, in a coach and four.

In the same address Dr. Dix said: "The church remains, substantially, such as it was in the first days; alterations have been made in it, but they have not changed its general appearance. For justness of proportion and elegance of style, it still holds a leading place among our city churches, and must be regarded as a fine specimen of its particular school of architecture. When it was built, the western end commanded an uninterrupted view of the river and the Jersey shore, for the waters of the Hudson then flowed up to the line of Greenwich Street, all beyond is made land."

In the portico of the old church is a monument to General Montgomery, a member of St. Paul's parish, who fell at Quebec, and is buried in the chapel. This monument, which was sent from France by Benjamin Franklin, had an adventurous career. The vessel in which it was shipped was captured by the British, and some time elapsed before it reached its destined place.

XX

FRAUNCES' TAVERN, NEW YORK CITY

WHERE WASHINGTON TOOK LEAVE OF HIS SOLDIERS

The subscribers of the _Pennsylvania Packet_, on the morning of December 2, 1783, read the following pleasing despatch from New York City, which was dated November 26, 1783:

"Yesterday in the morning the American troops marched from
Haerlem, to the Bowery lanes. They remained there until about
one o'clock, when the British troops left the fort in the
Bowery, and the American troops marched in and took
possession of the city.--After the troops had taken
possession of the city, the GENERAL and GOVERNOR made their
public entry in the following manner:--Their excellencies the
general and governor with their suites on horseback. The
lieutenant governor, and the members of the council for the
temporary government of the southern district, four
a-breast.--Major-general Knox, and the officers of the army,
eight a-breast.--Citizens on horseback, eight a-breast.--The
speaker of the assembly and citizens, on foot, eight
a-breast.

"Their excellencies the governor and commander-in-chief were
escorted by a body of West Chester light horse, under the
command of Captain Delavan. The procession proceeded down
Queen [now Pearl] Street, and through the Broad-way to Cape's
Tavern. The governor gave a public dinner at Fraunces'
tavern; and which the commander-in-chief, and other general
officers were present."

The building which Washington made famous that day was erected by Etienne de Lancey, probably in 1700. Samuel Fraunces purchased the place in 1762. Soon it became one of the most popular taverns in New York. Among its patrons were some of the leaders in the Revolution, as well as many who were loyal to King George. But Fraunces himself never wavered in his allegiance to the Colonies.

One of the clubs that met regularly at Fraunces' was the Social Club, of which John Jay, Gouverneur Morris, and Robert R. Livingston were members.

During the occupation of New York by the British the tavern did not have an opportunity to play a part in the history of the country, though the daughter of the proprietor, who was a tavern keeper at Washington's Richmond Hill headquarters, made ineffective a plot to poison the Commander-in-Chief.

Ten days after Washington's triumphal entry into the city, and the dinner at the tavern, one of the rooms was the scene of a historic event of which Rivington's _New York Gazette_ told in these words:

"Last Thursday noon (December 4) the principal officers of
the army in town assembled at Fraunces' tavern to take a
final leave of their illustrious, gracious and much loved
comrade, General Washington. The passions of human nature
were never more tenderly agitated than in this interesting
and distressful scene. His excellency, having filled a glass
of wine, thus addressed his brave fellow-soldiers:

"'With an heart full of love and gratitude I now take leave
of you: I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as
prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious
and honorable.'

"These words produced extreme sensibility on both sides; they
were answered by warm expressions, and fervent wishes, from
the gentlemen of the army, whose truly pathetic feelings it
is not in our power to convey to the reader. Soon after this
scene was closed, his excellency the Governor, the honorable
the Council and Citizens of the first distinction waited on
the general and in terms the most affectionate took their
leave."

Two years later Fraunces sold the tavern, but it retains his name to this day. It is still at the corner of Broad and Pearl streets. Many changes have been made in the building, under the direction of the Sons of the Revolution, and it will continue to attract visitors as long as it stands.

XXI

THE GRANGE, NEW YORK CITY

WHERE ALEXANDER HAMILTON SPENT HIS LAST YEARS

After nineteen years of moving from house to house and from city to city, Alexander Hamilton made up his mind to have a home of his own. In 1780 he had taken Elizabeth Schuyler from a mansion in Albany that was, in its day, almost a palace; and in 1799 he felt that the time had come to give her a home of corresponding comfort.

At this time he was commander-in-chief of the army of the United States, a service that was made notable, among other things, by his suggestion and preparation of plans for the West Point Military Academy.

The chosen site for the house, nine miles from Bowling Green, was bounded by the present St. Nicholas and Tenth Avenues and 141st and 145th streets. The coach from New York to Albany afforded regular transportation to the spot, though, of course, Hamilton had his own equipage. When he planned the house he thought his income of $12,000 would be ample to care for the property. Accordingly he felt justified in offering L800 for sixteen acres, one-half of which was to be paid in cash, the balance within a year.

The architect chosen was John McComb, the designer of New York's old City Hall. Hamilton and his father-in-law, General Schuyler, had a hand in the development of the plans. In a letter to Hamilton, written August 25, 1800, General Schuyler said:

"If the house is boarded on the outside, and the clapboards
put on, and filled on the inside with brick, I am persuaded
no water will pass to the brick. If the clapboards are well
painted, and filling in with brick will be little if any more
expensive than lath and plaister, the former will prevent the
nuisance occasioned by rats and mice, to which you will be
eternally exposed if lath and plaister is made use of instead
of brick."

The mason's specifications, quoted by Allan MacLane Hamilton, were as follows:

"Proposal for finishing General Hamilton's Country
House--Viz.

To build two Stacks of Chimneys to contain eight fire-places,
exclusive of those in Cellar Story.

To fill in with brick all the outside walls of the 1st and
2nd stories, also all the interior walls that Separate the
two Octagon Rooms--and the two rooms over them--from the Hall
and other Rooms in both Stories.

To lath and plaster the side walls of 1st and 2nd stories
with two coats & set in white.

To plaster the interior walls which separate the Octagon Room
in both Stories, to be finished white, or as General Hamilton
may chose.

To lath and plaster all the other partitions in both stories.

To lath and plaster the Ceiling of the Cellar Story
throughout.

To plaster the Sidewalls of Kitchen, Drawing Room, Hall &
passage, & to point & whitewash the Stone and brick walls of
the other part of Cellar Story. To Point outside walls of
Cellar Story and to fill in under the Sills.

To lay both Kitchen hearths with brick, placed edge ways.

To put a Strong Iron back in the Kitchen fire-place, five
feet long by 2-1/2 9" high.

To Put another Iron back in the Drawing Room 3'--6" by
2'--9".

To place two Iron Cranes in the Kitchen fire Place--& an Iron
door for the oven mouth.

The Rooms, Hall and Passage of the first Story to have neat
Stocco Cornices--Those of Octagon Rooms of Best Kind (but not
inriched).

To put up the two setts of Italian Marble in the Octagon
Room, such as General Hamilton may choose--and six setts of
Stone Chimney pieces for the other Rooms.

The Four fireplaces in the two Octagon rooms & the two rooms
over them, to have Iron Backs and jambs, and four fire places
to have backs only.

To lay the foundations for eight piers for the Piazza.

Mr. McComb to find at his own expense all the Material
requisite for the afore described work and execute it in a
good & workmenlike manner for one thousand Eight Hundred and
Seventy five Dollars.

General Hamilton to have all the Materials carted and to have
all the Carpenter work done at his expense--

General Hamilton is to find the workmen their board or to
allow ---- shillings per day for each days work in thereof."

One of the workmen on the house was paid $424.50 for three and one-half years' work. Another laborer was given $152.18 for sixteen months and twenty-seven days, or ninepence per day. The cost of the house, complete, was L1,550.

The country place was a joy, both indoors and out. The garden was especially attractive to Hamilton. In a letter written from The Grange to a friend in South Carolina, he said:

"A garden, you know, is a very usual refuge of a disappointed
politician. The melons in your country are very fine. Will
you have the goodness to send me some seed, both of the water
and musk melons?"

Guests were numerous. Gouverneur Morris and General Schuyler were often at The Grange. Chancellor Kent, after a visit paid in April, 1804, wrote to his wife:

"I went with General Hamilton on Saturday, the 21st, and
stayed till Sunday evening. There was a furious and dreadful
storm on Saturday night. It blew almost a hurricane. His
house stands high, and was much exposed, and I am certain
that in the second story, where I slept, it rocked like a
cradle. He never appeared before so friendly and amiable. I
was alone, and he treated me with a minute attention that I
did not suppose he knew how to bestow. His manners were also
very delicate and chaste. His daughter, who is nineteen years
old, has a very uncommon simplicity and modesty of
deportment, and he appeared in his domestic state the plain,
modest, and affectionate father and husband."

The ideal life at The Grange continued only until July 13, 1804. That morning Hamilton set out as if for the office in the city as usual, without informing Mrs. Hamilton of the impending duel with Aaron Burr. At noon the wife was at the side of her husband, who died next day.

After his death there were put in her hands two letters. In these he told of his purpose to permit his antagonist to shoot him:

"The scruples of a Christian have determined me to expose my
own life to any extent rather than subject myself to the
guilt of taking the life of another. This much increases my
hazards, and redoubles my pangs for you....

"If it had been possible for me to have avoided the
interview, my love for you and my precious children would
have been alone a decisive motive. But it was not possible,
without sacrifices which would have rendered me unworthy of
your esteem."

Mrs. Hamilton remained at The Grange as long as possible, directing the men in the care of the estate and caring for her children. But she could not afford to keep a carriage, and the inaccessibleness of the estate and the drain it made on her limited purse soon made it necessary for her to rent a house in the city.

Though friends proposed the raising of a fund that would care for Mrs. Hamilton and the children, it does not seem that there was any relief until 1816, when Congress gave to Mrs. Hamilton back pay amounting to ten thousand dollars.

After The Grange was sold to pay debts, its career was checkered. Some years ago it was moved to the east side of Convent Avenue, and it then became the schoolhouse of St. Luke's Episcopal Church.

XXII

THE VAN CORTLANDT HOUSE, NEW YORK CITY

AT THE EDGE OF THE MANHATTAN "NEUTRAL GROUND"

In 1699 Jacobus Van Cortlandt bought the first fifty acres of the ground now included in Van Cortlandt Park, New York City, and for one hundred and ninety years the property remained in the Van Cortlandt family. Until fifty-three years before the first of the Van Cortlandts acquired it, the Indians were the undisputed possessors of the plot.

Adriaen Van der Donck, the first settler to acquire title, lived until his death in the _bouwerie_ or farmhouse, which he built on the shore of a brook. When Jacobus Van Cortlandt built his _bouwerie_ by the side of the same brook, he dammed the water to make a mill-pond, which is to-day the beautiful Van Cortlandt lake. There he built a grist mill which remained in use until 1889. Early visitors to the lake delighted to study the ancient structure to which, during the Revolution, both British and patriot soldiers resorted with their grain. The mill was struck by lightning and destroyed in 1901.

The third house on the estate was built in 1748 by Frederick the son of Jacobus, who acquired by the will of his father the "farm, situate, lying, and being in a place commonly called and known by the name of Little or Lower Yonkers." This house, which was modelled after the Philipse Manor House at Yonkers, is still in a fine state of preservation. Since 1897, it has been used as a public museum, in charge of the Colonial Dames of the State of New York.

The room fitted up as a museum was occupied by General Washington on the occasion of his visit to the house in 1783. This room is also pointed out as the scene of the death of Captain Rowe of the Hessian jaegers, who was severely wounded near the house. When he realised that he could not recover, he sent in haste for the young woman who had promised to marry him, and he died in her arms.

Other famous visitors were Rochambeau, Admiral Digby, and William Henry, Duke of Clarence, who became King William IV of England. Admiral Digby, after his departure, sent to Augustus Van Cortlandt, the owner of the house, two wooden vultures, which he had captured from a Spanish privateer. These vultures are now in the museum.

The old house was the centre of important military operations during the Revolution. Washington fortified eight strategic spots in the vicinity of Kingsbridge, and when he withdrew before the British occupied the fortification, a number of Hessian jaegers were quartered in the Van Cortlandt House. To the north of the house was the neutral ground for which the two armies continually struggled for possession. In 1781, when Washington was about to withdraw his army to Yorktown, he directed that camp-fires be lit on Vault Hill, the site of the Van Cortlandt family vault. By this stratagem he succeeded for a time in deceiving the enemy as to his movements.

Since the building of the Broadway subway Van Cortlandt Park has been so easy of access that the number of visitors to the historic spot has rapidly increased.

XXIII

THE HASBROUCK HOUSE, NEWBURGH, NEW YORK

WHERE THE CLOSING DRAMA OF THE REVOLUTION WAS STAGED

During the entire period of the Revolution the country about Newburgh was an important centre of military operations. West Point was fortified in 1776, that the British might not be able to carry out their design of separating New England from the middle colonies. Many officers had their headquarters within a few miles of these fortifications. Lafayette was at the Williams House, three miles north of Newburgh, while Generals Green, Gates, and Knox were at Vail's Gate, four miles south of the town. General George Clinton was at Little Britain, and General Anthony Wayne was in Newburgh.

Washington's first stay in the vicinity was at Vail's Gate, New Windsor, in the winter of 1779-80. His longest sojourn, however, was in the house which Jonathan Hasbrouck built in 1750 and enlarged in 1770. The best description of this substantial one-story stone house at the time of Washington's residence there is contained in the "Memoirs" of Marquis de Chastellux, who was the guest of the Commander-in-chief on December 6, 1872:

"The largest room in it, (which was the proprietor's parlor
for his family, and which General Washington has converted
into his dining-room) is in truth tolerably spacious, but it
has seven doors and only one window. The chimney, or rather
the chimney back, is against the wall; so that there is in
fact but one vent for the smoke, and the fire is in the room
itself. I found the company assembled in a small room, which
served by way of parlor. At nine supper was served, and when
the hour of bed-time came, I found that the chamber, to which
the General conducted me, was the very parlor I speak of,
wherein he had made them place a camp bed...."

The records of the months when Washington was an occupant of the old Dutch house are among the most interesting of the war. For instance, on May 10, 1782, there came tidings of the arrival in New York of Sir Guy Carleton, the new British commander, who wrote that he desired to tell of the king's idea of a possible peace, and of the attitude of the House of Commons. He closed his letter by saying, "If war must prevail, I shall endeavor to render its miseries as light to the people of this continent as the circumstances of such a condition will possibly permit."

Two days earlier Washington wrote a letter to Meschech Weare in which he seems to have anticipated and discredited Carleton's word of appeal:

"They are meant to amuse this country with a false idea of
peace, to draw us off from our connection with France, and to
lull us into a state of security and inactivity, which having
taken place, the ministry will be left to prosecute the war
in other parts of the world with greater vigor and effect."

In less than two weeks a tempter of an entirely different sort approached Washington. Lewis Nicola, colonel of the corps of invalids, wrote to tell of the fact that the officers and soldiers were discontented because they had not received their pay. Then he intimated that he had no hope of the success of republican institutions, but thought this country needed a ruler like a king, though he might not be called king, owing to the objection to that word. Yet he added, "I believe strong arguments might be produced for admitting the title of KING, which I conceive would be attended with some material advantages."

To this letter Washington sent prompt reply, on May 22, 1782:

"SIR: With a mixture of great surprise and astonishment, I
have read with attention the sentiments you have submitted
to my perusal. Be assured, Sir, no occurrence in the course
of the war has given me more painful sensations, than your
information of there being such ideas existing in the army,
as you have expressed, and I must view with abhorrence and
reprehend with severity. For the present the Communication of
this will rest in my own bosom, unless some further agitation
of the matter shall make a disclosure necessary.

"I am much at a loss to conceive what part of my conduct
could have given encouragement to an address, which to me
seems big with the greatest mischiefs that can befall my
country. If I am not deceived in the knowledge of myself, you
could not have found a person to whom your schemes are more
disagreeable. At the same time, in justice to my own
feelings, I must add that no man possesses a more sincere
wish to see ample justice done to the Army than I do, and so
far as my power and influence, in a constitutional way,
extend, they shall be employed to the utmost of my abilities
to effect it, should there be any occasion. Let me conjure
you then, if you have any regard for your country, concern
for yourself or respect for me, to banish these thoughts from
your mind, and never communicate, as from yourself or any one
else, a sentiment of the like nature.

"With esteem I am, sir, Your most obedient servant,

"GEORGE WASHINGTON."

That Washington desired to be a simple resident on his own estate at Mount Vernon instead of king of the new country, was emphasized by a letter written on June 15 to Archibald Cary:

"I can truly say, that the first wish of my soul is to return
speedily into the bosom of that country which gave me birth,
and, in the sweet enjoyment of domestic happiness and the
company of a few friends, to end my days in quiet, when I
shall be called from this stage."

There was joy in the village on the banks of the Hudson when, late in 1782, a letter came from Sir Guy Carleton announcing that negotiations for a general peace had already begun in Paris, and that the king had decided to propose the independence of the thirteen Provinces "in the first instance, instead of granting it as a condition of a general treaty."

In the long interval before the receipt of decisive word concerning peace, the sagacity of Washington was once more tested severely. There was still disaffection among the officers and the men because they had not been paid, and because Congress seemed to pay no attention to their protests. Washington learned that a call had been issued for a meeting of officers to be held in New Windsor to consider taking matters into their own hands and forcing Congress to act.

Washington did not hesitate. He asked the officers to meet him in the very building in which they had planned to make their plans for revolt. Then he appealed to their patriotism, urging them not to put a stain on their noble service by hasty action. When he had gone, the officers acted in a way that justified the General's confidence. Unanimously they promised all that had been asked of them, and voted to thank Washington for his method of dealing with them.

On March 19, 1783, four days after this action, Washington acknowledged to Congress receipt of word that the preliminary articles of peace had been signed on November 30, and on April 18 he ordered the cessation of hostilities, in accordance with the proclamation of Congress.

The Hasbrouck house was sold by the family to New York State in 1849. For twenty-four years, by act of Assembly, the historic quarters were cared for by the trustees of the village, and later by the city authorities. In May, 1874, trustees appointed by the legislature took over the property and have held it ever since, for the benefit of the people.

THREE: ACROSS THE JERSEYS WITH THE PATRIOTS

_See the ancient manse
Meet its fate at last!
Time, in his advance,
Age nor honor knows;
Axe and broadaxe fall,
Lopping off the Past:
Hit with bar and maul,
Down the old house goes!_

_Sevenscore years it stood;
Yes, they built it well,
Though they built of wood,
When that house arose.
For its cross-beams square
Oak and walnut fell;
Little worse for wear,
Down the old house goes!_

_On these oaken floors
High-shoed ladies trod;
Through those panelled doors
Trailed their furbelows;
Long their day has ceased;
Now, beneath the sod,
With the worms they feast,--
Down the old house goes!_

_Many a bride has stood
In yon spacious room;
Here her hand was wooed
Underneath the rose;
O'er that sill the dead
Reached the family tomb;
All that were have fled,--
Down the old house goes!_

_Once, in yonder hall,
Washington, they say,
Led the New Year's ball,
Stateliest of beaux;
O that minuet,
Maids and matrons gay!
Are there such sights yet?
Down the old house goes!_

_Doorway high the box
In the grass-plot spreads;
It has borne its locks
Through a thousand snows;
In an evil day,
From those garden beds
Now 'tis hacked away,--
Down the old house goes!_

EDMUND CLARENCE STEDMAN.

THREE: ACROSS THE JERSEYS WITH THE PATRIOTS

XXIV

THE FRANKLIN PALACE, PERTH AMBOY, NEW JERSEY

THE HOME OF THE SON OF WHOM BENJAMIN FRANKLIN VAINLY TRIED TO MAKE A PATRIOT

There was a time when Benjamin Franklin was proud of his son William, and was glad to have his name coupled with that of the young man.

The first year of the father's service in the Pennsylvania Assembly William was appointed clerk of that body; this fact is mentioned with pride in the Autobiography.

When General Braddock was sent from England to America to oppose the union of the Colonies for defence, "lest they should thereby grow too military and feel their own strength," Franklin was sent by the Assembly to Fredericktown, Maryland, to confer with the General. "My son accompanied me on the journey," the Autobiography says.

At Braddock's request Franklin advertised at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for one hundred and fifty wagons for the proposed expedition into the interior, and at the close of the advertisement was the note, "My son, William Franklin, is empowered to enter into like contracts with any person in Cumberland County."

Later, when the father was asked to secure financial assistance for certain subalterns in Braddock's company, he wrote to the Assembly, recommending that a present of necessaries and refreshments be sent to those officers. "My son, who had some experience of camp life and of its wants, drew up a list for me which I enclos'd in my letter," the father wrote.

When, during the French and Indian War, the Governor of Pennsylvania asked Franklin to take charge of "our Northwestern frontier which was infested by the enemy, and provide for the defence of the inhabitants by raising troops and building a line of forts," he went to the front with five hundred and sixty men. In the Autobiography he wrote, "My son, who had in the preceding war, been an officer in the army rais'd against Canada, was my aid-de-camp, and of great use to me."

And in 1771, when beginning his Autobiography, Franklin addressed it "Dear Son," and spoke of the trip the two had taken together to England, to make "enquiries among the remains of my relations." Then he added:

"Imagining it may be equally agreeable to you to know the
circumstances of my life, many of which you are yet
unacquainted with, and expecting the enjoyment of a week's
uninterrupted leisure in my present country retirement, I sit
down to write them for you."

Six years before the beginning of the Autobiography, Franklin, in company with six other Philadelphians, entered on a land speculation in Nova Scotia. Together they bought two hundred thousand acres of land. There they intended to found a colony. Two shiploads of emigrants were taken to Monkton, the site of the proposed colony, but most of the men settled on other land, finding that this could be had practically for nothing. Franklin's will later provided that William be given an interest in the Nova Scotia property, and he explained the gift by saying that this was "the only part of his estate remaining under the sovereignty of the king of Great Britain."

What was the explanation of the father's changed attitude to his son that led him to make his bequest in such unpleasant terms?

After William Franklin's return from the frontier, he was appointed governor-in-chief of the Province of New Jersey. A mansion was built for him in Perth Amboy by the Lord Proprietor. Its construction required a somewhat extended time, for it was a grand place; no wonder it was called "The Palace." But in 1774 the Governor took possession.

Of course this was not the reason for the breach with his father. Again Benjamin Franklin was proud of his son, and of the lavish entertainments he made for his associates.

But the father began to shake his head when his son became a favorite of the Tories in Perth Amboy who had looked askance on his appointment, the year before. He was told that William would himself remain a loyalist when the break came with Great Britain, and he was compelled to believe that there was serious ground for the charge. He decided, however, to make a supreme effort to rouse the Governor to the call of patriotism. Accordingly, in 1775, he sought the Palace and pleaded with William to forsake his Tory associates, turn his back on the king who had turned his back on the Colonies, and become a steadfast defender of his country's rights.

What a subject that interview would make for an artist! Opposed to the luxury-loving governor, in the house furnished for his satisfaction by the Tories with whom he had chosen to ally himself, was the sturdy figure of the sage of Pennsylvania, who was ready to lay down his life in the defence of his country.

It must have been a stirring interview. But it was fruitless. Benjamin Franklin went back to Philadelphia a disappointed man. His feelings were expressed in the letter in which he said, "I am deserted by my only son."

Within a year Governor Franklin was practically a prisoner in the Palace, in consequence of the discovery that he was plotting against the Colonies. When he persisted in courses that troubled Congress, he was arrested and taken to Burlington. Mrs. Franklin fled to New York, and the Palace was at the mercy of the British. On several occasions the house was used as headquarters by British generals, and soldiers made their encampment on the grounds.

Though the interior of the Palace was destroyed by fire soon after the war, the house was restored, and it still looks much as it did when Franklin, the patriot, stood within its walls. For years it was used as a hotel, and later as a private residence. In 1883 it was made a Home for aged ministers of the Presbyterian Church. To-day it is again used as a hotel.

XXV

THE CHURCH AT CALDWELL, NEW JERSEY

WITH GLIMPSES OF THE FIGHTING CHAPLAIN CALDWELL

The trying days of the Revolution would not seem to be a favorable time for the beginning of a church, especially in the section of New Jersey which was so often overrun by the soldiers of both armies. Yet it was at this critical time that many of the people of Horseneck (now Caldwell), New Jersey, near Montclair, were looking forward to the organization of a church and the building of a house of worship. Timbers were in fact drawn and framed for church purposes, but the war interfered with the completion of the project.

The donation, in 1779, of ninety acres of wild land in the centre of the settlement gave the prospective congregation new heart. On this land a parsonage was begun in 1782. The upper portion of this house, unplastered and unceiled, was used for church purposes until 1796.

The final organization of the church dates from December 3, 1784, when forty persons signed their names to the following curious agreement:

"We Whose Names are Under writen Living at the Place called
Horse Neck, Being this Day to be Formed or Embodied as a
Church of _Jesus Christ_, Do Solemnly Declare that as we do
desire to be founded Only on the Rock Christ Jesus, So we
would not wish to Build on this foundation, Wood Hay and
Stubble, but Gold and Silver and Precious Stones; and as it
is our profested Sentiments that a Visible Church of Christ,
Consists of Visible Believers with their Children, so no
Adult Persons ought to be Admitted as members but such as
Credibly profess True Faith in Jesus Christ, Love, Obedience,
and Subjection to Him, Holding the Fundamental Doctrines of
the Gospel, and who will Solemnly Enter into Covenant to Walk
Worthy such an Holy Profession as we do this Day."

The last survivor of those who signed this document was General William Gould, who died February 12, 1847, in his ninetieth year. During the Revolution he saw much active service, especially at the battles of Springfield and Monmouth and the campaigns that preceded and followed these conflicts.

But the connection of the church with the Revolution came rather through Rev. James Caldwell, who was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth Town. During the early years of the struggling congregation he was their adviser and helper, and after his death the name of the church was changed to Caldwell, in his honor.

Mr. Caldwell--who had among his parishioners in Elizabeth Town William Livingston, the Governor of the State, Elias Boudinot, Commissary General of Prisons and President of Congress, Abraham Clark, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, as well as more than forty commissioned officers of the Continental Army--was one of the famous chaplains of the war, having been chosen in 1776 chaplain of the regiment largely made up of his own members. Later he was Assistant Commissary General.

The British called him the "Fighting Chaplain," and he was cordially hated because of his zeal for the cause of the patriots. His life was always in danger, and when he was able to spend a Sunday with his congregation he would preach with his cavalry pistols on the pulpit, while sentinels were stationed at the doors to give warning.

The enmity of the British led to the burning of the chaplain's church, and the murder, a few months later, of Mrs. Caldwell. While she was sitting in a rear room at the house at Connecticutt Farms, where she had been sent for safety, surrounded by her children, a soldier thrust his musket through the window and fired at her.

Mr. Caldwell survived the war, in spite of the efforts of the British to capture him, only to be murdered on November 24, 1781, by a Continental soldier who was thought to have been bribed by those whose enmity the chaplain had earned during the conflict.

The Elizabeth Town congregation succeeded in rebuilding their church five years after it was destroyed, but the delayed Caldwell church building was not ready for its occupants until 1795. The timbers for the church were hewed in the forest where the trees were felled and were drawn by oxen to the site selected. Forty men worked several days to raise the frame. Lime was made from sea shells, which were hauled from Bergen, and then burned in a kiln erected near the church lot.