Booth's History of New York

History of the city of New York. Booth, Mary L. (Mary Louise), 1831-1889, page 341:

Translator of "MARTIN'S HISTORY OF FRANCE, ETC.,0{es trate. VOL. III NEW YORK: W.R.C. CLARIK, 5 Beekman STREET. 1867.

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Entered according to Act of Congress,'a -the year 1867, BY W. r. C. CL ARK, In the Clerk's Office of the Dibtrict Caurt of the United States or the 8oathern District:of New York. BRADSTREET PRESS.

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CHAPTER XV. 1769-1773. Change in the Assembly-Lord North's Administration-Removal of Taxes-Resumption of Importations-Conflicts about the Liberty Pole-Battle of Golden Hill. IT was not long before Colden, through the instrumentality of De Lancey, won over the members of the new Assembly to the interest of the royalists. They complied without much reluctance with most of the requirements of the Mutiny Act, and projected another scheme which was viewed by the patriots with much distrust, as concealing some insidious snare for the liberties of the colonies. This was the emission of bills of credit to the:amount of one hundred and twenty thousand pounds, to be loaned to the people, the interest of which was to be applied to the support of the colonial government. A grant of a thousand pounds from the treasury, together with a thousand more of the bills about to be issued, was made for the maintenance of the troops, and a strong disposition was evinced in favor of the royalist party. This new scheme for raising money excited the dis 443

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444 HISTORY OF THE'ust of the people, and rumors were circulated that the ssembly had betrayed the country to the governor and che British ministry. On the 16th of December, an inflammatory handbill, signed by a Son of Liberty, appeared, addressed to the betrayed inhabitants of the city. This document, which was ably and earnestly written, warned the people against the subtle attack made on their liberties by the emission of the bills of credit, as a scheme devised to separate the colonies; and, denouncing the Assembly in no measured terms, closed with an invitation to the people to meet the next day in the fields and discuss the conduct of their representatives. The next day, a large assemblage gathered on the Commons. John Lamb was chosen chairman of the meeting. The proceedings of the Assembly were unanimously disapproved, and a committee was appointed, with Lamb at the head, to convey the sense of the meeting to the Legislature. The latter received the deputation with courtesy, but refused to make any change in their policy, declaring that the law- was satisfactory to the mass of the people. On the following day, another handbill appeared, over the signature of "Legion,"* written evidently by the same hand as

• We give this handbill verbatim.

" TO THE PUBLIC.-The spirit of the times renders it necessary for the inhabitants " of the city to convene, in order effectually to avert the destructive consequences of "the late BASE INGLORIOUS conduct of our General Assembly, who have in opposition "to the loud and general voice of their constituents, the dictates of sound policy, "the ties of gratitude, and the glorious struggle we have engaged in for our " invaluable birthrights, dared to vote supplies to the troops without the least shadow " of a pretext for their pernicious grant. The most eligible place will be in the Fields,

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 445 the first, and openly charging the Assembly with a betrayal of their trust. This second attack roused the ire of the body; they at once denounced the papers as libellous. and offered a reward of one hundred and fifty pounds for the discovery of' the writers, Philip Schuyler alone voting against it. Lamb was accused and brought before the bar of the House, where he boldly justified all that he had done, declaring that he had only exercised the right of every Englishman. His colleagues on the committee-Isaac Sears, Caspar Wistar, Alexander McDougall, Jacobus Van Zandt, Samuel Broome, Erasmus Williams and James Van Vaurk-seconded his defence, fearlessly avowing that they were implicated with Lamb, and equally ready to answer for their conduct, and the charge, which had been made at the instance of De Noyellis, was finally dismissed by the Assembly. But they did not relax their efforts to discover the authors of the so-called libels. The type afforded a clue to the printing-office of James Parker, who was at once arrested, confined in the fort, and threatened with the loss of his place as Secretary of the Post-office, unless he would reveal the name of the writer. The menace produced the desired effect; Parker denounced Alexander McDougall, who was at once arrested and imprisoned in the new jail, where a daily ovation was tendered him by his friends, who regarded him as a "' near Mr. De La Montaigne's, and the time-between 10 and 11 o'clock this mom. " ing, where we doubt not every friend to his country will attend. " LEGIOw" The original of this and the other handbills quoted here are preserved in the library of the Historical Society.

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446 HISTOR Y OF THE martyr to the cause of liberty. The ladies flocked in crowds to the cell of the imprisoned patriot, and so numerous were his visitors, that, in order to gain leisure for the defence of his cause, he was obliged to publish a card, fixing his hours for public reception. He remained in the jail from February to the April term of the court, when the grand jury found a bill against him, to which he pleaded "not guilty." A few days afterward, he was released on bail. The Sons of Liberty, meanwhile, continued their opposition to the Assembly, watching vigilantly over the maintenance of the Non-importation Act, which the merchants, on their part, had not ceased to observe. They also attempted to substitute the vote by ballot for the old mode of the open vote, but the plan, though warmly approved by the people, was rejected in the House by a large majority. In the spring of 1770, a change took place in the disposition of the British ministry. Lord North assumed the charge of affairs, and, under his direction, the tax was at once removed from all the articles enumerated in the bill of Townshend, with the exception of that on tea. This, indeed, was retained rather in proof of the right of Great Britain to tax the colonies, than for any considerable difference in the revenue. But the principle was equally dear to the American patriots; they were sworn to resist parliamentary taxation, and they resolved that they would not yield a single point which might be construed into a precedent for future oppression. In the meantime, the contest had been renewed about the Liberty-Pole, which, for three years, had remained Page 447

CITY OF NEW YORK. 447 unmolested. On the 13th of January, 1770, a party of soldiers belonging to the 16th regiment attacked it, and, cutting off the wooden supporters about it, made a fruitless attempt to blow it up with gunpowder. Failing in this, they next fell upon a knot of citizens who had gathered in front of Montagne's public-house in Broadway near Murray street-at that time the head-quarters of the Sons of Liberty-and forced them into the house at the point of the bayonet. The besieged vainly attempted to barricade the doors, but the soldiers broke in, sword in hand, and demolished the windows and furniture. In the midst of the destruction, some officers came up, and ordered the soldiers back to their barracks. On the two following nights, the attempts were repeated without success; but, on the night of the 16th, taking shelter in a ruined building near by, which had formerly been used for barracks, the soldiers accomplished their design, and, levelling the pole to the ground, sawed it into pieces, and derisively piled it up before Montagne's door. This insult aroused the Sons of Liberty. Handbills were circulated the next day through the city,* calling on the people to meet that night on the Commons to dis-cuss the outrage. Three thousand citizens assembled in answer to the call. The meeting was quiet but earnest. Resolutions were passed, declaring unemployed soldiers

• Taking warning by the defection of Parker, to escape detection, the Liberty

Boys went at night to Holt's printing-office in Broad street near the Exchange, where they set up the type and printed the handbills themselves, then circulated them by their emissaries the next day through the city.

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448 HISTORY OF THE to be dangerous to the peace of the city, while their employment by the citizens when off duty was detrimental to the interests of the laboring classes and should therefore be discontinued. They further resolved that all soldiers under the rank of orderly, with the exception of sentinels, who should appear armed in the streets, together with all, both armed and unarmed, who should be found out of their barracks after the roll-call, should be regarded as enemies of the city and dealt with accordingly. Committees were also appointed to demolish the ruined building which had sheltered the soldiers in their attack on the Liberty-Pole, and to ask permission of the Common Council to erect another in its stead. The next day, three soldiers were detected by Isaac Sears and Walter Quackenbos in the act of posting throughout the city, scurrilous placards, signed by the 16th Regiment of Foot, and abusive of the Sons of Liberty.* Incensed at this proceeding, Sears instantly

• 'God, and a Soldier, all Men most adore,

In Time of War, and not before; When the War is over, and all things righted, God is forgotten, and the Soldier slighted." " WHEREAS, un uncommon and riotous disturbance prevails throughout the city by " some of its inhabitants, who style themselves the S-s of L-y, but rather may " more properly be called real enemies to society; and whereas, the army now quar. " tered in New York, are represented in a heinous light, to their officers and others, " for having propagated a disturbance in this city, by attempting to destroy their Lib"erty-Pole, in the fields; which, being now completed, without the assistance of the "army, we have reason to laugh at them, and beg the public only to observe how "chagrined these pretended S- of L- look as they pass through the streets; "especially as these great heroes thought their freedom depended on a piece of wood, "and who may well be compared to Esau, who sold his birth-right for a mess of pot" tage. And although those shining S- of L-. have boasted of their freedom,

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 449 grasped one by the collar, while Quackenbos laid hold of the other. The third of the party rushed upon Sears with his bayonet and endeavored to free his comrade from his grasp, but the latter, seizing a friendly ram's " surely they have no right to throw an aspersion upon the army, since it is out of the " power of military discipline to deprive them of their freedom. However, notwith"standing, we are proud to see these elevated geniuses reduced to the low degree of "having their place of general rendezvous made a (Gallows Green) vulgar phrase for "a common place of execution for murderers, robbers, traitors and r-s, to the lat" ter of which we may compare those famous L — B-s (Liberty Boys) who have "nothing to boast of but the flippancy of tongue, although in defiance of the laws "and good government of our most gracious sovereign, they openly and r y "(riotously) assembled in multitudes, to stir up the minds of his majesty's good sub"jects to sedition; they have in their late seditious libel, signed BRUTUS, expressed "the most villainous falsehoods against the soldiers. But as ungrateful as they ale " counted, it is well known, since their arrival in New York they have watched night " and day for the safety and protection of the city and its inhabitants; who have suf"fered the rays of the scorching sun in summer, and the severe colds of freezing " snowy nights in winter, which must be the case and fifty times worse had there been "a war, which we sincerely pray for, in hopes those S-s of L- (Sons of Lib" erty) may feel the effects of it, with famine and destruction pouring on their heads. "'Tis well known to the officers of the 16th Regiment, as well as by several others, "that the soldiers of the sixteenth always gained the esteem and good will of the " inhabitants, in whatever quarter they lay, and were never counted neither insolent " or ungrateful, except in this city. And likewise the Royal Regiment of Artillery, " who always behaved with gratitude and respect to every one. But the means of "making your famous city, which you so much boast of, an impoverished one, is "your acting in violation to the laws of the British government; but take heed, lest "you repent too late-for if you boast so mightily of your famous exploits, as you "have heretofore done (witness the late Stamp Act) we may allow you to be all' ALEXANDERS, and lie under your feet, to be trodden upon with contempt and dis"dain; but before we so tamely submit, be assured we will stand in defence of the' rights and privileges due to a soldier, and no farther; but we hope, while we have "officers of conduct to act for us, they will do so, as we shall leave it to their discre" tion to act impartially for us, in hopes they, and every honest heart, will support': the soldiers' wives and children, and not whores and bastards, as has been so mali" c'ously, falsely and audaciously inserted in their impertinent libel, addressed to the "public; for which, may the shame they mean to brand our names with, stick on " theirs. " (Signed by the 16th Regiment of Foot.)" 29

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450 HISTO RY OF THE horn which happened to lie near by, hurled it with force into the face of his assailant, who reeled back from the shock, and left the Sons of Liberty to make their way with the captives to the office of the mayor. A reinforcement of twenty soldiers now came up with drawn swords and bayonets to the rescue of their comrades. The unarmed citizens, who had flocked in numbers to the spot, wrenched the stakes from the carts and sleighs that stood about, and, surrounding their prisoners, prepared to guard them at all hazards. Mayor Hicks now interfered, and ordered the soldiers to their barracks. Yielding a partial obedience, they retired as far as Golden Hill, in John street between William and Cliff streets, closely pursued by the citizens, where they were joined by a fresh reinforcement, headed by a presumed officer in disguise, who gave the command to halt and charge upon the populace. The few of the people who had been able to secure weapons ranged themselves in front of their defenceless friends, and a sanguinary contest ensued, in which numbers were injured on either side. Francis Field, a peaceable Quaker, who was standing in his doorway watching the affray, received a severe wound in his cheek. Three other citizens were wounded, one of them being thrust through with a bayonet. At some distance from them, a sailor was cut down. A boy was wounded in the head, and fled to a neighboring house for shelter. A woman kindly opened the door for him, when a brutal soldier made a thrust at her with a bayonet, fortunately missing his aim. One of the citizens who had been foremost in securing the prisoners at the mayor's office was attacked by two sol

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diers at once, but he defended himself vigorously with a cane, his only weapon, and forced his assailants back to the hill. Another citizen who was standing in the door of his house was attacked by a party of soldiers who attempted to enter-but, being armed, he succeeded in beating off the intruders.* During the whole of the affray, the citizens had continued to surround the hill, and thus to keep their enemies in a state of blockade. Many of the soldiers were severely wounded, and many more disarmed; yet this was done chiefly in self-defence; the people standing on the defensive, and contenting themselves with merely repelling the attacks, when they might easily, if disposed, have massacred the aggressors. At this juncture, a fresh party from the barracks came up, and called to their comrades to charge on the citizens, while they would support them by an attack on the rear, but just as they were preparing for the assault, a party of officers appeared, and ordered them to their barracks. The people at once opened their ranks and raised the siege, thus ending the first day of the contest in a drawn battle. The next morning-the 19th-the soldiers recommenced the conflict by thrusting a bayonet through the cloak and dress of a woman who was returning from market. This dastardly act awakened the indignation of the citizens, and knots of people gathered ominously

• Michael Smith, the last survivor of the Battle of Golden Hill, as well as of the New York Liberty Boys, died in 1847, at the advanced age of ninety-four years. A musket which he took from a soldier in the fray, and which did active service in his hands through the whole of the Revolution, is still preserved as a relic in his family

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452 HISTORY OF THE about the corners of the streets to discuss the outrage together with the affray of the day before. About noon, a group of sailors, who were invariably found on the popular side, came in collision with a party of soldiers from the barracks. A violent altercation ensued, from words they came to blows, and, in the conflict, an old sailor was run through the body. In the midst of the strife, the mayor appeared on the ground, and ordered the military to disperse, but the infuriated soldiers refused to obey. He then dispatched a messenger to the barracks to summon the officers, but the troops intercepted him, and, barring the way with their drawn bayonets, refused to suffer him to proceed. At this juncture, a party of Liberty Boys, who had been playing ball on the corner of Broadway and John street, came to the rescue and soon dispersed the soldiers, and hostilities ceased for a few hours. In the afternoon, the battle commenced anew. Seeing a group of citizens assembled on the Commons in front of the New Jail, a party of soldiers approached them in a body and insultingly endeavored to force their way through, when the citizens quietly opened their ranks, and gave them free passage. Determined at all hazards to provoke an affray, they next assaulted the people, and endeavored to disarm them of their canes. This insolence awakened the ire of the citizens, who turned at once upon their assailants. A party of Liberty Boys in the neighborhood, on hearingof the fray, hastened to the spot, and a sharp conflict ensued, in which the discomnfited soldiers were driven to the barracks. Several oi the soldiers were disarmed by the citizens, one was

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 453 badly wounded in the shoulder, and another who had distinguished himself in the conflict of the day before, was arrested and committed to prison for trial. Thus ended the battle of Golden Hill-a conflict of two days' duration —,which, originating as it did in the defence of a principle, was an affair of which New Yorkers have just reason to be proud, and which is worthy of far more prominence than has usually been given it by standard historians. It was not until nearly two months after that the "Boston Massacre" occurred, a contest which has been glorified and perpetuated in history; yet this was second both in date and in significance to the New York " Battle of Golden Hill." * On the day after the defeat of the British troops, the mayor issued orders that no soldiers should appear outside the barracks when off duty unless accompanied by a non-commissioned officer; and the Sons of Liberty, thus relieved from the annoyance of their presence,

• The following extract from a London journal, dated Thursday, March 15, 1770,

kindly furnished us by Henry B. Dawson, Esq., whose researches have done much to rescue the history of the New York Liberty Boys from oblivion, proves by the testimony of the British themselves that, in the streets of the city of New York, the first blood was shed-the first life sacrificed to the cause of Liberty in the American Revolution. " Extract of a letter from Newo York, dated January 22. "We are all in Confusion in this City; the Soldiers have cut and blowed up Liberty. "Pole, and have caused much Trouble between the Inhabitants: on Friday last "(,Tatuary 18, 1770) between Burling Slip and the Fly Malrket, was an Engagement'between the Inhabitants and the Soldiers, when much Blood was spilt: One "Sailor got run through the Body, who since Died: One man got his Skull cut in "the most cruel Manner. On Saturday (January 19, 1770) the Hall Bell rang for "an Alarm, when was another Battle between the Inhabitants and Soldiers; but "the Soldiers met with Rubbers, the Chiefest part being Sailors and Clubs to " revenge the Death of their Brother, which they did with Courage, and made " them all run to their Barracks. What will be the end of this God knows!"

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454 HISTORY OF THE turned their attention again to the erection of a LibertyPole. We have already mentioned the appointment of a committee to ask permission of the mayor and Common Council to erect a pole in the place of the one that had been cut down by the soldiers. This measure was opposed by John Lamb and some others, who declared that the corporation had no voice in the matter, but their objections were finally overruled by the majority. On the 30th of January, the committee presented a memorial to Mayor Hicks and the Common Council, stating that the token of gratitude to the king and his minister which had been erected by the patriotic citizens of New York had been repeatedly overthrown by the riotous soldiery, and craving permission to vindicate the rights of the people by setting up another monument to constitutional liberty in its stead.* The request was

• To THE SONS OF LIBERTY IN THIS CITY.

" GENTLEMEN: It's well known, that it has been the custom of all nations to erect "monuments to perpetuate the Remembrance of grand Events. Experience has " proved that they have had a good effect on the Posterity of those who raised "them, especially such as were made sacred to Liberty. Influenced by these Con" siderations, a number of the Friends to Liberty in this City erected a Pole in the "Fields, on Ground belonging to the Corporation, as a temporary memorial of the "unanimous Opposition to the detestable Stamp Act; which, having been destroyed "by some disaffected Persons, a Number of the Inhabitants determined to erect "another, made several applications to the Mayor, as the principal member of the "Corporation, for Leave to erect a new Pole in the place where the old one stood. "The Committee that waited on him the last Time, disposed to remove every'Objection, apprehensive that some of the Corporation might be opposed to the "erection of the Pole, from a supposition that those Citizens who were for its being "raised, were actuated solely by a Party spirit, offered, when the Pole was finished, "to make it a present to the Corporation, provided they would order it to be "erected either where the other stood, or near Mr. Van Bergh's, where the two "roads meet. But even this, astonishing as it may seem to Englishmen, was "rejected by the Majority of the Corporation and the other Requisitions denied.

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 455 refused. In the meantime, Lamb and his associates had purchased a piece of ground eleven feet wide by a hundred feet deep, near the site of the former pole, and, while the memorial was yet before the board, made preparations for the erection of a Liberty-Pole, independent of the corporation. Here, on the 6th of February, 1770, a mast of great length, cased two-thirds its height with iron hoops and bars, firmly riveted together, was sunk twelve feet deep into the ground, amid the shouts of the people and the sound of music. This pole was inscribed, "Liberty and Property," and was surmounted by a gilt vane, bearing a similar inscription in large letters. Thus was raised the fifth LibertyPole in the city, with a motto far less loyal than that which had so deeply offended the royal soldiery. Montagne's house had heretofore been the head-quarters of the Sons of Liberty, but, ere long, the proprietor suffered himself to be won over by the opposite party who engaged his rooms for the approaching celebration of the repeal of the Stamp Act. The Liberty Boys however, were not to be balked by this arrangement, determining to support an establishment of their own, they purchased a house on the site of Barnum's Museum, kept by Henry Bicker, which they christened Hampden "We question whether this Conduct can be paralleled by any Act of any Corpora"tion in the British Dominions, chosen by the Suffrage of Free People. "And now, Gentlemen, seeing we are debarred the privilege of Public Ground "to erect the Pole on, we have purchased a place for it near where the other "stood, which is full as public as any of the Corporation Ground. Your Attend. " ance and countenance are desired at nine o'clock on Tuesday morning, the 6th " instant, at Mr. Crommelin's Wharf, in order to carry it up to be raised. "BY ORDER OF THE COMMITTEE. " eew York, February 3, 1870."

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456 HISTORY OF THE Hall, and consecrated to the cause of liberty; and, on the 19th of March, they assembled for the first time at their new quarters in defiance of the recreant Montagne, and celebrated the anniversary of the colonial triumph. At this time, McDougall was in prison, and his brethren resolved to give him an ovation. The proceedings against him having been recorded on the forty-fifth page of the Journal of the Assembly, the number had grown into a cabalistic word among the fraternity. On the day in question, forty-five toasts were drunk, among which was one to Alexander McDougall, and, after dinner, the whole company proceeded to the jail to pay their respects to the imprisoned patriot. Here they saluted him with forty-five cheers, then, marching to the Liberty-Pole, they quietly disbanded. A similar compliment had been paid to McDougall on the forty-fifth day of the year, when forty-five of the Liberty Boys went in procession to the New Jail, where they dined with him on forty-five beef-steaks cut from a bullock forty-five months old, and, after drinking fortyfive toasts with a number of friends who joined them after dinner, separated, vowing eternal fidelity to the common cause. These demonstrations are trivial in themselves, but they serve to show something of the spirit which animated the New York patriots of the Revolution. On the 29th of March, a party of British soldiers, who had been ordered to embark in a few days for Pensacola, made another attack on the Liberty-Pole, a part of which they had vowed to carry with them as a trophy. Finding the lower part too strongly fortified,

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 457 they attempted to unship the topmast which supported the vane, but were discovered in the attempt by a few citizens who happened to pass by and who quickly gave the alarm. The soldiers hastily retreated to the barracks, while the Liberty Boys rallied to the defence of the pole. In the meantime, the soldiers. at first fifteen in number, had been reinforced by forty more, and returned, charging with drawn weapons upon the citizens, who retreated to Hampden Hall. The soldiers, closely pursuing them, surrounded the house and attempted to force the door. Bicker defended the entrance with fixed bayonet in hand, while the infuriated marauders swore that they would burn the house with all the rebels it contained, and take vengeance on the enemies of England and King George. A party of Liberty Boys who had escaped from the pole, hastened to St. George's Chapel in Beekman street, and rung out a general alarm. The citizens flew to arms, and the British officers, seeing that the affair was becoming serious, and warned by the result of the battle of Golden Hill, hastened to the spot and ordered their men to the barracks. A strong guard was set about the pole every night afterwards until the 3d of May, when the disappointed soldiers set sail for Pensacola without the coveted trophy. Henceforth, the.Liberty-Pole was left for some years to stand unmolested. On the anniversary of the repeal of 1775, William Cunningham, the notorious Provost Marshal of'76, who had been in the beginning of the struggle a professed Son of Liberty, approached the pole in company with John Hill, and made an assault on the patriots who were gathered about it. After a short struggle, they

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458 HISTORY OF THE were disarmed and committed to jail. Such is the popular version of the story. The royalist papers, on the other hand, assert that Cunningham and Hill were first attacked by the people, who endeavored to force them to abjure the king, and, on their refusal, wantonly maltreated them. Whatever may be the truth of the matter, certain it is that Cunningham wreaked a terrible vengeance on the helpless prisoners intrusted to his care in the following year, after the capture of the city by the British. The Liberty Pole at the same time was levelled by his orders-its fittest destiny when the liberty of the city had fled. Soon after the departure of the troops, a Boston merchant by the name of Nathan Rogers, who had been posted by his fellow-citizens for refusing to comply with the non-importation agreement, visited the city, and the Sons of Liberty, suspecting that his visit was designed to win over the New York merchants, resolved to give him a public reception. On the 10th of May, they assembled in procession, bearing his effigy suspended on a gallows, and, passing through the principal streets of the city, proceeded to his house, attended by four or five thousand spectators, in order to introduce him in person to the citizens. In this they were disappointed, as he had dined out of town. They then repaired with the effigy to the Commons, where it was burned amid the acclamations of the people. Terrified at this demonstration, Rogers immediately returned to Boston, while the vigilant Sons of Liberty, learning that he designed in a few days to visit Philadelphia, dispatched an account of their proceedings with a minute personal

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 459 description of the traitor to their brethren of that city, urging them to accord to him a similar welcome. Some time previous to this, a General Committee of One Hundred had been appointed to watch over the liberties of the city. This was composed in part of moderate men, who, without belonging to the royalist party, wavered between it and the enthusiastic Sons of Liberty-who were, in short, conservative. Now that the duty had been removed from all articles except tea, a portion of this committee began to talk of resuming the importations with this single exception. Rhode Island had openly broken through the non-importation agreement, and the other colonies, though they nominally protested against the infraction of the compact, were constantly violating it, and had continued to import nearly half as much as before.' New York alone had remained faithful to her pledge; for five years, her commerce had been almost totally suspended, and, weary of thus sustaining the brunt of the contest, the almost ruined merchants welcomed the idea, and, believing that they could now honorably retrieve their fortunes without the sacrifice of a principle, on the 9th of July, resolved to resume their importations of all goods with the exception of the duty-laden tea. In this resolution they felt themselves justified; they had been the first to propose the compact and to urge it upon the notice of the merchants of other cities; the pledge once given, they had preserved it inviolate, without compromise and without evasion; with ruined commercial interests, impoverished fortunes, and A suffering city, they had faithfully adhered'See page 442.

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460 HISTORY OF THE to their agreement, so long as the cause which had called it forth remained, and now that it was partially removed, they frankly and openly recalled their obligations, and were, in truth, the last to renounce the compact, as they had been the only ones to maintain it inviolate.; Yet this conduct failed to please the impetuous Sons of Liberty, who insisted on preserving the agreement until the duty on tea should also be repealed, and they, with all who belonged to their band, continued to maintain it intact until the end of the struggle. The eastern and southern colonies, though they had virtually renounced it long before by their infractions, at first protested bitterly against the open renunciation by the New York merchants, but many weeks had not passed before they followed the example, and formally resumed their importations with the single exception of the article of tea. On the 25th of October, Colden was superseded in the government by the arrival of Lord Dunmore. The new governor informed the Assembly of the king's approval of their emission of bills of credit, and reminded them that they were expected to continue in well-doing and not to forget to make due appropriations for the troops quartered among them. The complaisant body received the message graciously, and, as a first demonstration of loyalty, on the 20th of January, 1771, summoned Alexander McDougall, who was now at large on bail, to appear before them and answer to the indictment for libel which was pending over him. McDougall obeyed the summons, but refused to acknowledge the authorship of the paper. He was questioned the second time, and

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 461 ordered to return a definitive answer. " The House has " declared the paper a libel, and the law does not require " me to criminate myself," replied he in answer to the second interrogation. " The House has power to extort "an answer, and will punish you for contumacy if you "refuse to reply," exclaimed De Noyellis, at whose instance the charge had first been brought. " The " House has power to throw the prisoner over the bar or "out of the window, but the public will doubt the "justice of the proceedings," initerposed George Clinton, the future governor of New York and vice-president of the United States, who alone dared avow himself McDougall's defender. A written answer was finally submitted by the prisoner, but the House refused to receive it, alleging that its contents reflected on the dignity of their body. " The dignity of the House would "be better supported by justice than by overstrained " authority," exclaimed Clinton, indignantly. But the Assembly refused to listen to his remonstrances, and upon McDougall's refusal to ask pardon for the offence, committed him to jail without further ceremony. A writ of habeas corpus was immediately sued out, but the House refused to deliver him up, alleging the existence of precedents in the English courts of law, and he was detained as a prisoner until the last of February, when, through the efforts of his friends, he obtained his release. It was not long before the government was again changed by the transfer of Lord Dunmore to Virginia, and the appointment of William Tryon in his stead. The new governor arrived with his family, on the 8th of July.

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462 HISTORY OF THE 1771, and was well received by the people. Directly after his arrival, the Assembly voted him an income of two thousand pounds; but he refused its acceptance, saying that his salary was to be paid from his majesty's treasury, and that he had been forbidden to receive any gifts from the Assembly. A similar offer had previously been rejected by Lord Dunmore. This was a new scheme of the British government for securing the submission of the colonies; the treasury in question was intended to be supplied from the colonial taxes, the disbursement of which was thus retained in the hands of the ministry. Hardly had Tryon arrived in the province before Isaac Sears was called upon to pay the penalty of his previous daring. His prominence in the public censure of the Assembly had never been forgotten, and to punish him,.he was accused of having neglected his duty as inspector of pot and pearl ashes. George Clinton, Philip Schuyler and Nathaniel Woodhull warmly espoused his cause, and numerous affidavits were made before the House to prove his fidelity to his duty; but these failed to appease the irate Assembly; Sears was condemned to political decapitation, and Montagne, the tavern-keeper, appointed in his stead. Few outbreaks occurred within the next two years, yet the'spirit of opposition continued to grow more intense among the patriot citizens. Complete stagnation prevailed in the city, public improvements were totally neglected, and the people thought only of resistance to oppression. Commerce, indeed, was partially resumed, but the use of tea had become obsolete in the city, and

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 463 any citizen who would have dared to introduce it on his table, would have been branded at once as a traitor to his country. The only edifice of any consequence erected in the city from the building of the Brick Church in Beekman street in 1752 to the close of the Revolution, was the New York Hospital, the corner-stone of which was laid by Governor Tryon on the 2d of September, 1773. The site at this time was far out of town, and any one would have been considered visionary New York Hospital, in Broadway (between Duane and Anthony Streets)

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464 HISTORY OF THE indeed, who would have dared to suggest the possibility that the city might one day crowd upon its grounds. The scheme had been projected some years before; in 1770, several physicians notified Colden that sundry public-spirited individuals were collecting subscriptions for a public hospital, and in the following year, a royal charter was granted the institution. The necessary funds having been subscribed, the present square of five acres on Broadway was purchased in 1773, and buildings erected at a cost of about eighteen thousand dollars. Before their completion, the interior was burned out by an accidental fire, and the works thus retarded for a considerable time; they were finished, however, in time to be used as barracks by the English troops during their subsequent occupation of the city. After the evacuation in 1783, the hospital was restored to its original use, and was opened in 1791 for the reception of patients. Since that time, it has undergone various transformations, yet a part of the old edifice of 1773 still remains incorporated into the present institution. On the night of the 29th of December, a fire broke out in the governor's house in the fort, which had been rebuilt since its destruction in the days of the negro plot of 1741, and was now occupied by Governor Tryon, and so rapid was the progress of the conflagration, that the inmates barely escaped with their lives, while the houses in the vicinity were only saved by the snow which lay thickly upon the roofs. The governor and his wife fled through a side door, their daughter saved herself by leaping from a second-story window, but a young servant girl by the name of Elizabeth Garrett, perished

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 465 miserably in the flames. The house was burned to the ground, with all that it contained. Two days afterwards, the great seal of the province was raked out from the ashes uninjured. The governor removed with his family to the house on the corner of Wall and William streets, afterwards occupied by the Bank of New York, where the Legislature tendered him their condolences, and presented him with five thousand pounds by way of indemnification for his loss. It was not long before business recalled him to England, and he set sail from the city, leaving the government again in the hands of Cadwallader Colden. 30

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CHAPTER XVI, 1773-1776. The New York Tea Party —Commencement of Open Hostilities-Declaration of Independence in New York-Battle of Long Island-Battle of Harlem Plains-Capture of Fort Washington-The British in Possession of the City. AFFAIRS were now rapidly drawing to a crisis. Incensed by the steadfast refusal of the colonists to receive the tea, the ministry determined to force it upon them, and, despite the remonstrances of the East India Company, who offered to pay double the amount of the American impost, provided parliament would repeal the tax, passed a law, permitting the.Company to export their tea to the colonies free from the duties which they had hitherto paid in England, and only retaining the duty of threepence per pound which was paid in America. As this enabled the Americans to obtain their tea cheaper even than the English, it was thought that they would be entrapped by the insidious snare, and unguardedly yield assent to the principle of parliamentary taxation. As soon as it was known that this bill had passed and that large shipments of tea had been ordered for America, the Sons of Liberty again assembled to consult 466

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CITY OF NEW YOR'K. 467 together in this new emergency. Stamp Distributors and Tea Commissioners were declared by them to be alike obnoxious, and it was resolved that no tea should be landed in the city; while the Mohawks, another organization of the same stamp, pledged themselves to take care of the tea-ships on their arrival. The news of these demonstrations soon reached England, and so much alarmed some of the commissionmerchants that they refused to have anything to do with the shipments of tea to the colonies, so firmly persuaded were they of its certain destruction. A merchant named Kelly, who had resided in New York but was now in London, assured them that their apprehensions were groundless, and that the tea would be landed, saying that, in the days of the Stamp Act, affairs were in the hands of an imbecile old man, but that now a soldier was at the head of the government, who could easily reduce the rebels to' obedience. On hearing of this, the patriots called a meeting, and burnt Kelly in effigy on the 5th of November in front of the Coffee House on the corner of Water and Wall streets. Taking alarm at these expressions of the people, the three Tea Commissioners who had been appointed for New York resigned their commissions on the 10th of -November. The tea-ships had sailed from England on the 26th of October, but had been forced to put back by stress of weather. On the 25th of November, the Mohawks were notified to be in readiness for their arrival, and, two days after, the Sons of Liberty formally reorganized and passed the following resolutions, which are of sufficient importance to be transcribed entire:

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468 HISTORY OF THE "Resolved, That whoever shall aid or abet, or in any "manner assist in the introduction of tea from any "place whatsoever into this colony, while it is subject, "by a British Act of Parliament, to the payment of a. "duty for the purpose of raising a revenue in America, "shall be deemed an enemy to the liberties of "America. " Resolved, That whoever shall be aiding or assisting "in the landing or carting of such tea from any ship or "vessel, or shall hire any house, storehouse or cellar, or "any place whatsoever to deposit the tea, subject to "such duty, as aforesaid, shall be deemed an enemy, " to the liberties of America. "Resolved, That whoever shall sell or buy, or in any"manner contribute to the purchase of tea, subject to "duty, as aforesaid, or shall aid or abet in transporting "such tea by land or water from the city until the: "7th Geo. III. Chap. 46, commonly called the Revenue "Act, shall be totally and clearly repealed, shall be "deemed an enemy to the liberties of America. "Resolved, That whether the duties imposed by this " act be paid in Great Britain or in America, our liber"ties are equally affected. "Resolved, That whoever shall transgress any of these "resolutions, we will not deal with or employ, or; have " any connection with him." The spirit of these resolutions, coupled with the energetic preparations of the New York patriots, demonstrate clearly the reception which they held in store for the tea-ship on its arrival. But the expected vessel encountered a severe tempest on her way, and was

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CI T Y O F N E W YYOR K. 469 forced to put in at Antigua for repairs. Intelligence having been received that she might hourly be expected, on the 16th of December, the very day of the Boston tea-party, the Sons of Liberty assembled in the City Hall, and unanimously resolved that no tea should be landed under any pretext. In the midst of their deliberations, the mayor and recorder entered, bearing a message from the governor, in which he assured the people that the tea should be sent back in the ships that brought it, but must first be taken into the fort to await an order for its return from the council. The snare was a subtle one, and it nearly entrapped the assembly. But John Lamb detected the artifice, and, springing to his feet, he read the Act of Parliament, and pointed out therefrom that if the tea were landed, the duty must be paid. "Shall it be received?" asked he, in conclusion. "No! no! no!" was the unanimous reply, and the disappointed ambassadors withdrew to carry to the governor the tidings of their failure. The winter wore away without much event. The long expected tea-ship, delayed by contrary winds, failed to make her appearance, yet the patriotic citizens relaxed nothing of their vigilance, but, through their committees of correspondence, kept themselves notified of every suspicious movement on the part of their enemies. On the 7th of April, Tryon set sail for England, leaving the government in the hands of Colden. As yet there had been no rupture between him and the people, who were disposed to regard him with favor for his lax observance of his rigid instructions, and he quitted the province with their sincere regrets.

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470 EHISTORY OF THE On the 18th of April, 1774, the Nancy, Captain Lockyer, arrived off Sandy Hook, bringing the tea destined for the port of New York. Apprised of her coming, the Committee of Vigilance had instructed the pilots to detain her in the lower bay, as well as the London, commanded by Captain Chambers, which, they had been informed, was also on the way with a considerable quantity of the prohibited tea. Faithful to their orders, the pilots refused to bring the vessel up to the city; while a part of the committee proceeded on board, and, secur.ing the boats to prevent the desertion of the crew, took possession of the vessel until she should be ready to return to England. The captain entreated permission to go up to the city to consult with his consignee, and to obtain the necessary supplies for his return. This was granted him on condition that he should not approach the Custom House, and he was sent under strict surveillance to the wharf, where he was met by the committee and a large concourse of citizens. Seeing that all attempts at evasion would be in vain, he proceeded at once to his consignee, who refused peremptorily to receive the cargo, and advised him as his best course to return with it to England. This advice was seconded by the Vigilance Committee, who rendered every facility for preparing the vessel for sea, but refused to suffer a single sailor to come on shore, while they kept a watchful eye upon all the movements of the captain. The vessel being nearly ready for sea, it was determined to give the captain a public leave-taking, and numerous placards were posted through the city, inviting

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 471 the citizens to join in the demonstration.* On the day after these were issued-the 22d of April-the London with her recreant captain, a New Yorker, who had once received the public thanks of the city for refusing to bring tea on a previous voyage, appeared off Sandy Hook, where she was instantly boarded by two of the Vigilance Committee. The captain assured them that there was no tea on board his ship, and, as none was to be found on his manifest, he was finally permitted to come up to the city. The wharf was thronged with citizens, and was a scene of intense excitement. Hardly had the vessel touched the shore when she was visited by the whole committee, who demanded the delivery of the tea. Chambers repeated his denial. He was told in reply that they knew that the tea was there, and that they would search every package in the ship till they found it. Finding it impossible to escape the dreaded search, he at length confessed that there was really some tea on board, but insisted that it was only a private adventure, belonging to himself, and shipped without the knowledge of the East India Company. The Committee then withdrew to the Coffee House on the corner of Water and Wall streets to deliberate, taking the

• The placard in question ran as follows: " To the Public.-The sense of the city

"relative to the landing of the East India Company's tea, being signified to Captain "Lockyer by the Committee, nevertheless, it is the design of a number of the citizens "that at his departure hence, he shall see with his own eyes their detestation of the "measures pursued by the ministry and the India Company to enslave this country. "This will be declared by the convention of the people at his departure from this city, "which will be on next Saturday morning, at 9 o'clock; when, no doubt, every "friend to this country will attend. The bells will give notice about an hour before "he embarks from Murray's Wharf.'" New York, April 21, 1774. "By ORDER OF THE COMMITTEL"Z.

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472 HISTORY OF THE captain and the owners with them. The people meanwhile thronged the wharf, awaiting the result of their council. It was not long before a message was sent out declaring the tea to be confiscated, and directing the Mohawks to be ready to discharge their duty at the proper hour. But the impatience of the crowd could be restrained no longer; at eight in the evening, they boarded the vessel without waiting for the Mohawks, forced open the hatches,-hoisted eighteen chests of tea on deck, broke open the lids, and emptied the contents into the river.'The captain wisely kept at a distance to avoid the risk of following his adventure. Everything was conducted decorously and openly, a guard was stationed below to prevent all disorder, the citizens wore their usual attire, and no attempt was made at disguise or concealment. Two hours afterwards, the whole party had dispersed, and the wharf was empty and silent as the grave. The next day was the one appointed for the festival, for which they had now an additional hero. At nine in the morning, the people assembled in front of the Coffee House in Wall street where Lockyer was lodging. The whole city wore an air of festivity, the bells were ringing in merry chorus, the City Hall and King's College* alone refusing to contribute to the chime, the flag was hoisted on the Liberty Pole, and the ships in the harbor displayed

• Dr. Myles Cooper, the President of King's College, was a stanch loyalist, and

soon became obnoxious to the people by his support of the British government. Hearing soon after that the Liberty Boys intended to attack his cottage, he fled to Stuyvesant's house on the shores of the North River, whence he escaped to the Asia man-of-war then lying in the harbor. He afterwards went to England, where he remained during the war.

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CITY OF N E W YO R K. 473 their colors in triumph. The committee who had Captain Lockyer in charge brought him out on the balcony and introduced him to the people, by whom he was received with ironical cheers, the bands, meanwhile, playing " God save the King." The presentation over, his new acquaintances escorted him to the foot of Wall street where a pilot boat was in waiting, where they parted with him, wishing him a pleasant journey. As he entered the boat, a royal salute was fired from the cannon at the foot of the Liberty-Pole in honor of his departure. Captain Chambers, meanwhile, had been escorted to the ship with less ceremony by another committee, and the Nancy set sail with both worthies on board, still under the guard of the Vigilance Committee, who did not surrender possession of the vessel until she was three leagues from Sandy Hook. The British ministry, meanwhile, incensed at the colonial reception of the consignments of tea, had made the refractory provinces feel the weight of their vengeance. The tax was insisted on more strongly than ever, new provisions were made for quartering troops in America, Franklin was removed from his office of colonial post-master, and Boston was punished for her rebellion by a Port Bill, closing her harbor and removing her custom house to Salem. In this emergency, the Bostonians, on the 13th of May, resolved to renew the non-importation agreement, and dispatched a letter by Paul Revere to the Sons of Liberty in New York, urging their cooperation in the measure. This missive was crossed on the way by another from the Liberty Boys, bearing date the 14th, urging the Bostonians to

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174 HISTORY OF.THE energetic measures, and assuring them of the hearty support of their New York brethren. On the 16th of May, a meeting of the citizens was held at the Exchange to consult on future action. A new Committee of Fifty-one was nominated to correspond with the other colonies, and a general meeting of the people was called for the 19th to reject or confirm the nomination. At the latter meeting, the ticket was confirmed, and the request of the Bostonians referred to a sub-committee, consisting of Alexander McDougall, Isaac Low, James Duane and John Jay, to prepare and report an answer. The majority of this Committee,for the impetuous McDougall indignantly withdrew, demanding the adoption of more ultra measuresdeemed it inexpedient for the present to renew the compact, but recommended a General Congress of Deputies from all the colonies instead, and requested the Bostonians to fix the time and place of meeting. For this action, they were then and afterwards censured severely, yet the future career of the men who composed the committee in question is conclusive proof that they were actuated by no lack of patriotism, and that, though their resolves seemed for the moment to chime with the wishes of the royalist party, they only sought- to postpone the compact until it could be better matured by concerted deliberation. But the enthusiastic Sons of Liberty would listen to no temporizing, and summoned a meeting of the people in the fields on the 6th of July at six o'clock in the evening, to discuss the conduct of the Committee of Fifty-one. On the day appointed, an immense multitude gathered

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 475 4/7 Portaiit of Alexandetr Haimilton, from the Original Portrait iln the Possession of the Fsmily.,'xi~'.x -~- ~';/.~ i,... — -EVT (talk) 09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST)-` ~w' Z ~~-~V~ EVT (talk) xt09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST)09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST)09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST)09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST)~~\\\; L5 Farnit~.

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CITY- OF NEW YORK. 477 on the Commons-Alexander McDougall presiding over the assembly —known henceforth as the " great meeting " in the fields." Resolutions were passed, denouncing the Boston Port Bill and sustaining the action of the people of that city; a subscription was opened for the relief of the sufferers, and the non-importation agreement was again renewed. The Congress recommended by the Committee of Fifty-one was also approved by the meeting, and it was resolved that deputies should at once be appointed, and instructed to insist upon the enforcement of the non-intercourse agreement until every duty should be repealed. At this meeting, Alexander Hamilton, then a youth of seventeen, and a student in King's College made his maiden speech, and gave an earnest of his future brilliant career. On the following day, the Committee of Fifty-one met and disavowed the proceedings of the meeting. Upon this, eleven of the Sons of Liberty-Francis Lewis, Joseph Hallet, Alexander McDougall, Isaac Sears, Thomas Randall, Leonard Lispenard, Peter V. B. Livingston, Abram P. Lott, John Broome, Jacob Van Zandt and Abraham Brasher-withdrew- from the committee, and published an address to the people, in justification of their conduct. The plan. of the general Congress had now been decided upon, and polls were opened under the inspection of the mayor and aldermen for the election of delegates, at which all tax-payers were allowed to vote. The nominations had been made. by the Committee of Fifty-one, in conjunction with a Committee of Mechanics, and consisted of Philip Livingston, John Alsop, Isaac. Low, James Duane and John.

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478 HISTORY OF THE Jay. For the latter, the seceders endeavored to substitute McDougall; but the attempt was defeated, the whole ticket was elected, and the delegates soon afterwards set out to join the second Colonial Congress, which assembled at Philadelphia early in September. This Congress adopted a Declaration of Colonial Rights, the composition of which is attributed to John Jay, in which they claimed for themselves all the privileges enjoyed by British subjects, protested against standing armies and parliamentary taxation, and declared eleven acts which had been passed since the accession of George III., to be infringements upon their rights, and therefore unconstitutional. They likewise leagued themselves into an American Association, pledging themselves to import no goods from Great Britain or the West Indies until the obnoxious acts should be repealed, and forbidding traders to increase the price of their goods in consequence of this agreement. The slave trade was also denounced by the Association, and the citizens were urged to develop the internal resources of their country by the encouragement of home manufactures; and vigilance committees were appointed throughout the country to see that none of these regulations were evaded. The patriots in the New York Assembly endeavored to obtain the sanction of that body to the proceedings of the Colonial Congress, but were overruled by the majority of conservatives; yet, despite this dissent, the House addressed a remonstrance to Parliament so bold in its tone that the ministry refused its reception. The attempt to procure the indorsement of the resolves of Congress was subse

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CITY OF' NEW YORK. 479 quently renewed with the same result, and on the 3d of April, 1775, the Assembly adjourned, never to meet again. A Committee of Sixty was appointed in the city of New York to enforce the observance of the aforesaid regulations. An opportunity was soon offered them for action. On the 16th of February, the ship James of Glasgow arrived with a cargo of goods, which the consignees attempted to land, but were prevented by the committee, who ordered the vessel to put to sea, again immediately. This order was countermanded by the lieutenant of a man-of-war, then lying in the harbor, the captain of which happened to be on shore at the time. The latter was immediately seized by the conmmittee, and threatened with their vengeance if he did not at once retract the commands of his subordinate. Terrified by their menaces, he promptly obeyed, and ordered that the vessel should be suffered to returna command which was speedily executed under the supervision of the committee. The Assembly having refused to make any provision for the appointment of delegates to the next Colonial Congress, it was determined that they should be chosen by a Provincial Congress, composed of delegates from the respective counties. This Congress assembled on thle 20th of April in the city of New York, and appointed five delegates to the Continental Congress, which convened at Philadelphia in the ensuing month. In this Provincial Congress-the first in New Yorkthe city and county was represented by Isaac Sears, who had but recently escaped the imprisonment before suffered by McDougall.

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480- HISTORY OF THE. A short time previous to this, the seventy-four gun ship, Asia, had been ordered from Boston, and anchored off the Battery with her guns bearing on the town, while, at the same time, the troops stationed in New York and New Jersey ha,d been transferred to Boston, to make room for the reinforcements which were daily expected. More barracks became needed in that city in consequence of this arrangement, but the governor found it impossible to induce any Bostonian either to furnish the materials or to aid in the erection. In this extremity, he applied to New York; but the Sons of Liberty forbade the citizens to render any assistance under penalty of being considered as traitors to their country. Such traitors, however, were found, and the committee was soon apprised that a vessel had been fitted out with a cargo of boards and straw for the barracks at Boston. Upon the receipt of this intelligence, a meeting was at once summoned upon the Commons, John Lamb and Marinus Willett were chosen chairmen, and it was resolved to seize the ship and to prevent her voyage. At this meeting, Sears was the chief orator, urging the people to arm and to supply themselves with twenty-four rounds of ammunition — a recommendation which was at once adopted. For this bold proposition, Sears was arrested on a warrant and carried before the mayor. Like his predecessor, McDougall, he refused to give bail, and was committed to prison, but was rescued on his way by the people, whto bore him through the streets of the city in triumph, in ironical defiance of the legal authorities. On Sunday, the 24th of April, 1775, the news of the

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 481 battle of Lexington reached the city. This was the signal for open hostilities. Business was at once suspended; the Sons of Liberty assembled in large numbers, and, taking possession of the City Hall, distributed the arms that were stored in it, together with a quantity which had been deposited in the arsenal for safe keeping, among the citizens, a party of whom formed themselves into a voluntary corps under the command of Samuel Broome, and assumed the temporary government of the city. This done, they demanded and obtained the keys of the Custom House, closed the building, and laid an embargo upon the vessels in port destined foi the eastern colonies; then notified the members of the fraternity in the other cities of what they had done calling upon them to follow their example. It now became necessary to organize some provisional government for the city, and, for this purpose, on the 5th of May a meeting of the citizens was called at the Coffee-House, at which a Committee of One Hundred was chosen and invested with the charge of municipal affairs, the people pledging themselves to obey its orders until different arrangements should be made by the Continental Congress.* This committee was composed in 2 This committee was composed of Isaac Low, chairman, John Jay, Francis Lewis, John Alsop, Philip Livingston, James Duane, E. Duyckman, William Seton, William W. Ludlow, Cornelius Clopper, Abraham Brinkerhoff, Henry Remsen, Robert Ray, Evert Bancker, Joseph Totten, Abraham P. Lott, David Beeckman, Isaac Roosevelt, Gabriel H. Ludlow, William Walton, Daniel Phoenix, Frederick Jay, Samuel Broome, John De Lancey, Augustus Van Horne, Abraham Duryee. Samuel Verplanck, Rudolphus Ritzema, John Morton, Joseph Hallet, Robert Benson, Abraham Brasher, Leonard Lispenard, Nicholas Hoffman, P. V. B. Livingston, Thomas Marston, Lewis Pintard, John Imlay, Eleazar Miller, jun., John Broome, John B. Moore, Nicholas Bogert, John Anthony, Victor Bicker, William Goforth, 31

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482 HISTORY OF THE part of men inclined to the royalist cause, yet, such was the popular excitement at the time, that they were carried away by the current, and forced to acquiesce in the measures of their more zealous colleagues. An address to the Lord Mayor and citizens of London, justifying the course which the colonists had taken, and assuring them that the city was " as one man in the cause of " liberty," was drawn up and signed by most of the assembly. The committee at once assumed the command of the city, and, retaining the corps of Broome as their executive power, prohibited the sale of weapons to any persons suspected of being hostile to the patriotic party. They also ordered that all the cannon of the city not belonging to the colony should be carried away, and appointed a sub-committee to inquire into the supply of arms and ammunition then in the city. Everything wore a martial appearance, the stores and workshops were closed throughout the town, and armed citizens paraded the streets, as if the city were in a state of siege. The moderate men of the committee succeeded in prevailing on their colleagues to present a placable address to Lieutenant-Governor Colden, explanatory of their Hercules Mulligan, Alexander McDougall, John Reade, Joseph Ball, George Janeway, John White, Gabriel W. Ludlow, John Lasher, Theophilus Anthony, Thomas Smith, Richard Yates, Oliver Templeton, Jacobus Van Landby, Jeremiah Platt, Peter S. Curtenius, Thomas Randall, Lancaster Burling, Benjamin Kissam, Jacob Lefferts, Anthony Van Dam, Abraham Walton, Hamilton Young, Nicholas Roosevelt, Cornelius P. Low, Francis Basset, James Beeckman, Thomas Ivers, William Denning, John Berrien, Benjamin Helme, William W. Gilbert, Daniel Dunscomb, John Lamb, Richard Sharp, John Morin Scott, Jacob Van Voorhis, Comfort Sands, Edward Fleming, Peter Goelet, Gerret Ketteltas, Thomas Buchanan, James Des. brosses, Petrus Byvanck and Lott Embren.

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 483 appointment, and assuring him that they should use every effort to preserve the public peace; yet ominous precautions were taken to put the arms of the city in a serviceable condition, and to survey the neighboring grounds with a view to erecting fortifications. A rumor was now spread that a large body of troops were on their way to New York, and the people at once petitioned Lieutenant-Governor Colden to use his influence with General Gage, at this time the commandant at New York, to prohibit their landing. The Continental Congress, however, recommended that the troops should be permitted to land and take peaceable possession of the city, but, on no account, should be suffered to erect fortifications, and also, that the warlike stores should be removed from the town, and a safe retreat secured for the women and children in case of a siege. Some time previous to this, a quantity of military stores belonging to the royal troops had been deposited at Turtle Bay, near the foot of Forty-seventh street on the North River, which the Liberty Boys now determined to take into safe keeping. Headed by their daring leader, John Lamb, they obtained a vessel from Connecticut, sailed up to the storehouse under cover of the night surprised the guard, and carried off the booty, a part of which was dispatched to the army at Cambridge, while the rest was expended in the Northern campaign. X boat belonging to the Asia was soon after destroyed by the people, but this act was disapproved by the committee and the corporation, and the boat restored at the expense of the city; and, anxious to prevent all future excesses, as well as to secure the people from possible

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484 HISTORY OF THE retaliation, the Provisional Congress requested General Wooster, who was hovering in the suburbs, to take up his head-quarters in the city, with which request he complied early in June, and encamped with his troops at Harlem. In the meantime, the expected troops had arrived and encamped in the city, whence they were soon afterwards ordered to repair to Boston. The Sons of Liberty urged that the whole regiment should be made prisoners, but the committee, who were not yet prepared for such a step, gave them permission to depart, stipulating that they should take with them nothing but their arms and accoutrements; but, heedless of this order, they prepared to embark with all the spare arms in their possession. Intelligence of this proceeding was speedily conveyed to a knot of the Liberty Boys assembled at the tavern of Jasper Drake, in Water street near Beekman Slip, at that time a well-known rendezvous of the patriots, who at once determined to stop the embarkation, and hastily set out by different routes to rally their friends and take forcible possession of the weapons. Colonel Marinus WTillett, who was one of the number, hastened to the Coffee-House to give public notice of the course determined on by the party; then proceeded through Water street to the Exchange at the lower end of Broad street, where he discovered the troops coming down the street, with five carts loaded with chests of arms in front under a small guard. Without a moment's hesitation, he advanced to meet them, and, coming in contact with them at tile corner of Broad and Beaver streets, seized the horse that was drawing the foremost cart, and

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 485 brought the whole company to a full stop. The major at once rode forward to learn what was the matter, upon which Willett informed him that the committee had given the troops no permission to carry arms out of the city, and that he intended to stop the proceeding. While remonstrating with the officer, the mayor, who was strongly suspected of inclining to the side of the royalists, came up and ordered Willett to suffer the carts to pass, reprimanding him severely for thus disturbing the peace of the city, in which he was supported by Gouverneur Morris, who happened to arrive at the same time, and who supposed that permission for the removal of the arms had been granted the troops by the committee. Staggered by this opposition, Willett was on the point of yielding, when John Morin Scott came up, and, catching the last words of his remonstrance with Morris, exclaimed in a loud voice, "You are right, Willett; the committee " have not given them permission to carry off any spare " arms!" Hardly had the words been spoken when the intrepid colonel seized the horse's head, which he had let go in the strife, and, calling upon all of the soldiers who were unwilling to shed the blood of their countrymen, to come from the ranks to the side of the people, turned the cart to the right, and ordered the carman to drive up Beaver street. A single soldier stepped from the ranks in compliance with the- invitation. He was received with three hearty cheers by the crowd which had gathered about the scene of contention, then mounted on one of the carts and escorted in triumph to the corner of Broadway and John street, where the arms were deposited in the yard of Abraham Van Wyck, a stanch

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486 HISTORY OF THE Whig who kept a ball-alley at this place, which was a favorite resort of the Sons of Liberty. These arms were afterwards used by the first troops raised in New York by the order of Congress. The soldiers, meanwhile, were escorted to the wharf, where they embarked amid the hisses of the citizens.* Open hostilities had now commenced. Ticonderoga and Crown Point had been taken; the battle of Bunker Hill had been fought, and George Washington had been appointed commander-in-chief of the American army. Yet the people had not yet grown to the idea of independence, and the Committee of Safety, when accused of the thought, indignantly repelled it as treasonable and preposterous, while even the Sons of Liberty freely acknowledged the right of England to regulate trade, only denouncing the principle of parliamentary taxation. On the 25th of June, Washington entered New York on his way from Mount Vernon to Cambridge to take command of the army assembled there. The Provincial Congress received him with a cautious address. Despite their patriotism, they still clung to the shadow of loyalty; fearing to go too far, they acted constantly under protest that they desired nothing more than to secure to themselves the rights of true-born British subjects. The next morning, Washington quitted the city, escorted on his way by the provincial militia. Tryon had entered it the night before, and thus had been brought almost face to face with the rebel who was destined to work such a transformation in his majesty's colonies of

• See Willett's Narrative, pp. 28-32.

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 487 America. The mayor and corporation received the returning governor with expressions of joy, and even the patriot party were glad of the change which relieved them from the government of Colden. But the city had greatly changed during his absence. He had left it mutinous, yet anxious to obey him as far as was possible, and always disposed to treat him with respect; he found it in a state of open rebellion, preserving the semblance of loyalty without its substance, and far less disposed to yield obedience to his orders than to those of the Provincial Congress, now established among them. Meanwhile, the colony of New York had been ordered by the Continental Congress to contribute her quota of three thousand men to the general defence, and four regiments were accordingly raised, which were placed under the command of Colonels Alexander McDougall, Gozen Van Schaick, James Clinton, and Holmes. Of the first of these, which was raised from the city of New York, Adolph Ritzma, the son of the domine of the Dutch Church, was lieutenant-colonel; Frederic Wisenfelts, a Prussian of fine military talents, first captain, and Marinus Willett, second captain. A Swiss officer, by the name of Zedwitz, served as major of the regiment; both he and Ritzma afterwards proved traitors to their trust. John Lamb was appointed to the command of a company of artillery, and Wiley, Oswald, Sears and others of the Liberty Boys entered the ranks, and soon afterwards set out on the Northern campaign. The city now presented a curious spectacle, as the seat of two governments, each issuing its own edicts, and denouncing those of the other as illegal authority.

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488 HISTORY OF THE It was not long before the two powers came into collision. Regarding the guns on the Battery as dangerous to the patriot interest, and needing them for the fortifications of the posts in the Highlands, the Provincial Congress directed their removal; and, on the night of the 23d of August, Captain Lamb with a party of Liberty Boys and a number of citizens, among whom was Alexander Hamilton, proceeded to execute the order; a part of the company remaining under arms while the rest were employed in removing the cannon. While thus engaged, a musket was discharged from the barge of the Asia, which had been stationed near the shore to reconnoitre. The fire was returned by Lamb and his company, killing one of the crew, and wounding several others, upon which the barge at once made her way to the ship. No sooner had she reached it than a heavy cannonading was opened on the town, riddling the houses near the Battery, and severely wounding three of the citizens. The drum beat to arms; a rumor was spread that the British intended to destroy the city, and many of the people fled with their wives and children in apprehension of the impending catastrophe. The intrepid Liberty Boys, meanwhile, coolly continued their task in the face of the enemy's fire, nor did they quit the Battery until the last of the twenty-one pieces had been carried away in safety. The next day, Captain Vandeput, the commander of the Asia, dispatched a letter to the mayor, complaining of the murder of one of his men, and demanding immediate satisfaction. A correspondence of mutual recrimination, resulting in nothing, ensued, and on the 29th of August, the Provincial Congress issued

Page 489

CITY OF NEW YORK. 489 an order declaring that, as the Asia had seen fit to cannonade the city, she must henceforth cease to receive supplies from it, and must obtain them instead by the way of Governor's Island. Hitherto, the governor had remained firm at his post; but, finding his position daily growing more perilous, despite the pledges of the corporation for his personal safety, he determined to abandon the city, and took refuge on board the Asia; from which he kept up a constant communication with his friends on shore, and instigated violent attacks on the Sons of Liberty through Rivington's Gazette,* the organ of the royalist party. Finding this journal becoming somewhat too scurrilous in its abuse, the Liberty Boys, after vainly remonstrating with the printer, directed Captain Sears to attend to the matter. Mustering a party of light-horse from Connecticut, he entered the city at noon on the 4th of December, and, proceeding to the printing-office, forced open the doors, demolished the press, distributed the types through the windows, and effectually stopped the paper.

• This journal, which was first issued by James Rivington on the 22d of April,

1:773, on a large medium sheet, folio, from the beginning warmly supported the cause of the British government, and received the support of the royalists throughout the country. After the destruction of his office, Rivington went to England, where he procured a new press, and obtained the appointment of king's printer for Xew York. After the conquest of the city by the British, he returned, and, on the 4th of October, 1777, issued his paper anew, and continued it under the title of the Royal Gazette until the close of the war, when he discarded the royal arms from the title, which henceforth appeared as Rivington's New York Gazette and Universal Advertiser. The paper, however, was regarded with coldness; and, discouraged by the want of popular faith in his conversion, in 1783, he discontinued its publication, and devoted himself exclusively to the sale of books and stationery. He also published several volumes, among which were Cook's Voyages. He was regarded by his contemporaries as a man of considerable ability.

Page 490

490 HISTORY OF THE Early in the spring of 1776, General Lee,* who had commanded the American forces at New York since the departure of Wooster, was ordered to Charleston, and General Putnam was left in sole command of the city. Putnam fixed his head-quarters at No 1 Broadway, in a Washington's Head-quarters in Pearl street.

• Lee came to New York in January, 1776, with a force of twelve hundred men,

and took up his head-quarters at the Kennedy House, the same afterwards occupied by Putnam. Previously to the departure of Washington for Philadelphia, he lodged while in the city at No. 184 Pearl street; upon his return, he removed to the Kennedy House, the favorite resort of the officers of the army.

Page 491

CITY OF NEW YORK. 491 house built by Captain Kennedy of the British army. On the 14th of April, Washington arrived, having succeeded in expelling the British troops from Boston, and took up his quarters at Richmond Hill, on the corner of Varick and Charlton streets. The idea of independence was fast gaining ground, and those who would have shuddered at the thought a few months before, were now discussing the expediency of a total separation from the mother country. At this juncture, " Common Sense " was published in Philadelphia by Thomas Paine, and electrified the whole nation with the spirit of independence and liberty. This eloquent production severed the last link that bound the colonies to the mother-country; it boldly gave speech to the arguments which had long been trembling on the lips of many, but which none before had found courage to utter, and, accepting its conclusions, several of the colonies instructed their delegates in the Continental Congress to close their eyes to the ignis fatuus of loyalty, and fearlessly to throw off their allegiance to the crown. On the 7th of June, 1776, the subject was introduced into Congress by Richard Henry Lee, who offered a resolution declaring "that the "United Colonies are, and ought to be, free and inde"pendent States, that they are absolved from all alle"giance to the British crown, and that their political "connection with Great Britain is and ought to be "totally dissolved." A spirited debate followed these resolutions. The delegates of several of the colonies, New York among the rest, had received no instructions how to act in this emergency, and they drew back shrinkingly from the perilous step which would condemn them,

Page 492

492 HISTORY OF THE if unsuccessful, to a traitor's doom. Seven of the thirteen colonies voted in its favor. Armed with this small majority, Jefferson, John Adams, Franklin, Sherman and Robert R. Livingston were appointed to draft a Declaration of Independence; which, on the 4th of July, was adopted by Congress, and the British colonies transformed into the United States of America. On the 10th of July, the news reached New York, where it was received with the greatest enthusiasm. Orders were immediately issued for the several brigades then in the city to meet on the Commons at six in the evening to hear the document publicly read. At the hour appointed, the soldiers ranged themselves in a hollow square, within which was Washington on horseback with his aids, on the site of the present Park Fountain, to listen to the address which, for the first time, proclaimed the United States a free and independent nation. The reading ended, the immense auditory burst into shouts of applause. The people, impelled by the newborn spirit of independence, rushed in a body to the City Hall, and, tearing the picture of George III. from its frame, rent it in pieces and trampled it under foot. Proceeding thence to the Bowling Green, they hurled from its pedestal the statue of the royal tyrant which they had set up in a fit of ill-judged enthusiasm a few years before, and dragged it in triumph through the streets of the city. The statue of Pitt escaped desecration upon this occasion; yet the people had lost much of their reverence for their former idol, and the statue had already received considerable mutilation from their hands.

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 493 Everything now indicated that the city of New York had been chosen by the enemy as the next point ot attack. On the 25th of June, General Howe had arrived at Sandy Hook from Halifax, and had landed on the 21st of July at Staten Island, where he found many,partisans of the royal cause. Here he was joined a few days after by his brother, Admiral Lord Howe, from England, together with the forces of Clinton from the South, and thus placed in command of an army of twenty-four thousand of the best disciplined troops of England, besides the large reinforcements of Tories which flocked to his standard, and rendered him invaluable aid by their knowledge of the country. To oppose this formidable array, Washington had collected a force of twenty thousand raw militia-the best at his commandnearly one half of whom were invalids or detailed for other duty, while many more were destitute of arms and ammunition. The city, meanwhile, had been strongly fortified. On the southernmost point of the island was the Grand Battery, mounting twenty-three guns, with Fort George Battery, of two guns, immediately above it, in close proximity to the Bowling Green. The North River shore was defended by McDougall's Battery, of four guns, on a hill a little to the west of Trinity Church; the Grenadiers' or Circular Battery, of five guns, some distance above, in the neighborhood of the brewhouse; and the Jersey Battery, of five guns, to the left of the latter. On the East River shore were Coenties' Battery, of five guns, on Ten Eyck's wharf; Waterbury's Battery, of seven guns, at the shipyards; Badlam's Battery, of

Page 494

494 ISTO R Y OF TIHE eight guns, on Rutger's Hill, in the vicinity of the Jew's burial-ground in Chatham street; and not far from that, Thompson's Battery, of nine guns, at Hoorne's [ook, and the Independent Battery on Bayard's Mount, now christened Bunker Hill, on, the corner of Grand and Centre streets. Breastworks were, also erected at Peck, Beekman, Burling, Coenties and Old slips; * at the Coffee-House, and the Exchange; and in Broad and other streets of the city, and a line of circumvallation was stretched across the island from river to river. Fortifications were erected on Governor's Island, Paulus Hook, Brooklyn Heights, and Red Hook; a line of works wo- thrown up on Long Island from Fort Greene at the Wallabout to Gowanus Creek, within which nine thousand men were encamped and the passages to the city, both by the North and East Rivers, were obstructed by chains and sunken vessels. The latter fortifications were erected under the superintendence of General Greene, who was intrusted with the command of the American forces on Long Island. General Sullivan was deputed as the assistant of Greene;

• These slips were simply openings between two wharves, into which the woodboats entered at high water and grounded there, that the cartmen might enter at

low tide to unload them. There were at this time six slips on the East River shore-Whitehall Slip, so called from the large white house, built by Stuyvesant adjoining the slip; Coenties' (Coen and Antey's) so called from Conrad Ten Eyck and Jane, his wife, who lived in the house on Little Dock, now Pearl street. adjoining the slip; Old Slip, the first in the city; Burling Slip, which derived its name from Mr. Burling, a merchant on the corner of the Smit's Vly and Golder Hill; Beekman's Slip, so called from Mr. Beekman who resided on the southwest corner of Pearl street and the slip, and Peck Slip, which received its name from Mr. Peck, at that time the owner of the lands in its vicinity. The only slip on the North River was at the foot of Oswego, now Liberty street.

Page 495

CITY OF NEW Y ORK. 495 General Nathaniel Woodhull was directed to forage for the troops on Long Island, and Washington retained command of the forces in the city. Soon after the arrival of the British fleet at Staten Island, Admiral Howe, who came commissioned by the British government to treat for peace with the rebels, as they were contemptuously termed, attempted to open negotiations with the American forces, and, to this end, addressed a letter to " George Washington, Esq.," which Washington returned without reply. He then dispatched another, addressed to "George Washington, etc. etc.," which was also returned; upon which the general, resolved never to acknowledge the military rank of a traitor, abandoned all hopes of an accommodation with the rebels, and turned his thoughts to a warlike policy. At this critical juncture, General Greene fell dangerously ill of a fever, and Washington, anticipating that New York and Long Island would be attacked simultaneously, dispatched General Putnam to take command at the latter,with strict injunctions to guard the passes to the American camp, and by all means to hinder the advance of the enemy. For this, the position of the ground was well chosen. A range of thickly wooded hills, extending from the Narrows to Jamaica, and only accessible by three easily-guarded passes-the first, winding round the western base of the Narrows; the second, crossing the range by the village of Flatbush; and the third, passing to the right through Flatlands and intersecting the road which led from Bedford to Jamaicaseparated the American lines from the expected landing

Page 496

496 HISTORY OF THE place of the enemy at Gravesend. Near these passes, breastworks had been erected and three or four regiments stationed, while, patrols were set to reconnoitre the roads and to give the earliest intelligence of the advance of the enemy. Trusting to the watchfulness of Lord Stirling and General Sullivan, Putnam, who knew nothing of the topography of the country, unwisely removed these patrols from their posts, and thus insured the defeat of the American army. Contrary to the expectations of Washington, Howe determined to reach New York through Long Island, and on the 22d of August, passed over with four thousand men from Staten Island to Gravesend, where he landed without opposition. Other regiments, commanded by Earls Cornwallis and Percy, Sir William Erskine, Count Donop, and Generals Grant, De Heister, and Knyphausen soon followed, increasing the number to fifteen thousand men, who stretched along the eastern base of the hills, where they lay encamped for several days, reconnoitering the ground and skirmishing with straggling scouting parties from the American lines. Clinton was not long in discovering the unguarded state of the passes through the hills. He at once communicated the intelligence to Howe, a consultation was held by the generals, and a skillful ruse concerted for the plan of attack. On the evening of the 26th, De Heister, with the Hessians under his command, advanced along the road which led through the hills by the way of Flatbush, while General Grant, with the left division of the army, took the lower road along the shore; a manoeuvre designed to divert the attention of Putnam, and thus

Page 497

CITY OF N.EW YORK. 497 enable Clinton with the main body of the army to skirt the hills by an easterly route, gain possession of the pass in the heights near Bedford, and thence turn the left of tile American lines. The artifice was successful; Putnam, apprised by advance parties of the advance of Grant and De Heister, dispatched a strong detachment under Lord Stirling to guard the lower road, and another under Sullivan to stop the progress of De iHeister, and it was not until the army under Clinton had gained the coveted position and opened a heavy fire upon Sullivan's rear, that the rtuse was detected by the cheated general. Finding themselves thus completely hemmed in, the troops under Sullivan, after vainly attempting to break through the lines of the enemy, scattered in confusion and took refuge among the hills, where the greater portion with their commander were soon discovered and taken prisoners. The conflict at the river pass was far more sanguinary. Posted with his troops on the slope of the hills north from Greenwood Cemetery, Lord Stirling maintained his ground against Grant, until the approach of Cornwallis with a large reinforcement warned him that further resistance would be in vain. Closely pressed by the enemy in front, and having in his rear the deep marsh and creek at Gowanus, eighty feet in width, two courses alone remained to him; either to surrender at once to the enemy, or to attempt to escape across the creek, spanned only by the remnant of a half-burnt mill-dam. He gallantly chose the latter; and, selecting four hundred men from the Maryland brigade to cover their flight, he ordered the remainder of his troops to retreat, 32

Page 498

498 HISTORY OF THE then charged with fixed bayonets with this forlorn hope upon the brigade commanded by Cornwallis. Four times the desperate charge was repeated; on the fifth, the enemy was on the point of yielding, when De Heister came up from the rout of Sullivan, and commenced an assault on the rear. This new onslaught determined the fortunes of the day. Stirling and a portion of the detachment surrendered themselves prisoners of war; while the remainder resolutely cut their way through the ranks of the enemy, only to perish in the deep morass which ingulfed the most of their number. The loss of the Americans in this battle amounted to nearly twelve hundred men, a thousand of whom, including Lord Stirling and General Sullivan, remained prisoners in the hands of the enemy. On the day after the battle, General Woodhull was also captured while scouting at the southwest part of the island, and so severely hurt that he died of his wounds a short time after. About four hundred of the British were killed, wounded and taken prisoners. Encouraged by this success, the victorious troops advanced in front of the American lines, which had been reinforced during the battle by Washington in person with a large body of troops from the city, and made preparations for investing them in form. In this emergency, Washington summoned a council of his officers, and, by their advice, determined to evacuate the island. In order to conceal this resolution from the British, it was announced that boats were wanted to transport a detachment of the American troops to Hellgate in order to attack the enemy in the rear. At eight in the even

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 409 ing of the 29th, the embarkation commenced under cover of a heavy fog and a fine, drizzling rain. To deceive the British, companies of troops marched and countermarched from the ferry to the lines while their comrades were embarking. At eleven o'clock, the wind, which had been unfavorable, suddenly changed, and the boats crossed rapidly, almost under the bows of the British fleet which was lying in the Narrows, oblivious of the easy escape of its prey. Nor was this the only danger to which the Americans were exposed; a Tory who lived in close proximity to the ferry, dispatched a negro servant with the intelligence to Clinton; but the slave was apprehended bjy a Hessian guard, who, not understanding his language, detained him until morning, then conducted him to headquarters, too late for his message. Washington, who for two days had scarcely quitted his saddle, superintended the retreat of his troops with intense anxiety, each moment expecting to see them discovered by the enemy. But the friendly fog screened them effectually, the boats rapidly crossed and recrossed in safety, and, by sunrise the next morning, the whole army of nine thousand men, with their prisoners, baggage, and stores, together with most of the wounded, were safely landed on the opposite shore. The fog continued till a late hour the next morning, when the British scouts, suspecting that all was not right from the dead silence which reigned in the camp, drew nearer and nearer the American line.* By and by, one, more daring than the rest, crept cautiously within

• See Onderdonk's Revolutionary Incidents, pp. 130-181.

Page 500

500 HISTORY OF THE the works, and finding them abandoned, gave the alarm, upon which the British army rushed in and hastened to the ferry, just in time to witness the escape of their foes. Thinking this a favorable moment for winning back the colonies to their allegiance, Howe opened a negotiation with the Continental Congress, promising pardon to all who would lay down their arms, together with a repeal of the obnoxious laws in which the struggle had originated. But this concession came too late; the people had grown into a spirit of self-government, and, in the conference which was subsequently held on Staten Island, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Francis Rutledge, the commissioners appointed by Congress for the negotiation, refused to treat for peace on any other terms than the full and entire acknowledgment of the independence of the colonies. This, of course, was inadmissible. Seeing that no terms could be made with Congress, Howe issued a proclamation repeating the offer to the people, then proceeded at once to invest the city. Notwithstanding the fortifications which had been erected, it was evident to all that the city could not maintain a siege against the British on the neighboring islands and the ships of war which held the harbor in blockade, and on the 12th of September, Washington called a council of war, and reluctantly determined to abandon it to its fate. The military stores were at once ordered to be removed across the Harlem River, a considerable force was stationed at Kingsbridge, Putnam was left with a force of four thousand men in the city,

Page 501

CITY OF NEW YORK. 501 and Washington withdrew with the main body of the army to Harlem Heights.* What was next to be done? was a question which Washington put to himself, but could gain no reply. The British had complete possession of both rivers; they could ascend when they pleased, and, landing above him, hem him in and insure the destruction of his army, for resistance would be in vain with such unequal forces; could attack the city at once, or could cross over from Long Island and attack him when they thought proper. That he would eventually be forced to evacuate the island, he foresaw clearly-to evacuate it too soon would be to yield an important advantage to the enemy; to linger too long would be to surrender his army. His own conduct must depend on the movements of Howe, yet with all his endeavors he had failed to procure the slightest clue to these movements. In this emergency, it was resolved, in a council of war, to send a trusty man to penetrate the enemy's ranks in disguise and obtain the desired information, and Nathan Hale, a young officer in the regiment of Knowlton, volunteered to undertake the dangerous mission. He passed over to Long Island, penetrated the enemy's lines, made drawings of his works, and gained full intelligence of the projected movements of the army. On his return he was recognized as belonging to the American army, and at once

• After his retreat from the city, Washington first fixed his quarters at the

house of Robert Murray on Murray Hill, whence he issued his instructions to Nathan Hale, and where he was on the day preceding the landing of Howe. On the 15th, he was at Mott's Tavern, at the corner of One Hundred and Forty-third street and Eighth Avenue. He subsequently resided at the house of Col. Roger Morris, on the shore of the Harlem River.

Page 502

502 HISTORY OF THE arrested and conveyed to the Beekman House, on the corner of Fifty-first street and First avenue, now the head-quarters of General Howe, who, since his departure, had taken possession of the island. Here he was tried, convicted as a spy, and sentenced to be hung the next fnorning at day-break. He was at once delivered over to the notorious Cunningham, the Provost-Marshal of the Revolution, who confined him for the night in the green-house of the garden, refusing his prayer for a light and writing materials that he might write for the last time to his parents and friends. Through the influence of the lieutenant, these were afterwards furnished him; but, in the morning, Cunningham savagely tore the letters in pieces before his eyes, declaring that the rebels should never know that they could die with so much firmness; and ordered the prisoner to immediate execution, demanding, as a last refinement of cruelty, that he should make a dying speech and confession. "I only "regret that I have but one life to lose for my country," was the calm reply of the doomed patriot. These were his last words; the next moment he was suspended on an apple-tree in the orchard, whence his bones were thrust into a nameless grave. The tragedy cast a deep gloom over the army, in which Hale was universally beloved; while the heartlessness with which the affair was conducted must ever remain a stigma on the name of the British general. Soon after the departure of Hale on his perilous mission, the British ships advanced up the rivers, and under cover of their fire, which swept across the island, Howe landed at Kip's Bay at the foot of Thirty-sixth street.

Page 503

CITY OF NEW YORK. 503 The guard stationed there to prevent his landing fled without striking a blow, followed by the two Connecticut brigades under the command of Generals Parsons and Fellows, which had been sent to their support. On hearing the firing, Washington immediately rode to the scene of action, which he reached just in time to catch a glimpse of the vanishing brigades. " Are these the men " with whom I am to defend America!" exclaimed he, indignantly dashing his hat upon the ground, as he saw himself thus deserted by his recreant soldiers. Iis aids hurried him from his perilous position, and, seeing that the island was irretrievably lost, he retired with his forces to Kingsbridge, sending orders to Putnam to evacuate the city. In the meantime, Howe advanced to the centre of the island, and, encamping on Incleuberg Hill, made preparations to stretch a cordon across the island and thus insure the capture of the troops still in the city. The retreat of Silliman's brigade,* which, by some

• The following affidavit, copied from the original in the possession of Abraham

Tomlinson, Esq., Poughkeepsie, N. Y., seems to indicate that Putnam was separated from and considerably in the rear of the retreating brigade: "Hezekiah Ripley of said Fairfield doth certify that on or about the 15th day of " September, 1776, I was the officiating chaplain of the brigade, then commanded by "Genl. Gold S. Silliman. From mismanagement of the commanding officer of that "Brigade, was unfortunately left in the city of New York, and, at the time before i" mentioned, while the Brigade was in front and myself considerably in the rear, I " was met by Genl Putnam, who then informed me of the landing of the enemy "above us, and that I must make any escape on the west side of the Island, where"upon, I, on foot, crossed the lots to the west side of the Island unmolested, " excepting by the fire of the ships of war, at the time lying on the North River. "How the Brigade escaped, I was not an eye witness. "HEZEKIAH RIPLEY, "Afterwards one of the Trustees of Yale College "Sept. 26, 1776."

Page 504

504 HISTORY OF THE unaccountable error, remained too long in the city, was, indeed, effected almost by a miracle. Hastily rallying at Bunker Hill, under the supposition that all the avenues were in the possession of the enemy, they had just determined to make a bold stand and sell their lives as dearly as they could, when Colonel Burr, at this time one of the aids of Putnam, came up to extricate them from the difficulty by his superior knowledge of the country. Guiding them by a cross-road from Bunker Hill to a new road, recently cut through the hills on the line of Broadway, he led them along the edge of a swamp to the woods which surrounded the house of Robert Murray, at Incleuberg Hill, and, passing thence up the Greenwich Road, reached the Apthorpe House on the road to Bloomingdale, where Washington was impatiently awaiting their arrival. In the meantime, Howe, Clinton, Tryon and a few others had halted for refreshment at the Murray House, where, beguiled by the smiles and the choice wines of the Quaker hostess, who had received a hint from Washington to intercept and detain them as long as possible, they lingered in forgetfulness of the enemy they now deemed a certain prey, until a soldier rushed in, panting for breath, to tell them that the brigade had passed almost within their grasp, and was now advancing up the Bloomingdale road. To mount and pursue them was the work of an instant. Fifteen minutes after Washington had quitted the Apthorpe House, it was filled with British troops; but the few minutes' delay had saved the retreating soldiers. At ten minutes after three, the colors were struck in New York, and General Robertson with his forces took possession of the city.

Page 505

CITY OF NEW YORK. 505 The two armies, separated bv Harlem Plains, encamped for the night; the one on the heights between Manhattanville and Kingsbridge, the other in a line between HIoorne's Hook and Blo:)omingdale. Early the next morning, two parties, under the command of Colonel Knowlton and Major Leitch, were detached by Washington with orders to gain the rear of a body of British troops stationed on Vandewater's Heights (on the site of the present Bloomingdale Asylum) while dispositions were made to attack them in front; but, by some mnistake, a fire was opened upon them before the rear was gained, and, warned of their danger, they made good their retreat to the main body of the army. By way of retaliation, Howe ordered a detachment to push forward through McGowan's Pass and attack the American lines. They were met by Colonel Knowlton at the foot of a rocky gorge between the Eighth and Ninth Avenues, near the line of One Hundred and Twenty-fourth street, who drove them into a cleared field about two hundred rods distant, where they took shelter behind a fence and continued the contest. It was not long before they were forced from this position; and, retreating to a buckwheat field four hundred yards distant, they made a stand on the summit of a high hill, where, joined by a reinforcement of Hessians, they fought for two hours with great spirit, but were finally forced to retreat for the third time to another hill near the British lines.* The main body now prepared to

• Vide Dunlap's Hist. of New York, vol ii., pp.'7, 78, Lossing's Field Book of the

Revolution, vol. ii., pp. 817-819, and Dawson's Battles of the United States by Sea and Land, pp. 160-162.

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506 HISTORY OF THE advance to their aid, when Washington, not wishing to risk a general engagement, prudently retreated, with the loss of sixteen of his men, among whom was the gallant Colonel Knowlton. Major Leitch was also so severely hurt that he died of his wounds a few weeks after. The loss of the British, as acknowledged in the official report, was fourteen killed and seventy-eight wounded. Clouded as it was by the loss of two valuable officers, the success of this skirmish greatly inspired the Americans, who had been much depressed by their last defeat. A few days after, Major Thomas Henly fell in an unsuccessful attack upon the British forces under the command of General Heath, which were stationed at Montresor's, now Randall's, Island. For several weeks, Washington retained his position in the high grounds above Manhattanville, residing meanwhile at the house of Col. Roger Morris, between 160th and 161st streets, at Morrisania. Not caring to risk a direct attack, Howe withdrew the greater part of his forces from the island and landed them at Throg's Point in Westchester County, with a view to cutting off all communication from the eastern States; while, at the same time, he dispatched three frigates up the Hudson River to intercept all supplies from the southern and western'shores. Forced by this movement to evacuate the island, Washington detached a garrison of three thousand men for the defence of Fort Washington, and proceeded with the remainder of his forces to White Plains, where, on the 28th of October, a spirited action took place in which he lost nearly four hundred of his men; then, fearing a speedy repetition of the attack, he withdrew to the almost

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 507 impregnable heights of North Castle. No longer daring to pursue the main body of the army, Howe now retraced his steps across Kingsbridge, and proceeded to invest the garrison at Fort Washington. This fort, which was but the centre of the fortifications on this part of the island, stood on the shores of the North River about two and a half miles below Kingsbridge. The position was a strong one; the hill was steep and difficult of access on all sides but the south, which was commanded by the fort; and surrounded on all sides by redoubts and batteries. Three lines of intrenchments, a mile in length, extended across the island from the Harlem to the North River; the first in the vicinity of One Hundred and Fifty-first street; the second about half a mile further north; and the third westward from Colonel Morris' house along the line of One Hundred and Seventieth street; but the works were unfinished and defended only by a few old pieces of artillery; while, to maintain them properly, an army would have been needed instead of the handful of men detailed for their defence. Colonel Magaw, who was in command at the station, remained in the fort; Colonel Rawlins, with his regiment of riflemen, occupied a redoubt to the north and also a small breastwork on the southernntost part of the island, overlooking Spuyten Duyvel Creek; Colonel Baxter, with the militia under his command, was posted along the heights of the Harlem River opposite Fort Washington; Colonel Cadwalader, with a force of eight hundred men, was stationed at the lower lines which crossed the island, and the rest of the troops were distributed among the other redoubts and breast

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508 HISTORY OF THE works at Manhattanville and along the Kingsbridge Road. On the 15th of November, a summons to surrender was sent to the garrison by Adjutant-General Patterson of the British army, which was peremptorily refused by Magaw. Early on the following morning, a heavy cannonade was opened upon the positions of Colonels Rawlins and Cadwalader, and about ten o'clock, a large body of the enemy, headed by Lord Percy and preceded by their field-pieces, appeared on Harlem Plains and advanced to attack Cadwalader, who held them in check for more than an hour and a half, while Washington, with Putnam, Greene and Mercer, crossed the river from Fort Lee, and after examining the ground, returned again to his intrenchments. At noon, the riflemen of Colonel Rawlins were attacked by the Hessians under Knyphausen, and, after defending themselves with great bravery until their rifles, through frequent charging, became useless in their hands, were forced to retreat to the fort, whither Knyphausen pursued them, and intrenching himself behind a large storehouse in the vicinity, summoned Magaw again to surrender. Finding his position hopeless beyond redemption, the commander gave a reluctant assent, and surrendered himself and the garrison, twenty-seven hundred in number, as prisoners of war. Lord Percy, in the meantime, had been reinforced by a detachment under the command of Colonel Stirling, which had descended the Harlem River in bateaux, and landed in the rear of Cadwalader. After defeating the parties under Captains Lenox, Edwards and Tudor, which

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 509 had been detailed to oppose their landing, the new troops advanced to the heights near Morris' house, and, seconding the efforts of Percy, forced Cadwalader to retreat to Fort Washington, where he was at once made prisoner by the British, now in possession of the fort. A few minutes after, the troops of Colonel Baxter, who had been driven from their ground with the loss of their leader by General Mathew and Lord Cornwallis, came in, and were also made prisoners of war; and at half-past one the British flag waved triumphantly over the fort in token of the undisputed. sovereignty of the island. About fifty of the Americans, among whom were Colonels Baxter and Miller, and Lieutenants Harrison and Tannihill, were killed in this engagement; one hundred were wounded, and nearly three thousand made prisoners of war. The loss of Fort Washington was soon followed by that of Fort Lee; Washington retreated with his troops through the Jerseys, and the struggle for liberty in New York was over.

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CHAPTER XVII. 1776-1783. New York during the Occupation of the Royalists-The British Prisons and Prison Ships of New York. THE city now lay prostrate in the hands of its captors. Those of the Sons of Liberty who had escaped imprisonment had fled to rejoin the Northern army, or the patriots who were struggling almost hopelessly in the Jerseys, and their place was filled by a host of Tories from the neighboring counties. The Provincial Congress, abandoning the city, held secret meetings, armed and in disguise, at various towns in the suburbs, constantly changing their place of rendezvous to avoid the vigilance of the Tory spies who infested the neighborhood. Westchester and Rockland-the so-called neutral ground-were filled with Cow Boys and Skinners; the former, the avowed friends of King George; the latter, ready to attach themselves for the moment to the party which might offer the greatest hopes of plunder. To guard against the machinations of these, a Committee of Safety, with John Jay at the head, was appointed by the Provincial Congress, the adventures of which were 10

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 511 fraught with incidents which shame the wildest tales of romance. Intrigue was thwarted by intrigue; plot was met by counterplot. All trust in man was destroyed in the dark and terrible struggle; the most intimate friends, the nearest relatives, were arrayed on opposite sides in the strife, and none dared be sure that the most trusted acquaintance, the kindest neighbor, might not be laying a snare to deliver him up to an ignominious death from the hands of his enemies. Each party endeavored to elude the suspicions of the other, and to lure the unwary within the American lines or to decoy them within reach of the British at New York. The city, meanwhile, became then and henceforth the headquarters of the British army in America, and the residence from time to time of its principal officers. General Howe took up his abode in the Kennedy House at the lower end of Broadway. General Knyphausen took possession of a, large house in Wall street. The Hessians under his command were encamped at Corlaers 5Hook, whence a line of intrenchments was thrown up on the Bowery Lane to Bunker's Hill; while the barracks, the hospital and the empty houses of the Whigs who had, fled for safety were filled with the British soldiers. The Beekman House in Hanover Square became the residence of the naval officers arriving at the station; there Admiral Digby afterwards dwelt, with the sailor prince William Henry —the future William IV. —under his charge. About five thousand prisoners were now in the hands of the British, comprising those who had been captured at Long Island and Fort Washington, together with

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512 HISTORY OF THE many who had been brought in by privateers; and as New York was henceforth the British prison-house, this number received constant accessions during the war. The privates were crowded into the public buildings; the sailors were conveyed to the loathsome prison-ships which lay, first in the North River opposite the lower end of the island, and afterwards at the Wallabout; and the officers were required to give their parole, then suffered to lodge in the town under the strict surveillance of the British guard. This permission was in many instances afterwards recalled, and the officers committed to the old Provost, the receptacle of the prisoners of superior rank. Among these officers were Colonels Magaw, Rawlins, Allen, Ramsey, Miles and Atlee; Majors Bird, West, Williams and De Courcey; and Captains Wilson, Tudor, Edwards, Forrest, Lenox, Davenport, Herbert and Edwards, with many others. The city became emphatically a city of prisons. Every available building was transformed into a dungeon for the soldiers of the American army, who, under the supervision of the infamous provost-marshal, Cunningham, with his deputy O'Keefe, and the commissaries Loring, Sproat and others, were treated with almost incredible barbarity. The pews of the North Dutch Church in William street were torn out and used for fuel; a floor was laid from one gallery to another, and eight hundred prisoners were incarcerated within its walls. Here they were allowed neither fuel nor bedding, their provisions were scanty and of the poorest quality, and many died from cold and starvation. "The allowance," says Adolph Myer, of Lasher's battalion, who had been taken prisoner

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 513 at Montresor's Island, and afterwards imprisoned here, "was one loaf of the bread left on the evacuation "of New York (and which had been made for an "allowance of three days), one quart of peas, half a "pint of rice, and one and a half pounds of pork for "six days. Many prisoners died from want, and others "were reduced to such wretchedness as to attract "the compassion of common prostitutes, from whom " they received considerable assistance. No care was " taken of the sick, and if any died, they were thrown at "the door of the prison, and lay there till the next day, " when they were put on a cart and drawn out to the " intrenchments, beyond the Jews' burial-ground, where " they were interred by their fellow-prisoners, conducted " thither for that purpose. The dead were thrown into "a hole promiscuously, without the usual rites of sepul" ture." The Brick Church in Beekman street was at first used as a prison, then converted into a hospital for the sick among the prisoners. The Friends' Meeting-house in Pearl street and the Presbyterian Church in Wall street were also used as hospitals, and the French Church in Pine street was transfo. ied into a depot for military stores..The Middle Dutch Church, the present Post-Office, was also stripped of pulpit and pews, and made to furnish room for three thousand prisoners. " Here," says John Pintard, an eye-witness of the scene, "the "prisoners taken on Long Island and at Fort Washing"ton-sick, wounded and well-were all indiscriminately "huddled together by hundreds and thousands; large 33

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514 HISTOR Y OF THE "numbers of whom died by disease; and many were un" doubtedly poisoned by their inhuman attendants for the "sake of their watches or silver buckles." The inmates were subsequently transferred to the other prisons, and the church was converted into a riding-school, to train dragoon horses. The glass was taken from the windows and the shutters left unhung, the floor was taken up and the ground covered with tan-bark; and a pole was placed across the middle for the horses to leap over. Just to the east of this, in Liberty street, stood the old Sugar-house, built in the days of Leisler; a grey stone building, five stories in height, with thick walls, and small, deep windows, which now became one of the gloomiest of the improvised dungeons of the city. Each story was divided into two rooms, with ceilings so low and windows so small that the air could scarce find entrance under the most favorable conditions. A ponderous, jail-like door opened on Liberty street to the courtyard-a broad, flagged walk about the building, through which two British or Hessian soldiers were constantly pacing, night and day. On the southeast, a heavy door opened into a dismal cellar, also used as a prison. The yard was surrounded by a close board fence, nine feet high. In this forbidding prison-house, secured by massive locks and bars, the wretched prisoners were huddled so closely that they could scarcely breathe, and left for many weary months, without fire or blankets and with no other clothes than those which they had worn on their entrance, to while away the hours of their captivity by carving their names upon the walls with rusty nails-often the only clue to their

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 515 probable fate; for the typhus fever raged fiercely among them, and the dead-cart paid its daily visits, bearing away the writers ere they could finish the rude epitaphs, thus left as the sole trace to their friends of their doom. " In the suffocating heat of summer," says Dunlap, the contemporary historian of the times, " I saw every narrow "aperture of those stone walls filled with human heads, " face above face, seeking a portion of the external air." " While the jail fever was raging in the summer of 1777," says Onderdonk, in his "Incidents of the British Prisons and Prison-ships at New York," " the prisoners "were let out in companies of twenty, for half an hour "at a time, to breathe the fresh air; and inside they "were so crowded, that they divided their numbers into "squads of six each. No. 1 stood ten minutes as close "to the window as they could crowd, and then No. 2 "took their places, and so on; seats there were none; "and their beds were but straw, intermixed with ver" min. For many weeks, the dead-cart visited the " prison every morning, into which from eight to twelve " corpses were flung and piled up, then dumped into " ditches in the outskirts of the city." An interesting reminiscence of this prison, as well as of the hospitals of the city —the more interesting from being one of the few descriptions on record of the treatment which the sick received in these hospitals-is found in the narrative of Levi Hanford, of Walton, Delaware County, New York. Entering the army in the autumn of 1775, at the early age of sixteen, he was one of the company sent by Lee, in the spring of 1776, to break ground for the first fortifications erected on Governor's Island. In March.

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• 516 HISTORY OF THE

1777, he was surprised and captured by a party of Tories while on guard at Long Island Sound, and taken first to Huntington, then to Flushing, and thence to New York, where he was incarcerated in the old Sugarhouse in Liberty street. "The old prison," says he, "was a stone building, "six stories high; but the stories were very low, which "made it dark and confined. It was built for a sugar "refinery, and its appearance was dark and gloomy, " while its small and deep windows gave it the appear-' ance of a prison, which it really was, with a high board " fence inclosing a small yard. We found at this time " about forty or fifty prisoners, in an emaciated, starv"ing and wretched condition. Their numbers were "constantly being diminished by sickness and death, "and as constantly increased by the accession of new "prisoners, to the number of 400 or 500. Our allow"ance of provisions was pork and sea-biscuit; it would "not keep a well man in strength. The biscuit was "such as had been wet with sea-water and damaged, "was full of worms and moldy. It was our common "practice to put water in our camp-kettle, then break "up the biscuit into it, skim off the worms, put in the "pork, and boil it, if we had fuel; but this was allowed "us only part of the time; and when we could get no "fuel, we ate our meat raw and our biscuit dry.'Starved as we were, there was nothing in the shape of " food that was rejected or was unpalatable. Crowded -together, in bad air and with such diet, it was not "strange that disease and pestilence should prevail.'I had not been long there, before I was taken with the

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 517 "smallpox, and conveyed to the Smallpox Hospital. "I had it light, and soon returned to the prison, but not "till I had seen it in its most malignant forms. Some "of my companions died in that hospital. When I "returned to the prison, others of our company had "been taken to the different hospitals, from which few "returned. I remained in prison for a time, when, " from bad air, confinement, and bad diet, I was taken "sick, and conveyed to the Quaker Meeting Hospital, so "called from its being a Quaker Meeting-house. "1 soon became insensible, and the time passed "unconsciously till I began slowly to recover health and " strength, and was again permitted to exchange these "scenes of disease and death for the prison. On my " return, I found the number of our companions still " further reduced by sickness and death. During all " this time, an influence was exerted to induce the men " to enlist in the Tory regiments. Although our suffer"ings were intolerable, and the men were urged by " those who had been their own townsmen and neigh"bors, who had joined the British, yet the instances "were rare that they could be influenced to enlist. " So wedded were they to their principles, that they "chose honorable death rather than to sacrifice them. " I remained in the prison till the 24th of October, when "the names of a company of prisoners were taken down, "and mine among the rest. It was told us that we "were going home. We drew our week's provision, " which, by solicitation, we cheerfully divided among our "starving associates whom we were to leave in prison. "But whether it was to torment and aggravate our feel.

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518 IHISTORY OF THE "ings, I know not; but this I do know, that, instead of " going home, we were taken from the prison, and put on " board one of the prison-ships (the Good Intent) lying " in the North River, and reported there with one week's "provision. The scene of starvation and suffering that "followed cannot be described; everything was eaten "that could appease huncger. From this and other "causes, and crowded as we were, with over two hun"dred in the hold of one ship, enfeebled as we had " become, and now reduced by famine, pestilence began " to sweep us down, till, in less than two months, we " were reduced by death to scarcely one hundred. In "addition to all this, we were treated with the utmost "severity and cruelty. In December, when the river " began to freeze, our ship was taken round into the " Wallabout, where lay the Jersey, another prison-ship " of terrific memory, whose rotted hulk remained till " lately to mark the spot where thousands yielded up " their lives a sacrifice to British cruelty. " The dead from these ships were thrown into the " trenches of our fortifications; and their bones, after " the war, were collected and decently buried. It was "here that Ethan Allen exhausted his fund of curses " and bitter invectives against the British, as he passed " among the prisoners, and viewed the loathsome dens "of suffering after his return from his shameful "imprisonment in England.* Here again I was taken "sick and my name taken down to the hospital. The "day before New Year's, the sick were placed in a boat

• See Ethan Allen's Narrative, pp. 93-102.

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 519 " for the city; she had lost a piece of plank from her " bottom; but it was filled up with ice, and we were taken "in tow. From the motion, the ice soon loosened, and "the boat began to leak; and before we had gone far, "the sailors inquired if we leaked. Our men, from pride, "and not to show fear, replied but a mere trifle; but " they soon perceived our increased heft, pulled hard for " a time, and then lay to until we came up. Our boat " was half filled with water. When they saw it, they "cursed us, and pulled for the nearest dock, shouting for "help. When the boat touched the dock, she struck "level with the water, and we held on with our " hands to the dock and a small boat by our side to " keep from sinking. It was low water, and the sailors " reached down from the dock, clenched hold of our "hands, and drew us up. I remember that I was drawn "up with so much violence, that the skin was taken from " my chest and stomach. One poor fellow that could not " sit up, we had to haul on the gunnel of the boat "to keep his head out of water; but he got wet and died " in a few minutes after he was got on shore. We were "taken to the hospital in Dr. Rogers' Brick Meeting"house (afterwards Dr. Spring's) near the foot of the " Park. From the yard, I carried one end of a bunk, from which some person had just died, into the church, "and got into it, exhausted and overcome. The head "nurse saw my condition. She made me some tea, and "pulled the blankets from the sick Irish, regardless of "their complaints or curses, and piled them on me, till I "sweat profusely and fell asleep. When I awoke in the "morning, they gave me some mulled wine and water.

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520 HISTORY OF THE " Wine and some other things were sent in by our gov"ernment for the sick; the British furnished nothing. I "then lay perfectly easy and free from pain, and it "appeared to me that I never was so happy in my life, "and yet so weak that I could not get out of my bunk, "had it been to save the Union. The doctor (who was "an American surgeon and a prisoner, had been taken "out of prison to serve in the hospital) told me that " my blood was breaking down and turning into water "from the effects of the small pox. He said I must " have some bitters. I gave him what money I had, and "he prepared some for me; and when that was gone he " had the kindness to prepare some for me once or twice "at his own expense. I began slowly to gain, and finally " to walk about. While standing one day in March by "the side of the church, in the warm sun, my toes began "to sting and pain me excessively. I showed them to "the surgeon when he came in; he laid them open; they had been frozen, and the flesh wasted till only the bone'and the tough skin remained. I had now to remain'here for a long time on account of my feet. And of "all places, that was the last to be coveted; disease and "death reigned there in all their terrors. I have had "men die by the side of me in the night, and have seen "fifteen dead bodies sewed up in'their blankets and laid "in the corner of the yard at one time, the product of "one twenty-four hours. Every morning, at 8 o'clock, "the dead-cart came, the bodies were put in, the men "drew their rum, and the cart was driven off to the "trenches of the fortifications that our people had made. "Once I was permitted to go with the guard to the

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 521' place of interment, and never shall I forget the scene "that I there beheld; they tumbled them into the ditch "just as it happened, threw on a little dirt, and then "away. I could see a hand, a foot, or part of a head, "washed bare by the rains, swollen, blubbering, and "falling to decay. " I was now returned to the prison, and from this " time forward I enjoyed comfortable health to the close " of my imprisonment, which took place in the May fol" lowing. One day, as I was standing in the yard near " the high board fence, a man passed in the street close " to the fence, and without stopping or turning his head, " said in a low voice,'General Burgoyne is taken with "'all his army; it is a truth, you may depend upon it.' " Shut out from all information as we had been, the news "was grateful indeed, and cheered us in our wretched " prison. Knowing nothing of what was taking place " beyond the confines of our miserable abode, we had "been left to dark forebodings and fears as to the result "of our cause, and the probabilities of our government " being able to exchange or release us. We knew not "whether our cause was progressing, or whether resist"ance was still continued. Our information was "obtained only through the exaggerations of the British "*soldiery. But this gave us the sweet consolation that "our cause was yet triumphant, and the hope of final " liberation. Had our informant been discovered, he "might have had to run the gauntlet, or lose his life for "his kindness." Such were the horrors of the Old Sugar-house in Liberty street. Rhinelander's and the other sugar-houses

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522 HISTORY OF THE in the city were also filled with prisoners, but as the Old Jersey ranked foremost among the prison-ships, this seems to have taken the precedence of all the rest. Columbia College was used as a prison for a short time only. The City Hall was converted into a guard-house for the main guard of the city, the dungeons below being filled with prisoners. During the latter part of the war, the court-room in the second story was granted to the refugee clergy for service in lieu of their churches. Another prison was the Bridewell, in the Commons, a cheerless, jail-like building of grey stone, two stories in height, with a basement and pediment in front and rear, which is still remembered by many of our citizens. This building had been erected in 1775, just in time to serve as a dungeon for the patriots of the Revolution. At this time, it was scarcely finished, the windows were yet unglazed, with nothing but iron bars to keep out the cold; yet, despite the excessive inclemency of the weather, more than eight hundred of the unfortunate prisoners of Fort Washington were thrust within its walls on the day of the capture and left there for three days without a mouthful of food. "We were marched to New York," says Oliver Woodruff, one of the prisoners, who died not long since at the age of 90, " and went to differ"ent prisons-eight hundred and sixteen went into "the New Bridewell, I among the rest; some into "the Sugar-house; others into the Dutch Church. " On Thursday morning, they brought us a little pro"vision, which was the first morsel we got to eat or drink "after eating our breakfast on Saturday morning. We "never drew as much provision for three days allowance

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 523 Tr I I I it Tri I HIT

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 525 "as a man would eat at a common meal. I was there " three months during that inclement season, and never "saw any fire, except what was in the lamps of the city. "There was not a pane of glass in the windows, and "nothing to keep out the cold except the iron grates." This statement is confirmed by N. Murray, who says that the doctor gave poison powders to the prisoners, who soon died. Every indignity which human ingenuity could invent was heaped upon the wretched prisoners in the furtherance of the policy which hoped thus to crush the spirit of the army by disabling those that had been taken prisoners for future service and terrifying the remainder by the possibility of a similar fate. In the first part of of their project they succeeded but too well; on the 6th May, 1778, when an exchange of some of the prisoners took place, of the three thousand men who had been captured at Fort Washington, but eight hundred were reported as still living. But this wanton cruelty only deepened the indignation of the patriots; instead of bringing them humbled and submissive to the feet of Great Britain, it estranged them more widely from the once loved mother country, and forever destroyed all hope of reconciliation. The most notorious dungeon, perhaps, of all, was the New Jail or Provost, so called from having been the headquarters of the infamous Cunningham, the provostmarshal of the Revolution. Through the influence of General Gage, he had succeeded to this post on the retirement of William Jones in 1775, and from the fact that he retained it until the close of the war, we may judge that his conduct was pleasing to his superiors. The injuries which he had received the preceding year at

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526 HISTORY OF TIlE the foot of the Liberty-Pole, had never been forgotten, and he eagerly availed himself of this opportunity to wreak his vengeance on his defenceless prisoners. Among these were the most distinguished of the American captives; Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga; Majors Wells, Payne, and Williams; Captains Randolph, Flahaven, Vandyke, Mercer, and Bissell; John Fell, a member of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey, with many other prominent men and officers, who, after having been released on parole, had been arrested again upon frivolous pretexts and thrown into a dungeon with the vilest criminals, where their brutal jailer heaped every possible indignity upon them, even amusing the young English officers, who were his frequent guests, at the conclusion of their drunken orgies, by parading his helpless prisoners through the courtyard of the jail as specimens of the rebel army. Not content with seeing them die a slow death from cold and starvation, he is said to have poisoned many by mingling a preparation of arsenic with their food, then continued to draw their rations as before, giving rise to the sarcasm that he fed the dead and starved the living; and to have boasted that he had thus killed more of the rebels with his own hand than had been slain by all the king's forces in America. The cruelty practised towards the inmates of the Provost and the other prisons of the city rivals all that may be found in the annals of Christendom, and stamps the general who permitted it with far deeper disgrace thait the subordinate who was only the instrument of his will. Mr. Pintard, one of founders of the New York Historical Society, at that time a young man, the clerk of his uncle,

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 527 Elias Boudinot, who had been appointed Commissioner of Prisons by the Continental Congress, has left us a graphic picture of the scenes of which he was himself an eye witness. - C The New Jail, now the Hall of Records. "The Provost," says he, in a published document, "was destined for the more notorious rebels, civil, naval, "and military. An admission to this modern Bastile was "enough to appall the stoutest heart. On the right hand "of the main door, was Captain Cunningham's quarters, "opposite to which was the guard-room. Within the

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5s8 HISTORY -OF THE "first barricade was Sergeant O'Keefe's apartment. At "the entrance door, two sentinels were always posted, "day and night; two more at the first and second bar-' ricades, which were grated, barred, and chained, also at "the rear door, and on the platform at the grated door "at the foot of the second flight of steps, leading to "the rooms and cells in the second and third stories. " When a prisoner, escorted by the soldiers, was led into "the hall, the whole guard was paraded, and he was "delivered over with all formality to Captain Cun"ningham, or his deputy, and questioned as to his "name, rank, size, age, etc., all of which were entered "in a record-book. What with the bristling of arms, "unbolting of bars and locks, clanking of enormous iron "chains, and a vestibule as dark as Erebus, the unfortu" nate captive might well sink under this infernal sight "and parade of tyrannical power, as he crossed the "threshold of that door which probably closed on him "for life. " The northeast chamber, turning to the left, on the "second floor, was appropriated to officers and charac"ters of superior rank and distinction, and was christened "Congress Hall. So closely were they packed, that "when their bones ached at night from lying on the "hard oak planks, and they wished to turn, it could "only be done by word of command,'Right, Left,' " being so wedged and compact as to form almost a solid "mass of human bodies. In the day-time, the packs and "blankets of the prisoners were suspended around the "walls, every precaution being used to keep the rooms "ventilated, and the walls and floors clean, to prevent

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 529 "jail-fever, and as the Provost was generally crowded "with American prisoners or British culprits of every "description, it is really wonderful that infection never "broke out in its walls." The following graphic list of the grievances endured by the prisoners, which was sent to General Jones by Mr. Pintard, reveals a terrible tale of suffering: " Close "confined in jail, without distinction of rank or charac"ter; amongst felons (a number of whom are under " sentence of death), without their friends being suffered "to speak to them, even through the gates. On the "scanty allowance of 2 lbs. hard biscuit and 2 lbs. raw "pork per man per week, without fuel to dress it. Fre"quently supplied with water from a pump where all "kinds of filth is thrown that can render it obnoxious "and unwholesome (the effects of which are too often "felt), when good water is as easily obtained. Denied "the benefit of a hospital; not allowed to send for medi" cine, nor even a doctor permitted to visit them when "in the greatest distress; married men and others who "lay at the point of death, refused to have their wives "or relations admitted to see them, who, for attempting " it, were often beat from prison. Commissioned officers "and other persons of character, without a cause, thrown "iuto a loathsome dungeon, insulted in a gross manner, "and vilely abused by a provost marshal, who is allowed "to be one of the basest characters in the British army, "and whose power is so unlimited that he has caned an "officer on a trivial occasion, and frequently beats the "sick privates when unable to stand, many of whom are "daily obliged to enlist in the new corps to prevent 34

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530 HISTORY OF THE "perishing for the necessaries of life. Neither pen, ink "nor paper allowed (to prevent their treatment being "made public), the consequence of which, indeed, the "prisoners themselves dread, knowing the malignant "disposition of their keeper." These statements are amply confirmed by the testimony of eye-witnesses as well as of the sufferers themselves; and it is not strange that the name of Cunningham became a by-word of horror in the annals of the times. It was afterwards reported and currently believed that he was executed at Newgate for forgery; and a dying speech and confession, purporting to be his, was published in 1791 in a Philadelphia paper and copied thence into the Boston journals of the day; but the Newgate Calendar, examined by Mr. Bancroft, con-tains no record of any such name. The Americans were willing to believe all things possible from a man who had shown himself capable of such barbarity, and rumors of this sort found ready credence. But the odium of this cruelty must forever rest on Howe, who was cognizant of all its details, and to whom the provost marshal was but a tool-a cat's paw, as he is called by the indignant Ethan Allen-to execute his vengeance upon the detested rebels. The sufferings of the captives excited universal sympathy, and considerable aid was afforded them by the citizens; yet this was not encouraged by the British commandant, and Mrs. Deborah Franklin was even banished from the city in 1780 for her unbounded liberality to the American prisoners. Remonstrances would have been in vain. The American officers who were free on parole shrunk from visiting the prisons to

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 531 witness the sufferings which they could not relieve, and dared not appeal to Howe for aid, lest this audacity should doom them to a similar fate. In 1777, after the successes of Washington in New Jersey, a portion of the prisoners were exchanged; but, exhausted by suffering, many fell dead in the streets ere they reached the vessels destined for their embarkation, and few long survived their return to their homes. The churches and sugarhouses were gradually cleared of their inmates during the course of the war, but the Provost and the old City Hall were used as prisons till Evacuation Day. "I was in New York, Nov. 26th," says Gen. Johnson, "and at the Provost about ten o'clock A.M. A few "British criminals were yet in custody, and O'Keefe "threw his ponderous bunch of keys on the floor and "retired, when an American guard relieved the British "guard, which joined a detachment of British troops, " then on parade in Broadway, and marched down to the "Battery, where they embarked for England." Not less deplorable was the condition of the sailorcaptives on board the loathsome prison-ships.* The first of these vessels were the freight-ships which brought the British troops to Staten Island in 1776; in these, as For further details respecting the prisons as well as the prison-ships of New York, the reader is referred to "Narrative of Col. Ethan Allen's Captivity," Burlington, 1838; "Onderdonk's Incidents of the British Prisons and Prison-Ships at "' New York," New York, 1849; " Life of Jesse Talbot;" " Life of Ebenezer Fox, of " Roxbury," Boston, 1838; " Recollections of the Jersey Prison-Ship," by Capt. Thomas Dring, Providence, 1829; "The Old Jersey Captive," by Thomas Andros, Boston, 1833; "The Interment of the Remains of 11,500 American "Prisoners at the Wallebocht," New York, 1808; Freneau's " Poem on the Prison.' Ship," and Gaines', Rivington's, and other papers of the day.

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532 HISTORY OF THE they lay anchored at Gravesend Bay, the prisoners taken at the battle of Long Island were confined for a few days until the conquest of the city, when they were transferred thither and the vessels reserved for the captured seamen. The Good Hope and Scorpion were then anchored in the North River off the Battery, whence the bodies of the prisoners who died were conveyed to Trinity Churchyard for burial. Some time after, they were taken round to the East River and moored in the Wallabout Bay, where a dozen old hulks, among which were the Good Hope, Whitby, Falmouth, Prince of Wales, Scorpion, Strombolo, Hunter, Kitty, Providence, Bristol, Jersey, etc., lay anchored in succession, usually two or three at a time, to serve as floating prisons for the British commanders. Of all these, the Jersey gained the greatest notoriety; christened "the hell afloat" by her despairing inmates, her name struck terror to the hearts of every American sailor. A 64-gun ship which had been condemned in 1776 as unfit for service, she had been stripped of her spars and rigging and anchored at Tolmie's Wharf to serve as a storeship. In 1780, when the prisoners on board the Good Hope burnt the vessel in the desperate hope of regaining their liberty, the chief incendiaries were removed to the Provost, and the remainder transferred to the Jersey, which was thenceforth used as a prison-ship until the close of the war, when her inmates were liberated, and she was henceforth shunned by all as a nest of pestilence. The worms soon after destroyed her bottom, and she sunk, bearing with her on her planks the names of thousands of American prisoners. For more than twenty years, her ribs lay

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 533 exposed at low water; she now lies buried beneath the United States Navy Yard. Though the Jersey has gained a bad eminence as a prison-ship, which would naturally lead many to suppose that her prisoners alone were subjected to suffering and privation, the testimony of those confined in the other hulks proves clearly that their treatment was everywhere the same. The chief difference lay in the fact that the Jersey was larger than the others, and continued in the service for a longer space of time. David Sproat, the British Commissary, denied, indeed, that any suffering existed, and, painting the situation of the captives in glowing colors, brought documents signed by them to testify to the truth of his assertions; but as these were forced from them almost at the point of the bayonet, and universally retracted as soon as they were free, the papers in question are not worth much in evidence. The life on board the Jersey prison-ship may be regarded as a fair sample of the life on all the rest. The crew consisted of a captain, -two mates, a steward, cook and a dozen sailors, with a guard of twelve marines and about thirty soldiers. When a prisoner was brought on board, his name and rank were registered, after which he was searched for weapons and money. His clothes and bedding he was permitted to retain; however scanty these might be, he was supplied with no more while on board the prison-ship. He was then ordered down into the hold, where from a thousand to twelve hundred men were congregated, covered with rags and filth, and ghastly from breathing the pesti

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534 HISTORY OF THE lential air; many of them sick with the typhus fever, dysentery and smallpox, from which the vessel was never free. Here he joined a mess of six men, who, every morning, at the ringing of the steward's bell, received their daily allowance of biscuit, beef or pork and peas, to which butter, suet, oatmeal and flour were occasionally added. The biscuit was moldy and literally crawling with worms, the butter and suet rancid and unsavory to the highest degree, the peas damaged, the meal and flour often sour, and the meat tainted, and boiled in the impure water from about the ship in a large copper kettle, which, soon becoming corroded and crusted with verdigris, mingled a slow poison with all its contents. Yet for these damaged provisions, the highest prices were charged to the king by the royal commissioners, who, by curtailing the rations and substituting damaged provisions for those purchased by the government; amassed fortunes at the expense of thousands of lives; and, when accused, forced their prisoners by threats of still greater severity, to attest to the kind treatment which they received at their hands. The prisoners were confined in the two main decks below; the lower dungeon being filled with foreigners, who were treated with even more inhumanity than the Americans. Every morning the prisoners were aroused with the cry, "Rebels, turn out your dead!" The order was obeyed, and the bodies of those who had died during the night were brought up upon deck and placed upon the gratings. If the deceased had owned a blanket, any prisoner was at liberty to sew it around the corpse, after which it was lowered into a boat and sent

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 535 on shore for interment. Here, a hole was dug in the sands, and the bodies hastily covered, often to be disinterred at the washing of the next tide. The prisoners were suffered to remain on deck till sunset, when they were saluted with the insulting cry of "Down, rebels, down!" This order obeyed, the main hatchway was closed, leaving a small trap-door, large enough for one man to ascend at a time, over which a sentinel was placed, with orders to permit but one man to come up at a time during the night. These sentinels were often guilty of the most wanton cruelty. William Burke, a prisoner for fourteen months in the Jersey, says that one night while the prisoners were huddled about the grate at the hatchway to obtain fresh air, awaiting their turn to go on deck, the sentinel thrust his bayonet among them, killing twenty-five of their number; and that this outrage was frequently repeated. But these acts of cruelty, instead of crushing the spirit of the rebels, as their enemies had fondly hoped, only incited them to new acts of daring; those already free, fought with the more desperation, choosing rather to face death than the dreaded prison-ship; while the prisoners, constantly seeking to escape, cherished life that they might one day take vengeance for their sufferings. How terrible sometimes was the retribution, may be gleaned from the following extract from the Life of Silas Talbot: "Two young men, brothers, belonging to a rifle "corps," says the author of the narrative, " were made "prisoners, and sent on board the Jersey. The elder "took the fever, and in a few days became delirious.

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536 HISTORY OF THE "One night (his end was fast approaching) he became "calm and sensible, and, lamenting his hard fate and "the absence of his mother, begged for a little water. "His brother, with tears, entreated the guard to give " him some, but in vain. The sick youth was soon in " his last struggles, when his brother offered the guard " a guinea for an inch of candle, only that he might see "him die. Even this was refused.'Now,' said he, "drying up his tears,'if it please God that I ever " regain my liberty, I'll be a most bitter enemy.' He " regained his liberty, rejoined the army, and when the " war ended, he had eight large and 127 small notches "on his rifle-stock!" To prove that the Jersey prison-ship was not an exceptional one, we will quote the testimony of prisoners on board the others. Freneau has given a graphic poetical account of his treatment on board the Scorpion and the hospital-ship.* Another says: " The

• We subjoin as a curiosity the following extract from Freneau's poem on the

"' Prison Ship "-a work which is now exceedingly rare: " Two hulks on Hudson's stormy bosom lie, Two further south affront the pitying eye; There the black Scorpion at her moorings rides, There, Strombolo swings, yielding to the tides, Here bulky Jersey fills a larger space, And Hunter, to all hospitals disgrace. Thou, Scorpion, fatal to thy crowded throng, Dire theme of horror and Plutonian song, Requir'st my lay-thy sultry decks I know, And all the torments that exist below. The briny wave that Hudson's bosom fills, Drained through her bottom in a thousand rills; Rotten and old, replete with sighs and groans,

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 537 "greatest inhumanity was experienced in a ship, of "which one Nelson, a Scotchman, had the superintend"ence (the Good Hope, afterwards burned by the pri-' soners, described by Sproat as the best prison-ship in "the world). Upwards of three hundred were confined Scarce on the waters she sustains her bones. Here, doomed to toil, or founder in the tide, At the moist pumps incessantly we ply'd; Here, doomed to starve, like famish'd dogs we tore The scant allowance that our tyrants bore. When to the ocean dives the western sun, And the scorch'd Tories fire their evening gun,'Down, rebels, down I' the angry Scotchmen cry,' Damn'd dogs, descend, or by our broadswords die 1' Hail dark abode! what can with thee compare? Heat, sickness, famine, death and stagnant airSwift from the guarded decks we rush'd along, And vainly sought repose-so vast our throng. Three hundred wretches here, deny'd all light, In crowded mansions pass th' infernal night. Some for a bed their tattered vestments join, And some on chests, and some on floors recline; Shut from the blessings of the evening air, Pensive we lay with mingled corpses there; Meagre and wan, and scorch'd with heat below, We look'd like ghosts, ere death had made us so. How could we else, where heat and hunger join'd, Thus to debase the body and the mind, Where cruel thirst the parching throat invades, Dries up the man, and fits him for the shades?9 No water ladled from the bubbling spring, To these dire ships the war-made monsters bring; By planks and pond'rous beams completely wall'd, In vain for water, and in vain, I call'dNo drop was granted to the midnight prayer, To Dives in these regions of despair! The loathsome cask a deadly dose contains, Its poison circling through the languid veins

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538 HISTORY OF THE "at a time on board. There was but one small fire"place to cook the food of such a number, and the "allowance was moreover frequently delayed. In the "short days of November and December, the steward "did not begin to serve out the rations till 11 A.M., SO 0 generous Britons I generous, as you say, To my parch'd tongue one cooling drop convey, Earth knows no torment like a thirsty throat, Nor hell a monster like your David Sproat I" Freneau was afterwards transferred to the hospital-ship Hunter, where he thus describes his treatment: " From Brooklyn groves a Hessian doctor came, Not great his skill, nor greater much his fame; Fair Science never call'd the wretch her own, And Art disdained the stupid man to own; Yet still he doom'd his genius to the rack, And, as you may suppose, was owned a quack. He, on his charge, the healing work begun With antimonial mixtures by the ton. Ten minutes was the time he deigned to stayThe time of grace allotted once a dayHe drench'd us well with bitter draughts,'tis true, Nostrums from hell and cortex from PeruSome with his pills he sent to Pluto's reign, And some he blistered with the flies of Spain; His cream of Tartar walked in deadly round,'Till the lean patient at the poison frown'd, And swore that hemlock, death, or what you will, Were nonsense to the drugs that stuffed his bill. On those refusing, he bestowed a kick, Or menaced vengeance with his walking-stick; Here, uncontroll'd he exercised his trade, And grew experienced by the deaths he made; By frequent blows we from his cane endur'd He killed at least as many as he cur'd, On our lost comrades built his future fame, And scattered fate where'er his footsteps came.'

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 539 "that the whole could not be served till 3. At sunset "the fire was ordered to be quenched, so that some "had not their-food dressed at all; many were obliged "to eat it half raw. No flour, oatmeal, and things of "like nature, suited to the condition of infirm people, "were allowed to the many sick-nothing but ship"bread, beef and pork." "I am now a prisoner," says another, "on board the ship Falmouth in N. Y., a place "the most dreadful; we are so confined that we have " not room even to lie down all at once to sleep." But we need not multiply corroborative statements to prove the horrors of the loathsome prison-ships. Negotiations were opened for the exchange of prisoners, and a long correspondence between Sproat and Abraham Skinner, the American commissary, ensued, which amounted to little more than mutual recrimination. The captives being mostly privateersmen, independent of the Continental service, Congress was unwilling to release healthy British prisoners in exchange, and thus give to the enemy a great and permanent strength, without receiving an equivalent. By the agreement between the armies, officers were to be exchanged for officers, soldiers for soldiers, and seamen for seamen. The Americans, however, had few naval prisoners; those captured by the privateers had been, for the most part, enlisted into the service, or suffered to go at large for the want of a suitable place wherein to secure them. Washington, who had no control over the marine department, remonstrated earnestly with Sir Henry Clinton and Admiral Digby against this inhuman treatment, and threatened to retaliate on the British

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540 HISTORY OF THE soldiers, but his protests were of little avail. The rebels were urged by threats and promises to enter into the British service. A few complied, trusting to the chances for a speedy desertion, while many more perished in the midst of darkness and privation, preferring death to a seeming infidelity to their country. It is estimated, we doubt if on sufficient authority, that eleven thousand were buried from the Jersey alone. Despite the vigilance of the guard, escapes were frequent, and a whole mess would sometimes suddenly be found missing without having given the slightest indication of their departure. After the arrival of Sir Guy Carlton, in the closing days of the war, a few of the prisoners were released on parole, but the condition of the majority remained substantially the same until the final cessation of hostilities. In marked contrast with this, the British prisoners were invariably treated with kindness and humanity, and though retaliation was sometimes threatened, the threat was never in a single instance carried into execution. But the treatment of American prisoners at New York, connived at if not sanctioned by the British commandants, must forever remain a stain upon the boasted civilization of England. On the 21st of September, 1776, while Howe's troops were still stretched in a cordon across the island, in readiness to fall upon the army of Washington, encamped upon the heights on the opposite side of Harlem Plains, a fire occurred, which reduced the greater portion of the city to ashes. The conflagration broke out in a small wooden grog-shop near Whitehall Slip, whence it swept rapidly up Broad and Beaver streets to Broad

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CIT Y OF NEW YORK. 541 way, and thence consumed all the western part of the town. The progress of the flames was at length stayed by the college grounds at Barclay street; but ere this was done, five hundred houses fell in ruins to the ground. Trinity Church and the neighboring Lutheran chapel, on the site of the fuiture Grace Church, were destroyed, while St. Paul's Church was only saved by the unremitting exertions of the citizens, who mounted on the roof and extinguished the flakes of fire as they fell. No engines were at that time to be had in the city, and the people could only stand idly by and witness the work of destruction. Intense excitement prevailed among the British, who accused the Sons of Liberty of being the incendiaries, and even seized a number of the patriots and thrust them into the flames by way of revenge for the supposed outrage. Several of the citizens were also arrested and imprisoned on the charge of being accessories to the deed, but the accusations were not sustained, and they were afterward acquitted of the charge. No evidence exists, indeed, to prove that the origin of this fire was anything else than purely accidental, or that the suspicions of the British officers had any foundation. Much of the burned district had been covered with small wooden houses, tenanted by the lowest classes of society. Driven from their wretched homes by the fearful conflagration, and not knowing where else to find shelter, the miserable inmates tacked sheets of canvas to the remnants of charred walls and standing chimneys, thus forming a city of tents, in which they bivouacked, despite the inclemency of the weather, and the spot henceforth became known as Canvastown —a sort of

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542 HISTORY OF THE progenitor of the present Five Points, the haunt of crime and misery. A few days after the fire, Cadwallader Colden, who had for so many years played a prominent part in the affairs of the city, died at the advanced age of eightynine. He was a man of preeminent talent and of fine scientific attainments; the literature of the province had been greatly enriched by his valuable contributions, and, previously to the role which he was insnared to play in the drama of the Revolution, he had been loved and honored by the people. This false step was the only stain on his career; he succumbed to the temptation of private interests, and sacrificed the welfare of his countrymen to the arbitrary maintenance of the royal prerogative. Nor was he alone in this apostasy; many other scions of ancient and distinguished families espoused the cause of the king in the struggle, and openly ranged themselves among the Tories. Foremost among these was Oliver De Lancey, brother of the former lieutenantgovernor of the province, and one of the most zealous adherents of the royalist party. Inferior in talent to his brother, haughty and imperious in manners, yet possessing an almost diabolical knowledge of human nature, with an adroitness in using it which was rarely exceeded, he became a formidable enemy to the patriotic cause, and an object of detestation to the Liberty Boys; a party of whom, headed by the daring and impetuous Martling, came down from the American lines on the night of the 25th of November, 1777, and burned his house at Bloomingdale, by way of revenge for his infidelity to his country. At the close of the Revolution,

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 543 his estates, as well as those of his nephew, James De Lancey, were confiscated by the government; after which, he went to England, where he died, leaving numerous descendants. Many of the Tories who had been expelled from the surrounding country by the vigorous measures of the Committee of Safety, now removed to New York and took up their residence there. Rivington, returned to the city and recommenced the publication of his paper, now the Royal Gazette; while Holt was driven with his journal from place to place along the North River. Hugh Gaine still continued to publish his Gazette, more than ever devoted to the interests of the royalist party. During the winter, General Howe made New York his headquarters, from which he dispatched detachments by land and sea to harass the American forces. It was not long before General Lee was seized as he lay carelessly guarded at a considerable distance from the army, and brought a prisoner to the city, where he was lodged in one of the dungeons of the City Hall in Wall street. Lee was a born Englishman, and, on this ground was claimed by Howe as a deserter from the British army. Washington made the most urgent efforts to obtain his release, and, as he held no prisoner of equal rank in his hands, offered in exchange for him six Hessian field-officers; but these terms were refused by Howe, who threatened to send him to England for trial. " As you treat Lee, so shall the Hessians be treated," was the reply; and fearing the consequences, the British general dared not carry his threat into immediate execution, but kept him closely guarded, awaiting the moment

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544 HISTORY OF THE when the destruction of the American army, which seemed to him inevitable, should enable him to punish the culprit with impunity. He waited in vain; the surrender of Burgoyne, in the following autumn, proved the fallacy of these hopes, and he finally consented to the offered terms. A negotiation was also opened for the exchange of the rest of the American prisoners, but this failed of any result. Worn and debilitated by unwholesome food and inhuman treatment, the captives were wholly unfit for service, and Washington was unwilling to nullify his recent brilliant victories in the Jerseys by restoring to the British ranks a large corps of able and efficient Hessians in equal exchange for soldiers rendered useless beyond all hope of cure by the brutalities which they had endured in the British prisons. Humanity would have dictated the measure; policy forbade it. Washington vainly endeavored to effect their release on more equitable terms, and held a long correspondence with Howe upon the subject; but the latter remained immovable, and the prisoners were condemned to linger many more weary months amid the horrors of captivity. In April, 1777, the Convention assembled at Kingston framed the first written constitution of the State of New York. By this constitution, the office of governor was made elective by the people, and the legislative power was vested in two distinct bodies, deriving their authority from the same source. George Clinton, already distinguished for his patriotism in the annals of the province, was chosen the first governor-an office which he continued to hold for eighteen years. John Jay was

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 545'-, Porrait of John Jay, from the Original by Stuart, in the Possebsion of the Family. 35

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CITY OF N.EW YORK. 647 appointed Chief-Justice, and Robert R. Livingston, Chancellor of the new State, over which, until the meeting of the first legislature, the Committee of Safety still continued to exercise their authority. Philip Livingston, James Duarie, Francis Lewis, William Duer, and Gouverneur Morris were at the same time appointed delegates to the Continental Congress. Other States soon followed the example, and the new power that was springing up to a prominent position among the nations of the earth, grew stronger and more consolidated, day by day. A national flag was adopted, and the thirteen stars and stripes, typical of the thirteen original pioneers of the future constellation, waved for the first time over the American fortresses, carrying with it the assumption of a claim to general recognition. Commissioners were also dispatched to the various European courts, to ask their sympathy and aid; an appeal which was warmly responded to in France. Actuated partly, it may be, by enmity to an ancient foe, and partly by real sympathy for the struggling patriots, called forth by the eloquence of Franklin, Deane and Arthur Lee, the American Commissioners, the French government granted them money to fit out armed vessels for the relief of their countrymen, while many young noblemen, inspired with enthusiasm for the cause of liberty, proffered their services as volunteers in the projected expedition. Among these were Lafayette, Steuben, Pulaski, Kosciusko, De Kalb, and many more, whose names still live in the hearts of a grateful nation. These, by their knowledge of military science, afforded invaluable service to the undisciplined army,

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648 HISTORY OF THE gathered from the workshop and the plough, totally ignorant of the art of war, and only knowing how to die without shrinking in the defence of their liberty. Despite this welcome aid, and despite the cheering influence of the brilliant capture of Burgoyne at Saratoga, the season that followed was a terrible era of suffering. The hardships of the winter passed at Valley Forge, the half-starved army, encamped on the frozen ground, tentless, fireless, destitute of money and clothing, and marking their path on the snow by their bleeding feet, are too well known to require description at our hands. Darkness closed around the unhappy army, and nowhere were the clouds so dense as about the head of its heroic leader. This was the dark day of the life of Washington. The credit of Congress was exhausted and its treasury empty; the Continental bills, once so easy a resource, had so far depreciated in value as to be almost worthless, while the British at New York added largely to this depreciation by. putting in circulation immense quantities of spurious money of the same sort; yet this debased currency was all that remained to the commander-in-chief wherewith to pay his troops and purchase food to support their existence. Nor was this all, his ambitious and intriguing subordinates were secretly leagued against him, plotting to throw him down, that they might rise in his stead. A fortuitous circumstance alone hindered their success; the plot was skillfully laid, and the weight of a feather at this moment would have turned the balance, and precipitated Washington, now enshrined as an idol in the hearts of his adoring countrymen, into obscurity and oblivion.

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 549 How different might not have been the destiny of the future republic, had the intrigues of his enemies attained this culmination! They barely missed the achievement of their designs, and at this critical juncture it was New York that turned the scale, and preserved the credit and the future of George Washington. Flushed by the recent victory at Saratoga, Gates aspired to the chief command; and in this he was seconded by Mifflin, Conway, and many of the malcontents. In Congress, Richard Henry Lee and Samuel Adams led the factions party. Washington was loudly accused of incompetency; the losses of New York, Newport and Philadelphia, together with his recent defeats at Brandywine and Germantown, were urged against him, and his opponents left no means untried to enlist the leading men of the country in a coalition which should deprive him of his position as commander of the army. Lafayette was appealed to, but he indignantly repelled the overtures. Patrick Henry and Laurens were also addressed in anonymous letters; they forwarded the missives to Washington himself by way of reply. Yet many did not remain thus firm; the confidence in the commander-in-chief became gradually weakened; the mine was prepared and on the point of explosion. In respect to the denoument of the dark intrigue, we quote the words of Dunlap, the contemporary historian of the times: "The Congress at this "time sat at Little York, the enemy being in Phila"delphia. The confederacy of sovereign States had, "before 1777, in many instances been found wanting. " In July, 1778, the confederacy was signed; but on

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650 HISTORY OF THE "October 14th, 1777, Congress resolved that no State " should be represented by more than seven members or':less than two. New York had but two members pre"sent (Francis Lewis and William Duer), barely suf" ficient to give her a vote; one of those was lying sick. "this was a situation which rendered her a nullity, and "a day was appointed by the cabal to nominate a com"mittee to arrest Washington at the Valley Forge, " they having a majority, owing to the absence of New "York. " Francis Lewis, the only member from New York "capable of taking his place, sent for the absentee. "Col. William Duer sent for his physician, Dr. Jones, " and demanded whether he could be removed to the "courthouse (or place of meeting).'Yes, but at the "risk of your life. Do you mean that I should expire "before reaching the place? No; but I would not "answer for your life twenty-four hours after.Very "well, sir; you have done your duty; prepare a litter "for me; if you refuse, some one else shall, but I pre"fer your care in the case.' The litter was prepared, "and the sick man ready to sacrifice his life for his " country, when the faction, baffled by the arrival of "Gouverneur Morris, and by the certainty of New York "being against them, gave up the attempt, and the "hazardous experiment on the part of Col. Duer was "rendered unnecessary." Washington subsequently received information through Lord Stirling of a correspondence between Gates and Conway, which left him no longer in doubt as to the authors of the plot, though Gates, when taxed with it,

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 551 at first denied it, and afterwards apologized in humble terms. The intrigue was finally foiled, yet it would have been carried by a coTp de main, had it not been thwarted by the influence of the New York delegation. In the meantime, the English ministry, under Lord North, had made a last attempt to regain their authority over the colonies by renouncing the right of parliamentary taxation, and appointing commissioners to negotiate for the return of the colonies to their allegiance. These overtures were hailed with delight by the Tories and moderate men, who urged their acceptance;. but the Whigs refused to treat for anything short of an independence, and their determination was strengthened by the action of the French government, which, hitherto abstaining from a distinct alliance, now entered into a treaty of friendship and commerce, with pledges of a mutual defensive alliance in case that war should be declared against France by Great Britain. This treaty was followed by the anticipated result, and the British ambassador was recalled from Paris. Seeing the fatal consequences that must ensue, the opposition party in the Parliament, headed by Lord Rockingham, urged the ministry to abandon the struggle, and to acknowledge the independence of America; but this proposal was indignantly scouted as a treason, and Pitt, the former idol of America, in whose honor the colonists had kindled bonfires, and erected statues, rose in his seat and spoke against it with so much vehemence that, exhausted by the effort, he sank fainting to the floor, and was carried out of Parliament for the last time, expending his dying breath in a vain effort to retain the

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552 HISTORY OF THE supremacy of Great Britain over the colonies of America. His words prevailed, the measure was defeated, and the war was carried on with renewed vigor. Sir William Howe was recalled by his own request, and his place was filled by Sir Henry Clinton. Soon after this change, the battle of Monmouth was fought, resulting in the defeat of the British army, Clinton evacuated Philadelphia, and marched with his forces to New York, where all the army had been ordered to concentrate in order to thwart the plans of the French fleet under Count d'Estaing, which was approaching to blockade the British ships in the Delaware. A few days after he reached the city, D'Estaing arrived, and anchored his vessels off the harbor of New York, with the design of attacking the city, while Washington proceeded to White Plains with his army, intending to make a simultaneous attack by land upon the town. But the French ships were heavy, the pilots refused to take them over the bar, and the projected assault was finally abandoned. D'Estaing set sail for Newport, then held by a moderate force under General Pigot, while Admiral Howe, on his part, hastened to the relief of his officer. On the 15th of August, before the attack could take place, a violent storm shattered the vessels and drove them off the coast. D'Estaing abandoned the blockade and set sail for Boston for repairs, while the British fleet returned again to New York, together with Clinton, who had also marched with a land force to the relief of Newport. On the 9th of August, 1778, the second great fire broke out in the city of New York. The conflagration

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CITY OF NEW YOR'K. 553 commenced in Dock, now Pearl, in the vicinity of Broad street, and raged with violence for several hours, consuming three hundred houses on the eastern side of the city. The fire companies had been disbanded during the revolutionary struggle, and the military charged themselves with extinguishing the fire;but, inexperienced in the work, they accomplished but little. Warned by this example, orders were subsequently issued by the commander-in-chief that the soldiers should help, but not order in future conflagrations. Scarcely had the flames been quenched when a new calamity occurred. The Morning Star powder-ship, which was anchored in the East River, was struck by lightning during a violent thunder-storm; and so terrific was the explosion that the houses along the shore were unroofed by the shock, the windows shattered, and the furniture demolished. The crew had fortunately gone on shore, leaving the vessel in the care of a boy, who perished with his charge. At this time, General Robertson was the commandant of the city and the so-called royal governor of the province. This office was afterward filled by Colonel Birch, who resided in the Verplanck Mansion in Wall street, on the site of the future United States Bank, Baron Knyphausen still remained in the city, and acted as deputy commander-in-chief in the absence of Sir Henry Clinton. Andrew Eliot was lieutenant-governor and superintendent of the police, and David Mathews retained the office of mayor, to which he had been appointed on the resignation of Whitehead Hicks in the early part of the year 1776.

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554 HISTO RY OF THE The summer and autumn of 1778 were marked by the barbarous massacres of Wyoming and Cherry Valleyacts of cruelty which stirred up the indignation of the patriots and urged them on to an almost superhuman struggle for vengeance. Retaliatory expeditions were dispatched against the settlements of the Iroquois, who had leagued themselves with the British, and many of their villages were destroyed. But the seat of the war was now about to be transferred to the South. During the summer, Clinton had been busily employed in fortifying New York, then supposed to be destined for the next point of attack by the combined forces of the French and the Americans. Early in November, this design was abandoned, and Count d'Estaing set sail for the West Indies with a view to attacking the British colonies in that quarter. On the same day, the English Admiral Hotham set sail from Sandy Hook in pursuit, and in the ensuing month, he was followed by Admiral Byron, who had superseded Howe in the command of the British fleet. A few days after, Clinton dispatched General Campbell with a force of three thousand five hundred men, against Savannah, then defended by the American general, RobertHowe. The expedition proved successful, and the British troops were soon in possession of the greater part of Georgia. At the North, the campaign was carried on with vigor. Ex-Governor Tryon marched with a strong force into Connecticut, plundering and burning the settlements, and leaving ruin everywhere in his path; while Clinton himself headed foraging expeditions from the city, laying waste the surrounding country, and capturing Stony Point and its

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 555 neighbor, Verplanck's Point, on the Hudson River. Yet victory was not wholly on the side of the British; the brilliant recapture of Stony Point by General Wayne on the 15th of July, 1779, inspired the Americans with fresh courage, and the naval victory of John Paul Jones closed the campaign with signal success to the patriot forces. Late in December of the same year, Sir Henry Clinton embarked in person for Savannah with seven thousand men, leaving New York in charge of General Knyphausen. The winter of 1779-80 was one of intense severity. Anticipating the scarcity of fuel, the commander-in-chief had ordered the wood on Staten and Long Islands to be cut by the proprietors and brought into market under penalty of forcible seizure, yet this provision failed to secure the needed supply, and many of the citizens were even compelled to burn their furniture for fuel as a last resort.*

• We are indebted to the late Isaac Bell, sen., long a resident of this city, who

had seen the Revolution with his own eyes, been present when the iron balls were broken by the people from the railing about the Bowling Green to serve as leaden missives to the crew of the Asia on the occasion of the bombardment of the city, and when the statue of George III. was dragged from its pedestal and drawn through the streets of the city; who had angled for blackfish in the waters about the Old Jersey, and skated with Prince William Henry, the fut,ure VVilliam IV., then an awkward sailor boy on his first cruise, on the IAspenard Meadows-the Collect being regarded as too dangerous a place for the scion of royalty-for very many interesting reminiscences of this winter, which, he said, exceeded any thing in severity that had ever been dreamed of by that classic authority, the oldest inhabitant. Wood was not to be had at any price, and many families would split up their chairs and tables to cook their breakfast, then go to bed for the rest of the day in order to keep warm. The father of Mr. Bell, a well-known ship-builder of the city, cut up a cable worth six hundred dollars for backlogs, and a spar of the same value for firewood. The rivers about the city were transformed into a solid bridge of ice for forty days;

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556 HI'STORY OF T'HE Firewood was scarce and hardly to be bought at any price; provisions were dear, and the general suffering was increased still more by the depreciation of the Continental currency, which, taken at par, remained a drug in the hands of its possessors. Excessive suffering was experienced among the poor, as well as in the American army, still encamped in the Jerseys, and enduring a repetition of the horrors of Valley Forge. The waters about New York were transformed into a solid block of ice, and men and horses passed over with impunity to the Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut shores. Tempted by the opportunity afforded him by the icy bridge, Lord Stirling projected a secret expedition to Staten Island from the Jersey shores, hoping to surprise the detachments which were stationed there; but the vigilant Tories of the neighborhood gave the alarm. A convoy of eighty sleighs, filled with provisions and stores, with the same number of cannon, was sent at once, under an escort of a hundred soldiers, from New York to the relief of the island; and Stirling was forced on his arrival to retreat with a trifling loss. The campaign of 1780 opened disastrously for the patriots. After making himself master of South Carolina by a series of brilliant successes, Clinton returned in June to New York, leaving Cornwallis with a strong detachment to guard the conquered province. The defeat of Gates and Sumter soon followed, and the British commander remained in triumphant possession forty days; and Mr. Bell said that he saw with his own eyes the eighty cannon above alluded to, dragged across to Staten Island from the foot of Rector street to repel the expected attack of Lord Stirling.

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 557 of the whole of the southern region, harassed, it is true, by an annoying guerrilla warfare on the part of Sumter and Marion. In the meantime, Knyphausen crossed with a detachment of five thousand men from Staten Island to New Jersey, and, taking possession of Elizabethtown and burning Connecticut Farms, endeavored to wrest the province from the American forces, but, finding them too strong for him, was compelled to retreat and to return to the city. The treason of Arnold was the prominent event of the year 1780. Brave almost to rashness, he had achieved brilliant successes in the previous campaigns, and won the implicit confidence of Washington. But despite his consummate military talents-despite the northern campaign and the battle of Behmus' Heights, in which his tact and ability had won the admiration of both friends and foes, he had for some time been growing unpopular both with Congress and with the people. With the former, this was natural. Arnold was a man of fearless courage; no officer in the ranks of the army had served more efficiently or won more brilliant victories than had he, and in acknowledged bravery and military ability he stood foremost among the generals of the day; yet, despite this, Congress evinced a manifest disposition to keep him in the background by promoting inferior officers above him, and constantly assigning to him subordinate commands. Much of this may be attributed to military jealousy; much, too, it may be, to the fact that he was known as a warm friend of Washington, who, at this time. was far from popular in the councils of the nation. Chafed by these tokens of evident injustice, and

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558 HISTORY OF THE goaded on by a naturally jealous and imperious dispositino, Arnold complained bitterly of the slights to which he was subjected; while Washington used every effort to soothe his wounded spirit, and on the evacuation of Philadelphia by the British forces in 1778, procured him the command of the city. Soon after his entrance into his new office, he married Margaret Shippen, the daughter of a well-known Tory citizen of Philadelphia, who had been the friend and companion of the young British officers quartered in the city during the previous winter, anmong whom was Major Andre, the aid-de-camp and confidential friend of Sir Henry Clinton. This union tempted him to the indulgence of his naturally luxurious tastes; the finest house in the town was chosen by himn as his residence, and fitted up in a costly style, and his. whole menage was conducted in a manner better befitting the purse of a prince than that of a simple officer of an impoverished army. This extravagance soon excited the murmurs of the citizens, who openly accused him of peculation. To add to this, he soon became involved in disputes with the mayor and common council in respect to the bounds of his authority as the military commandant of the city; and, by their direction, he was finally prosecuted by the attorney-general of the State on various charges of criminality and willful abuse of power, tried by a court-martial, found guilty in part, and sentenced to be reprimanded by the commander-in-chief. This painful task was performed by Washington with all possible delicacy; despite the faults of Arnold, he loved him as a brother, and had constantly endeavored to soothe his fiery temper and to

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 559 CD f.~ o -4CD U CD o!'! 0;-p 0 z 0 d ~ ~ ~ J // bnSWn~i~lf~~'~Yli~B~ A# / /'

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 561 persuade him to endure his grievances with manly fortitude. Stung to the quick by the public rebuke, the proud and impatient general speedily resolved on a revenge which, if not more justifiable, might have been more excusable, had it not been mingled with mercenary conditions. But, drawn on by his late alliance to aspire to a luxurious household with little means of support beyond those he derived from the impoverished treasury of his country, he now resolved by selling himself to effect the twofold purpose of accomplishing his revenge and of procuring the means for a continuance of his pleasures. For this purpose, he first offered himself to the French ambassador, who rejected his overtures with scorn. Foiled in this quarter, he next opened a negotiation with Clinton through the medium of Major Andr6, who received him with open arms. The better to effect his treasonable designs, and to enhance their value to the enemies of his country, he sought and obtained the command of West Point, at this time the key of the American possessions, which he proposed to deliver into the hands of Clinton. The price of this treachery was fixed at ten thousand pounds sterling, with the post of brigadier-general in the British army. At this time, Sir Henry Clinton had his head-quarters in the Kennedy House, No. 1 Broadway, now the Washington Hotel. Here he laid his plans for the seizure of West Point, and intrusted the brave young Andr6 with the papers and commission necessary to effect the purpose, which proved his death-warrant, paving the way to an ignominious doom. The sequel has been too

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562 HISTORY OF THE often and too graphically described in general histories to require a detailed notice at our hands. The gallant young officer was arrested on his return from his perilous errand, and, despite the earnest efforts of Clinton, despite the anguish of Washington himself, condemned to execute a sentence against which his heart revolted, was sacrificed to that inexorable military code which prescribes an ignoble death on the gallows as the inevitable doom of a spy. But far different was his death from that of young Hale; his last moments were soothed by every attention that humanity could dictate, and, a victim to the stern necessities of war, he met his fate amid the tears of his executioners. Arnold, meanwhile, received the price of blood, and took up his abode in New York, branded with the scorn even of those for whom he had sacrificed his honor. Here he lived for some time in partial concealment, sometimes in the Verplanck House in Wall street, and sometimes at No. 9 Broadway, near the residence of Clinton. The most earnest efforts were made by his incensed countrymen to effect his capture. The gallant Champe, risking his life and reputation, feigned to desert to the British army, and, escaping with difficulty the pursuit of his comrades, swam the river to New York, where he was warmly received by Arnold, his perilous escape insuring full faith in the fidelity of his professions. The supposed deserter at once gained free access to the house in Broadway, and matured his plans for the projected capture. An alley adjoined the garden of the house, through which the conspirators proposed to pass, and, entering the garden by removing some palings, pre

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 563 viously loosened by Champe, to proceed to the house under the guidance of their comrade, seize their victim, gag him, and carry him off by the same route to the boat which would await them by the shore. The plan was well laid; a fortuitous circumstance alone prevented its execution. On the day preceding the one fixed for the capture, Champe was ordered to embark for Chesapeake, while Arnold removed from his head-quarters to another house nearer the place of embarkation. The Americans, punctual at the rendezvous, waited in vain for several hours on the opposite shore; then returned to the camp, disappointed in one of their dearest wishes. Champe seized the earliest opportunity to desert from the southern army and return to his comrades to clear up the stain that had rested on his honor. Arnold remained in the service of the British until the close of the war, when he repaired to England, where he died in 1801, leaving a name blackened with infamy. The winter of 1780-81 differed little from the preceding. Disaffection prevailed among the army, who grumbled at their scanty fare and arrears of pay. So violent did this feeling become that, on the first of' January, the Pennsylvania troops abandoned the mainl arriy in a body, and set out for Philadelphia to demand of Congress a redress of their grievances. On hearing of this, Sir Henry Clinton at once dispatched emissaries to induce them to desert to the British service, but the indignant patriots seized the agents, bound them, and delivered them up to Congress to be treated as spies. They were met at Princeton by a deputation from

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564 HISTORY OF THE Congress, which promised them relief. Steps were immediately taken to secure the needed provisions; taxes and requisitions were levied upon the surrounding country, and money, ammunition and clothing were furnished in tolerable supplies. Much of this was due to the influence of Robert Morris, a wealthy merchant of Philadelphia and able financier, at that time superintendent of the treasury, who exhausted every resource that his means and credit could offer, and resorted to every expedient that his ingenuity could invent, to furnish the necessary provisions and prevent the army from disbanding in hopeless despair. The southern campaign of this year opened favorably for the Americans. General Greene, who had superseded Gates in the command of the southern army, harassed the British forces severely, and forced them at length to retreat to Charleston, leaving him in possession of the rest o the Carolinas. Meanwhile, Lafayette, in Virginia, watched the movements of Cornwallis, and thwarted his plans continually. In June, the French army under Count Rochambeau marched from Newport to rejoin Washington in the Highlands, and, at the same time, intelligence was received that Count de Grasse was on his way from France with a powerful fleet to the American coasts. Anticipating that New York would be the next point of attack, Clinton ordered Cornwallis to abandon the interior of Virginia and march to the sea-coast, to be in readiness to reinforce the garrison of the city. The latter obeyed, and proceeding to Yorktown on the south side of York River, intrenched himself there; Glou

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 565 cester's Point, on the opposite side of the river, being occupied by Col. Tarleton. Toward the last of August, De Grasse appeared off the coast, and, instead of proceeding to New York as had been expected, made his way to the Chesapeake, where, entering the bay, he engaged the British fleet under Graves which arrived a few days after, and covered the landing of the French squadron from Newport which had been dispatched with stores for the siege of Cornwallis, now blockaded at Yorktown by several frigates under the command of Lafayette. Worsted in the action, Graves returned to New York to refit, leaving De Grasse in possession of the bay. In the meantime, Washington and Rochambeau, who had succeeded in firmly persuading Clinton of their designs on New York, suddenly took up their march for Yorktown, nor was the astonished general aware of the feint until they were safely encamped before the army of Cornwallis. Hoping to divert the attention of Washington, Clinton dispatched Arnold on a marauding expedition against Connecticut, which resulted in the burning of New London, together with the destruction of Fort Griswold and the massacre of its brave commander, Captain Ledyard, with the greater part of the garrison. But this brutal outrage did not serve to check the advances of the combined armies, who had now completely invested Cornwallis. On the evening of the 9th of October, a heavy fire was opened by the besiegers on the town, which was continued at intervals for several days. On the 14th, a simultaneous attack was made by a French and American detachment, the latter under the command of Alex

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566 HISTORY OF THE ander Hamilton, upon two redoubts, in advance and on the left of the British lines, which were successfully carried. The works were immediately included within the American lines, and a cannonading opened thence upon Cornwallis. Seeing himself thus closely besieged, his guns dismounted, his men constantly falling around him, and all hope of escape definitively cut off, after a last attempt at a desperate sally, the general at length consented to surrender, and, on the 17th of October, capitulated to the patriot forces, and surrendered himself with seven thousand troops as prisoners of war. Five days afterwards, Sir Henry Clinton appeared in the mouth of the Chesapeake with large reinforcements, but on hearing of the surrender, returned with precipitation to New York. This signal victory virtually closed the war. Public rejoicings were proclaimed throughout the country, and the 13th of December was set apart as a day of general thanksgiving. The victorious army separated; De Grasse set sail for the West Indies, Rochambeau bivouacked in Virginia for the winter campaign, and Washington returned with the main body of the army to his fortified post in the Highlands, first sending St. Clair with a strong detachment to the southern army to reinforce General Greene. Upon the reception of the news of this defeat in England, Clinton was superseded in his command by Sir Guy Carleton, who arrived at New York soon after, and took up his residence in the Kennedy, now the Government House. But it was evident to all that the appointment was merely nominal, and that the time had

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 567 come for the cessation of hostilities. The peace party in Parliament renewed their efforts to put an end to the war, and, strengthened by the manifest public approval, their influence grew so formidable that, on the 28th of March,1782, Lord North resigned his place at the head of the Cabinet. His office was immediately filled by Lord Rockingham, the leader of the opposition. Under his leadership, the future could not be doubtful, and Sir Guy Carleton was charged with instructions to negotiate for an early treaty of peace. The summer passed away in correspondence and negotiations; and it was not until the 30th of November of the same year that preliminary articles of peace were signed at Paris by Mr. Oswald, on the part of Great Britain, and John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, and Henry Laurens in behalf of the United States. Thomas Jefferson, who should have been among the number, was absent by reason of the illness of his wife. Similar articles were soon after concluded between France and England. For some time, the ambassadors attempted through intrigue to prevail on the American Commissioners to accept a truce for twenty years instead of an open acknowledgment of independence; and it is even asserted that Franklin himself had nearly assented to this arrangement, but, just at this juncture, John Jay arrived from Spain, and flatly refused to accept such a comwPeomise. Oswald at length reluctantly consented to the proposed conditions, and, on the 3d of September, 1783, signed a definitive treaty on the part of Great Britain, recognizing the independence of the United States, and fixing the great lakes on the North and the Mississippi on the West as

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568 CITY OF NEW YORK. the boundaries of the new nation. The Floridas were ceded to Spain, their former owner, and the contested point of an unlimited right of fishing on the banks of Newfoundland was conceded to the United States by the British government. A cessation of hostilities had been proclaimed in the American camp on the preceding 19th of April, the eighth anniversary of the battle of Lexington. On the 3d of November, 1783, the Continental army was disbanded by order of Congress, and, on the 25th of the same month, General Washington entered the city of New York at noon, by the Bowery, then the only road, while, at the same time, the British troops evacuated the city, and, entering the ships that lay anchored in the harbor, unfurled their sails and slowly sailed down the bay. The American militia, under the command of General Knox, immediately took command of the fort, the stars and stripes for the first time were unfurled from its walls a triumphant salute was fired by the corps of artillery, and, after a seven years' foreign occupation, New York was again in possession of her citizens.

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CHAPTER XVIII. 1783-1801. Washington in New York-Parting with his Officers at Fraunces' Tavern-Progress of the City-The Doctors' Mob. NOT openly and fairly was this evacuation made; the British, departing by the provisions of an honorable treaty, employed the last moments of their presence in the city in the commission of a base and unmanly outrage. Unreeving the halliards of the flagstaff at Fort George, they knocked off the cleats and greased the pole to prevent the hoisting of the American colors; then evacuated the fort, sure that the stars and stripes would not be hoisted until they were far out of sight of their folds. The discovery of this act excited general indignation, yet it did not delay the ceremony as its perpetrators had wished. A sailor-boy attempted at once to climb the bare pole, but it was too slippery, and he failed in the attempt. Upon this, the bystanders ran precipitately to Goelet's hardware store in Hanover Square, and, procuring hammers, nails, and other necessary tools, set to 69

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5 70 HISTORY OF THE work, some to saw, some to split, and others to bore new cleats for the flagstaff. Filling his pockets with these, the sailor-boy tied the halliards around his waist, and, nailing the cleats above him on the right and left, ascended, reeved the halliards, and hoisted the flag to its place; and as the stars and stripes reached the top of the mast, a salute of thirteen guns rung its echoes in the ears of the discomfited troops, not yet out of hearing of the sound of triumph. Another incident, related by an eye-witness of the scene. who is still living, may serve to illustrate the reluctance with which the British quitted their hold of the city which they had so long claimed as their own. By the conditions agreed upon, the city was to be surrendered at noon, but an impatient shopkeeper in the neighborhood of Chambers street anticipated the arrangement, and hoisted the American flag durirg the course of the morning. Provost-marshal Cunningham hastened to the spot and confronted the proprietor. "Pull down " that flag;" exclaimed he with an oath; "the city " belongs to the British till noon." The man objected, hesitated, and was on the point of yielding, when the good woman of the house came to the rescue. "The "flag shall not come down," said she. Cunningham stormed and swore, and finally attempted to tear down the colors with his own hands, but the woman assailed him so vigorously with her broomstick, striking a cloud of powder from his wig at each blow, that he was forced at last to abandon the field and leave the stars and stripes in quiet possession. General Knox was at once installed as commander-in

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 573 chief of the military forces in the city. General Washington lingered a few days, fixing his head-quarters at Fraunces' or Black Sam's Tavern, as it was familiarly called in allusion to the swarthy complexion of its proprietor, on the corner of Pearl, then Queen, and Broad streets, where at noon, on the 4th of December, his officers assembled to bid him farewell. The scene was an affecting one. The dangers and privations of years had knit officers and general together as comrades, and now that the object of all was attained, in the happiness of peace was felt the pang of separation. Washington himself could scarce restrain his feelings; his friends did not attempt to do so. Filling a glass for a farewell toast, he turned to the company and said: " With a heart full of " love and gratitude, I now take leave of you, and most " devoutly wish that your latter days may be as pros. "perous and happy as your former ones have been "glorious and honorable." He raised the glass to his lips, then continued: " I cannot come to each of you to " take my leave; but shall be obliged if each one will "come and take me by the hand." They obeyed ill silence-none could speak; Knox first, then the others embraced him in turn; then turning silently from the weeping group, he passed from the room, and walked to WThitehall, followed by his comrades, where a barge was in waiting to convey him to Paulus Hook. Having entered the boat, he bade them adieu with a silent gesture, and the procession returned to their place of rendezvous, mute and dejected at the loss of their leader. Washington proceeded to Annapolis, where Congress was then in session, and, resiogning his commission as

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574 HISTORY OF THE commander-in-chief, hastened to Mount Vernon to resume the duties of a private citizen. The city now began to fall back into a state of order, and to resume the appearance of tranquillity. It was time, indeed; its commerce was ruined and its growth retarded; it had paid a heavy tribute to the cause of liberty. No change was made in the character of the city government. The Dongan and Montgomerie charters were resumed as authority, the controlling power that had formerly been exercised by Great Britain being vested in the State. The city was still divided into seven wards, an alderman and an assistant from each of which were chosen annually by the people, while the appointment of the mayor remained with the State government. This office was solicited by the mass of the people for James Duane, a native-born citizen, who had wrecked his fortune in the Revolutionary struggle, and had now returned to his farm, near Gramercy Park, to find his house burned and his property destroyed. The desired appointment was granted by Clinton, and,k on the 5th of February, 1784, he was installed as the first mayor of the city under the new regime; an office which he con tinued to hold until 1789,when he resigned it for that oI District Judge of the District of New York. On the 11th of September, General Lafayette passed through the city on his return to France, and was received with all the enthusiasm which a grateful people could offer. Upon his arrival, he was waited upon by the corporation, who tendered him a complimentary address, with the freedom of the city. He remained but a few days. On his departure, he was

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 575 escorted to the wharf by a large concourse of citizens, who witnessed his departure with sincere regret. The same welcome was extended soon after by the city authorities to John Jay, on his arrival from his successful European mission, and also to Baron Steuben, who visited the city during the same autumn. On the 2d of December, Washington arrived in the city, where he was received with a burst of enthusiasm. The corporation paid him the highest honors in their power, while the citizens vied with each other in proving by their thanks that the days of the Revolution were not yet forgotten. The next few years wore away with little event. Commerce, so long depressed, slowly revived, and public improvements were again talked of; but, though much was projected, little was done till the beginning of the next century. The city was forced, as it were, to begin life anew; her trade was ruined, her treasury empty, her people even yet divided among themselves. Feuds were existing everywhere, the effect of the recent war. The patriots returned from their long expatriation with their hearts full of bitterness against those-and they were many-who had clung to the royalist side and remained in possession of their homes during the days of trial; while the latter indulged in bitter invectives against the newly-established government, which, in many instances, had confiscated their estates, and branded them by its success as traitors to their country. New York was suffering from all the evils which a seven years' foreign occupation could inflict upon a city. Paralyzed by the long-continued dominion of a foreign narmy.

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576 HISTORY OF THE with a disorganized government, an interrupted commerce, and a scattered population, years were needed to recuperate its energies and fully to complete the work of its resuscitation. The spirit of public improvement soon revived, and the city began to grow apace. The population at this time numbered about twenty-three thousand inhabitants. The first step towards progress was made in the improvement of the waste ground about the Collect, through which Reade and Duane streets were opened in 1794. The upper barracks along the line of Chambers street, now useless for their original purpose, were leased as dwellings for the benefit of the corporation. These barracks, which had been built during the old French war, were rude log huts, a single story in height, extending from Broadway to Chatham street, and inclosed by a high wall, with a gate at each end. From the eastern, familiarly known as "Tryon's Gate," was derived the name of the present Tryon Row. The process of filling in and grading the grounds about the Collect went on slowly; ere long, it infringed upon the lake itself. A survey of the pond and the land about it was made in 1790, and, during the following year, the corporation purchased the claim of the heirs of Anthony Rutgers, for the sum of one hundred and fifty pounds sterling. This done, the pond was staked off, and the work of filling up the grounds in its vicinity from the neighboring hills went on during several years. In 1796, a canal through Lispenard's Meadows, from the Collect to the North River, was proposed and sometime after constructed along the

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 579 line of Canal street. This canal was forty feet wide with a street on each side of the width of thirty feet. A stone bridge of a single arch, ten feet seven inches above the surface of the meadow, crossed it at the junction of Broadway and Canal street. The pond, meanwhile, remained the same, deep, clear and sparkling-a miniature sea in the heart of the city. Its waters still furnished food for the angler, and rumors were rife of strange sea monsters which had been seen therein, one of which had carried off a Hessian trooper in the days of the Revolution. It was a man-trap, too, for the unwary traveller, and, from time to time, a citizen, who had mistaken his way in the darkness or had drank too deeply, fell from its banks and was drowned where now is solid ground. The possibility of such a transformation had not yet occurred to the busy speculators; but schemes were projected to convert the beautiful lake into a means of ornament and profit. One company proposed to buy up the lands about it, and, preserving the lake in its primitive condition, to lay out a portion of the grounds as a public park, and realize their expected profit from the enhanced value of the remainder. But this project was scouted as visionary by the cautious capitalists, who could not credit that the. city would ever extend so far; the proprietors of the land, joining in the belief, were unwilling to risk their property in so wild a scheme; and the plan which would have preserved an inland sea in the heart of the city-a natural feature shared by no other-was finally abandoned by its enterprising projectors. Another company proposed to cut a ship canal through

Page 580

.580 HISTORY OF THE the island, connecting the pond with the rivers on either side, and thus to convert it into a magnificent inland harbor; but this scheme failed for the same reasons as the other-the capitalists lacked faith in such extravagant hopes of the future city. As the city increased and the once-neglected lands grew valuable as gold-mines, the Collect was gradually filled in from the surrounding hills, till, in process of time, the lake over whose waters the Indians had so often guided their canoes, was transformed into firm earth, the site of the gloomy "Tombs " with its neighborhood of crime and misery. From the earliest times, the Dutch "Vlackte" or Flat-the English Commons-had been recognized as the property of the city, to be used for public purposes. These purposes had been somewhat various, it is true; a pasture under the peaceful sway of the Dutch burghers, it had become, in the stormy times which preceded the Revolution, the gathering-place of the patriots-the cradle of Liberty. What Faneuil Hall was to Boston, was the Commons to New York. There the enthusiastic Sons of Liberty, under the chieftainship of Scott, Sears, Lamb and McDougall, assembled to denounce the obnoxious Stamp Act; there they fought bravely in defence of their Liberty-Pole, the exponent of a right and a principle; there they ended the battle of Golden Hill-the first battle of the Revolution-a contest undertaken, not from the impulse of sudden anger, but in defence of the liberties of the people; there, too, were the Bridewell, the New Jail and the old Provost, the gloomy prisons of the victims of Howe and Clinton. At this time, as lheretofore, the Commons lay open,

Page 581

CITY OF NEW YORK. 581 uninclosed by any kind of fence or wall. On the north side, was the Alms House and House of Correction. The Bridewell stood at the west end of the present City Hall, and the New Jail, now the Hall of Records, occupied its present position. Between the Alms House and the Bridewell was the public gallows, which, transferred in 1756 from its place near the lower end of the Park to the foot of Catiemut's Hill, in the vicinity of the Five Points, had been removed again to the Commons in 1784. In 1796, a new Alms House was built on Chambers street in the rear of the old one, now so dilapidated as to be unfit for further use, into which the inmates were removed in the course of the following year. The Bridewell had been erected in 1775 on the site of the first Liberty-Pole, and within the bounds of the piece of land purchased for the second in 1770. This land was still the property of the Sons of Liberty, and in 1785, Isaac Sears, in whose name it had been purchased, claimed it on their behalf, and offered to release all -right and title to it for eighty pounds sterling, with lawful interest; the amount of the original purchase money. The claim was allowed by the corporation, and the sum ordered forthwith to be paid; but the said payment was never made, and the grounds to the northwest of the City Hall still belong to the heirs of the New York Liberty Boys. In 1790, the first sidewalks in the city were laid on the west side of Broadway from Vesey to Murray street, and opposite for the same distance along the Bridewell fence. These were narrow pavements of brick and

Page 582

582 HIST3RY O F THE stone, scarcely wide enough to permit two persons to walk abreast. Above Murray street, Broadway was a succession of hills, having its highest elevation in the vicinity of Anthony street, where the road rose precipitously over a steep hill, then descended as abruptly on the other side to the valley at Canal street. In 1797, the grade of Broadway from Duane to Canal streets was established by the corporation, though some time elapsed before the proposed improvement was reduced to fact. The highest point of the projected grade was at the intersection of Broadway and Leonard street, whence it was to descend gradually to the bridge across the meadow at Canal street, where the land required to be raised about seven inches. But, in return, at Leonard street, it was necessary to cut through the hill to the depth of fifteen and a half feet, and at Anthony street to the depth of twenty-two feet nine inches. At Pearl street, the ground was four feet nine inches above the proposed grade. The need of street numbers had been for some time tendered apparent by the increasing growth of the city, and in 1793, the corporation appointed a committee to prepare and report a feasible system. This was done, and the proposed method, beginning at the next house in every street terminating at either of the rivers, at the intersection of the main street next the river, and numbering all houses below these intersecting streets, beginning with No. 1, looking upward in all the main streets and downward in all the slips, and so on to the end of the street or slip, was adopted by the corporation. Fromn the evacuation of New York by the British

Page 583

CITY OF NEW YORK. 583 troops in 1783 to the organization of the Federal Government in 1789, the most exciting event that happened in the city was probably the riot, known since familiarly as the Doctors' Mob. During the winters of 1787 and 1788, a number of dead bodies had been dug up by stealth by medical students and others, not only from the Potter's Field and the Negroes' Burial-Groundthen reckoned lawful prey —but from the private cemeteries of the city; and the fact becoming known, excited a general ferment among the people, and awakened a violent prejudice against the medical profession. As is usual in such cases, the facts were greatly exaggerated by public rumor, the most absurd reports were circulated through the city, and the New York Hospital-at that time the only one —was regarded by the people with superstitious horror. On the 13th of April, while the public mind was in this excited state, some students thoughtlessly exposed the limb of a body from the window of the dissecting-room in sight of a group of boys who were at play in the rear of the Hospital.' The news spread like lightning, and was instantly caught up by the unemployed crowds who were loitering in the streets to enjoy the leisure of the day. An immense multitude speedily assembled, and, besiegcing the Hospital, burst open the doors, and destroyed a collection of anatomical preparations, the most of which had been imported from abroad. Some fresh subjects were discovered, which were borne away and interred in triumph. The terrified physicians attempted to secrete themselves, but were dragged from their hiding-places, and would assuredly have been sacrificed to the fury of the crowd, had not

Page 584

584 HISTORY OF THE the magistrates interfered and lodged them in the jail for safety. Satisfied with their work of vengeance, the crowd dispersed, and the physicians flattered themselves that the affair was over. They were mistaken; it was but the beginning of the play. The next morning, the crowd assembled with fresh reinforcements, and avowed their purpose of searching the houses of the suspected physicians. Clinton, Hamilton, Jay and others remonstrated, assuring them that justice would be rendered them by the law; and, after searching Columbia College and several of the suspected houses, they were at length persuaded to retire. In the afternoon, matters grew more serious. A party of the more violent gathered about the jail, and demanded possession of the students who were lodged there. This demand was of course refused; to have complied would hasve been to deliver over the victims to certain destruction. Alarmed at the hostile attitude of the gathering, the mayor promptly called out the militia, and, about three o'clock, dispatched a small party to the defence of the refugees, which was suffered by the mob to pass without much molestation. A reinforcement of twelve men, dispatched to their aid an hour after, were arrested and disarmed before they reached the jail. Elated with this success, the rioters next attacked the building, but were beaten back by the handful of militia which had first been sent there, and which maintained its ground against desperate odds. The city became the scene of intense excitement. The mob, unable to force the jail, tore down the fences and

Page 585

CITY OF NEW YORK. 585 broke the windows, vowing destruction to every doctor in the city. The crowd about the building increased every moment, and the position of affairs grew so alarming that, about dusk, the mayor marched with a large party of armed citizens to the relief of the besieged. The friends of law and order hastened to the spot, and vainly exerted their eloquence to allay the tempest and prevent the shedding of blood. They were assailed in reply by a volley of stones and brickbats. one of which struck John Jay in the forehead while he was earnestly entreating the multitude to disperse, and felled him to the earth, wounding him severely. Finding all other arguments in vain, the mayor at length determined to fire upon the rioters. Baron Steuben interposed and implored him to desist, but, before he could finish the entreaty, a stone whizzed through the air and laid him prostrate. " Fire, mayor, fire!" cried he, before he had touched the ground. The mayor hesitated now no longer; the order was given, the militia obeyed, and a number of the rioters fell at the first volley, while the remainder dispersed without waiting for the second. Five persons were killed in the fray, and seven or eight severely wounded. A ludicrous incident, illustrative of the height of the popular fury, occurred during the riot, which was nearly attended by disastrous consequences. While the excitement was at its height, a party of the rioters chanced to pass the house of Sir John Temple, then resident British Consul at New York, and mistaking the name of " Sir John " for " surgeon," attacked it furiously, and were with difficulty restrained from levelling it to

Page 586

586 HISTORY OF THE the ground. For some days, the militia kept guard about the jail, but no other attempt was made at violence. The offending students were sent into the country for a time, and the public excitement by degrees became allayed. But the venerable hospital was henceforth invested by the populace with a sort of horror, and became the scene of many a fearful resurrectionist legend. By the Articles of Confederation, under which the States had continued to act since the close of the war, each State was constituted an independent sovereignty, governed exclusively by its own legislature, and only subject as a political body to the general Congress, which, even then, had no power to force compliance with its dictates, or to prevent one State from making war upon another. Without credit, without revenue, empowered only to advise, and uninvested with any executive authority, this Congress was, indeed, but a mere farce, and the Articles "a rope of sand," as they were termed at the time. The need of a closer union of the States and of an efficient general government, soon became apparent. The country was in an impoverished condition; besides a foreign debt of eight millions, a domestic debt of nearly thirty millions had been incurred by the war; yet Congress had no power to meet these obligations, but only to urge the States to raise money for the purpose. The officers and soldiers of the Revolutionary army, who had received but four months' pay, were clamoring for their arrears, but no money could be found to discharge the debt. Some of the States endeavored to meet these demands by levy

Page 587

CITY OF NEW YORK. 587 ing heavy taxes upon the citizens; but this proceeding excited general discontent, and in Massachusetts, an insurrection ensued, which was with difficulty suppressed by force. The State treasuries were exhausted, commerce was prostrated, the people, impoverished by the late war, were unable to support additional burdens, and, in the absence of a responsible general government, all hope of relief from credit was necessarily futile. In this exigency, a convention, growing out of a proposition of James Madison, of Virginia, was held at Annapolis inll September, 1786, for the purpose of amending the Articles of Confederation. Their deliberations resulted only in paving the way for another convention, composed of delegates from all the States, which was held at Philadelphia in the following May, with George Washington as president. After four months' deliberations, on the 17th of September, 1787, the present Constitution of the United States was accepted by the Convention, and submitted to the different States for approval. Notwithstanding the obvious need of a consolidated government, the proposed Constitution was opposed by a large portion of the inhabitants, who averred that it placed too much power in the hands of the Executive; and, the States came slowly into the Union. Since the restoration of peace, two political parties had sprung into existence in New York. One of the primary causes of this division was the bill disfranchising all who had adhered to the British government during the war, which had passed the Assembly of 1784, chiefly through tile efforts of the Sons of Liberty who composed- the

Page 588

588 HISTORY OF THE New York representation.* This act bore heavily upon the loyalists, many of whom were also attainted for treason, and their estates confiscated to the government; and urgent efforts were made by them to procure its repeal, which were stoutly opposed by the Sons of Liberty, but were seconded by Hamilton and Schuyler. Through the influence of these powerful friends, the act was finally repealed on the 3d of February, 1787, and the loyalists reinstated in their privileges of citizenship. This act, denounced by the Liberty Boys as emanating from British influence, won the loyalists over to the side of Hamilton, and secured concurrence in his efforts for the adoption of the new Constitution. The opposite party, meanwhile, known familiarly as the "French party," for their sympathy with the struggle for independence now going on in France and their hatred of the opposing British influences, denounced the new Constitution in no measured terms, and exerted themselves to the utmost to prevent its acceptance by the people. This new issue drew a marked line between the parties. The federalists, comprising the refranchised royalists, indorsed the new Constitution; the antiFederalists opposed it with all its adjuncts. The Constitution had already been accepted by the nine States necessary for its adoption, beginning with Delaware and ending with Massachusetts; yet New York still held

• John Lamb, Marinus Willett, Isaac Sears, Henry Rutgers, William Malcolm,

Robert Harpur, John Stagg, Peter P. Van Zandt and Hugh Hughes, most of whom were well known as active Sons of Liberty, were the New York representatives to this first Assembly after the close of the war.

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 589 aloof. On the 17th of June, 1788, the Convention of'the State of New York assembled at Poughkeepsie to deliberate on the matter. Governor Clinton, the president of the Convention, was a stanch anti-federalist; while Alexander Hamilton and John Jay assumed the leadership of the federalist party, which was in the minority in the Convention. The State, at this time, was emphatically anti-federalist; the city, on the contrary, eminently federalist. In the latter, a society had been organized some time before under the name of Federal-Republicans, with John Lamb as chairman and his son-in-law, Charles Tillinghast, as secretary, to concert measures to prevent the adoption of the Constitution with its opponents throughout the Union, and this party through their organ, Greenleaf's Patriotic Register-the Holt's Gazette of the Revolution-assailed the actions and motives of the federalists, and stimulated the opposition of their friends at Poughkeepsie. The federalists on their side, spared nothing that might forward the success of their design. On the 23d of July, three days before the adoption of the Constitution, a thirtytwo gun frigate, christened "the Federal Ship Hamilton," and manned by thirty seamen and marines under the command of Commodore Nicholson, was drawn by tei horses through the streets in procession from the Bowling Green to Bayard's Farm, in the vicinity of Grand street, where tables were spread in the open air, and a plentiful dinner provided for the whole company, consisting of four or five thousand persons. This demonstration, the first procession of the kind ever witnessed in the city, excited the curiosity of the

Page 590

590 HISTORY OF TI E public to the highest degree, and thousands flocked to the town from the neighboring country to witness the spectacle. The Patriotic Register, however, indulged freely in sarcastic remarks on the occasion, and so incensed the federalists, that, on the announcement on the 26th of the adoption of the Constitution, the spirit of mobocracy broke forth with violence, and a crowd of rioters, proceeding to the office of the paper in Pine street, broke open the door with axes, and demolished the press and types. Greenleaf, with an apprentice, after vainly endeavoring to defend his property, made his escape at the rear of the building into Wall street. Emboldened by this success, the rioters next made their way to the house of John Lamb in Wall street, about midway between Pearl and William streets;* but, anticipating the attack, preparations had been made for defence. The doors and windows were barred and the halls and stairways barricaded, and General Lamb, Colonel Oswald, and Major John Wiley, with two youths and a colored servant, were stationed in the second story with loaded muskets, while the youngest daughter of Gen. Lamb, with Miss Chapman, a visitor from Connecticut, and a colored servant, who had refused to quit the house, were stationed in the attic as a reserve force, with an ample supply of Dutch tiles and empty bottles to be launched at the heads of the rioters. The mob, now

• John Lamb was at this time Collector of Customs for the port of New York,

having been appointed to the office in 1784. A part of his residence was used for the Custom House, the business being not yet large enough to warrant a separate establishment.

Page 591

CITY OF NEW YORK. 591 increased to thousands, surrounded the house, yelling, shouting and threatening an attack, but to these the inmates made no reply; and at length the rioters, concluding the house to be either deserted or strongly garrisoned, held a council of war, and determined to withdraw. The city soon subsided into a state of quiet, and the new constitution was gradually acquiesced i-t by the opposition. On the 13th of September, 1788, the adoption of the Constitution was publicly declared, and the city of New York selected as the seat of the general government. This involved the need of more extensive accommodations. The City Hall in Wall street, in which the Continental Congress had been accustomed to meet, was falling to decay, and the exhausted city treasury furnished no means wherewith to make the necessary repairs. In this emergency, a number of wealthy gentlemen advanced the requisite sum; the Hall was remodelled under the direction of Major L'Enfant, and placed by the corporation at the disposal of the general government. On the 4th of March, 1789, the day appointed for the assembling of Congress, bells were rung and cannon fired, and the hall was thrown open for the expected session; but only a handful of the members made their appearance. Unable to transact business in the absence of a quorum, they issued a circular letter to their colleagues-and waited. Their patience was put somewhat severely to the test. The roads were bad, railroads and steamboats unknown, packets and stages few, and punctuality, withal, regarded as a thing of minor importance; and it was not until the 6th of April

Page 592

592 HISTORY OF THE that enough of the straggling members of both houses had come in to constitute a quorum and enable them to declare the result of the election. On the day in question, both houses assembled in the Senate Chamber, the votes were opened and read, two lists made out, the House of Representatives withdrew to its chamber, the votes were counted, and George Washington was declared unanimously elected first President of the United States. John Adams, having received the next highest number, was declared elected Vice-President, and messengers were dispatched to the new officials to notify them of the result. John Adams was the first to arrive. Reaching New York on the 21st of April, he was met at the boundary line by Governor Clinton, with a military escort, and conducted to Kingsbridge. Here he was received by the Senate and House of Representatives, together with several companies of militia, and escorted to the City Hall, where he delivered his inaugural address. Two days afterward, Washington arrived. His journey from Mount Vernon had been a march of triumph. Everywhere he was met with rejoicings, nor could he, with his utmost endeavors, extricate himself from these public expressions of their gratitude. He had wished to travel unostentatiously as a private citizen; but he found this impossible without harshly repelling the heartfelt welcome that was everywhere offered to him. At Alexandria he was greeted by a public entertainment, which was repeated at Georgetown; on the confines of Pennsylvania he was met by a large escort, headed by Mifflin, his ancient enemy, now governor of the State, who

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 593 II. iiil ~I1[ i I~ ~ _____________ CD 11 _ __' I, -l'I' d38 it 8 0 i a I I. ______ <;,C;I1,1) j~3

Page 594

Page 595

CITY OF NEW YORK. 595 conducted him to Philadelphia, where a splendid ovation was prepared for him; and at Trenton, the bridge over which he had once retreated before Cornwallis to fall on the enemy's forces at Princeton, was strewn with flowers by a band of maidens, and he was escorted into the town with military honors by an immense concourse of citizens. At Elizabethtown Point he was met by a committee from both houses of Congress, which, embarking with him in a barge which had been splendidly fitted up, escorted him to the landing-place at the foot of Wall street, where Governor Clinton was in waiting to receive him, attended by the State and city officers. Landing at the stairs at the foot of Murray's Wharf, which had been decorated for the occasion, he was escorted by a large procession to No 1 Cherry street, formerly occupied by Samuel Osgood, which had been prepared for his reception, whence he proceeded to Governor Clinton's to dinner. In the evening, the city was splendidly illuminated, and a brilliant display of fireworks closed the demonstrations. The Federal Hall was not yet finished, and a week elapsed before the arrangements for the inauguration could be completed. For this, the outer balcony of the Senate Chamber, looking down on Broad street, was chosen; Comgress having prescribed that the ceremony should take place in public and in the open air. The 30th of April was fixed for the inauguration. At nine in the morning, religious services were performed in all the churches. A little after noon, a procession was formed from the house of the President elect, consisting of the city cavalry, with the members of Congress and the

Page 596

596 HISTORY OF THE heads of departments in carriages, followed by Washington alone in a carriage, his aid-de-camp and secretary, Colonel Humphreys and Tobias Lear, with the resident foreign ministers, also in carriages, bringing up the rear. Having reached the Senate Chamber, he was conducted by Vice-President Adams to his seat, then informed that all was ready for taking the oath of office. Upon this, he rose and proceeded to the balcony, followed by the Senate and House of Representatives. Adams, Knox, Steuben, and Hamilton, his old companions in arms and danger, grouped around him, Chancellor Livingston administered the oath, and, as he ended with the exclamation, " Long live George Washington, first President of' the United States!" the multitude rent the air with shouts of applause. Returning to the Senate Chamber, he delivered his inaugural address, then proceeded on foot, with the whole assembly, to St. Paul's church, where prayers were read by Bishop Provost, lately appointed by the Senate as one of the chaplains of Congress; after which, he was escorted back to his residence. In the evening, there was a display of fireworks on the Battery, and the houses of the French and Spanish ministers were brilliantly illuminated. A month later, Mrs. Washington arrived, and was received at the Battery with the federal salute of thirteen guns, and escorted from the landing-place with military honors. This ceremonial over, Washington's life in New York was simple and unostentatious. The new presidential mansion, to make room for which the old fort had been levelled in 1787-88, had not yet been completed, nor was it until after the removal of Congress, when it

Page 597

CITY OF NEW YORK. 597 became the residence of Governor Clinton, and was some time afterward transformed into the Custom House. During the first session of Congress, he continued to occupy the house which had been assigned him in Cherry street, the accommodations of which were so limited that three of his secretaries-Humphreys, Nelson and Lewis —were obliged to content themselves with a single room. Tobias Lear, his principal secretary, with his assistants, Thomas Nelson, and Robert Lewis; his aids-decamp, Colonel Humphreys and Major Jackson, and Mrs. Washington with her two children, constituted his household. His house was handsomely but plainly furnished. On Tuesdays, from three to four, he held a public levee; on Thursdays, he gave congressional dinners; and on Friday evenings, Mrs. Washington held her receptions. The whole establishment savored of republican simplicity, the chief tendency toward luxury being shown in the horses, which were remarkably fine, and were groomed with scrupulous care. Washington was simple and abstemious in his habits. He rose regularly at four o'clock, and went to bed at nine. On Saturdays, he sought relaxation from his labors by riding into the country, either on horseback, or with his family in the coach-and-six. In the evening, he sometimes visited the theatre in John street, at that time the only one in the city, which had been erected during the occupation of the British, and used by the officers for amateur theatricals.*

• The earliest theatricals in Ne*v York were in a store on Cruger's Wharf, near Old

Slip, where a number of young men used to meet and amuse themselves with amateur performances. The first regular theatre was a stone building, erected in 1750 in the rear of the Dutch Church in Nassau street. Mr. Hallam was the manager, with a

Page 598

598 HISTORY OF THE In this theatre, "which was so small," says Custis in his "Recollections and Private Memoirs of the Life and "Character of Washington," " that the whole fabric might "easily have been placed on the stage of one of our " modern theatres;" the stage boxes were set apart for the President and Vice-President and adorned with appropriate emblems and decorations. The playbills were inscribed Vivat Republica. The performances were good, and the company iucluded several players of merit, among whom was Morris, who had been the associate of Garrick in the beginning of his career. It was here that the national air of " Hail Columbia" was first played, having been composed by Fyles, a German musician, the leader of the orchestra, in compliment to the President. On Sunday morning, when the weather was fine, Washington and his family attended St. Paul's church, where his pew may yet be seen; in the evening, he read to his wife, receiving no visitors. He laid it down as a rule to return no visits, and gave no dinner invitations except to officials and foreigners of distinction. For some time, the adoption of a title suitable to his position was discussed by Congress, but was finally abandoned by common consent, and the simple but dignified address of "President of the United States," first conferred on him by the House of Representatives in reply tolerably good company; but, after a time, he removed to Jamaica, and the theatre was, in consequence, pulled down. The second was a wooden building, in Beckman street, a few doors below Nassau, erected with the permission of Lieutenant-Governor Colden, by Philip Miller in 1769. This was destroyed by the Liberty Boys during the days of the Stamp Act, in revenge for some insulting allusion in the play. The next in order was the theatre in John street, above cited.

Page 599

CITY OF NEW YORK. 59.9 to his inaugural speech, adhered to then and henceforth by the nation. During the residence of Washington in Cherry street, he was attacked by a dangerous illness, which rendered a surgical operation necessary. The elder and younger Drs. Bard were his physicians. Washington bore the torture with surprising firmness. " Cut away-deeper, deeper still;" exclaimed the father to his son, whom he had deputed to perform the operation through distrust of his own nerves, " don't be afraid; you see how well he bears it." For a time, he was considered in a critical situation, and the greatest anxiety was manifested in the city. The pavement in front of his residence was strewn with straw, and chains were stretched across the neighboring streets; but the operation proved eminently successful, and his speedy recovery removed all cause of alarm. Upon his convalescence, he set out upon a tour through the New England States, from which he returned a short time before the opening of the second session of Congress on the 8th of January, 1790. About the same time, he removed to the Macomb House, No. 39 Broadway, afterward Bunker's Mansion House, where he continued to reside during his stay in New York. This stay was not a long one. Since the first adoption of the federal constitution, the country had been in a ferment in respect to the location of the permanent seat of government. The eastern States preferred New York, Pennsylvania clamored for its return to Philadelphia or the vicinity, the people of New Jersey petitioned for its removal to the shores of the Delaware, while Maryland and Virginia, with the rest of the southern States, urged

Page 600

600 HISTORY OF THE the banks of the Potomac as the central location. During the first session, the banks of the Susquehanna had very nearly been chosen as the site; and no sooner had the second session opened, than the discussion was renewed with unabated ardor. Each party persisted in urging its claims, and it was only by a somewhat curious compromise that an amicable arrangement was finally effected, and the District of Columbia selected as the capital of the United States. Early in the session, Alexander Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury, threw a new apple of discord into the assembly by proposing that, for the maintenance of the public credit, the general government should assume, not only the public foreign and domestic debt, amounting to fifty-four millions, but also the debts of the States, contracted during the Revolution, and estimated at twenty-five millions. The foreign debt was assumed without hesitation, as was also the domestic debt after considerable opposition, but here the question rested. Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, South Carolina and a part of Pennsylvania, joined in favoring the assumption of the debts of the States, while Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, New Hampshire and the remaining part of the Pennsylvania delegation opposed the measure with so much acrimony that, at one time, a dissolution of the Union seemed inevitable. The debts of most of the opposing States were small; some objected to thus increasing the power of the general government; others, on the contrary, advocated it as a federal measure; but neither party could claim a majority. At this juncture, as a last

Page 601

CITY OF NEW YORK. 601 resort, a compromise was effected through the joint agency of Jefferson and Hamilton, and two of the Virginian representatives were induced to vote for the assumption; while the Northerners, in return, ceded the other point at issue, and fixed the permanent seat of the general government on the banks of the Potomac; though, by way of salvo to the feelings of the disappointed Pennsylvanians, it was agreed that it should first remain for ten years at Philadelphia. The precise location was left to the President, who was to appoint commissioners to choose a site within certain limits from the lands which had been proffered by Maryland and Virginia. These States, as well as Pennsylvania and New Jersey, in their eagerness to secure the capital of the nation, had not only offered to furnish the necessary ground, but also to appropriate money for the erection of the public buildings, and, in the impoverished state of the country, this saving of expenditure proved a strong argument in their favor. Both bills soon after passed the Senate, the former with various amendments; the federal government agreed to assume the greater portion of the State debts in certain specified proportions, and the month of December, 1800, was fixed as the date of the opening session of Congress at the capital city of Washington in the new District of Columbia. Since the close of the war, Indian affairs had been in an unsettled state along the western and southern frontiers. Soon after the conclusion of peace with Great Britain, treaties had been negotiated with the various tribes which had taken part against the United States during the war; but these adjustments had proved

Page 602

(102 HISTORY OF THE unsatisfactory, and the natives complained bitterly of the constant encroachments of the whites upon their boundaries. In the Carolinas and Georgia, discontent ripened into open war. The Cherokees, who claimed the northern part of the States as well as the greater portion of the State of Tennessee, were worsted in the strife and forced to flee to the Creeks for protection; the latter, who inhabited Alabama and Georgia, strengthened by an alliance with the Spaniards in Florida, carried on the war with greater success, and, headed by their chief, Alexander McGillivray, severely harassed the settlements of the Georgians. McGillivray was a half-breed, the son of a Scotchman, who, educated by his father in the best schools of Charleston, had inherited the chieftainship through the line of his mother, according to the custom of the nation, and turned his talents and education to good account by devising ways and means to strengthen its power. Bred in a counting-house and familiar with mercantile affairs, he opened a profitable trade with the Spaniards, through whom he obtained the arms and ammunition necessary for the successful continuance of the war. Led by an enemy of superior intelligence, this outbreak occasioned considerable alarm, and, soon after the opening of the first session of Congress, General Lincoln, Colonel Humphreys and David Griffin were dispatched as commissioners to the scene of contest to adjust the boundaries of the disputed territory. This was a tract of land, west and south of the Oconee River, which the Georgians claimed had been ceded to them by thLee successive treaties; while the Creeks alleged that these

Page 603

CITY OF' NEW YO RK. 603 treaties had been obtained by force or fraud, and therefore could not be held as binding upon the nation. The commissioners were well received by McGillivray and his warriors, but, refusing to restore the lands, they effected nothing except to obtain a temporary cessation of hostilities. The next year, Colonel Marinus Willett was dispatched by Washington to open a new negotiation. Disguising himself as a simple trader, in obedience to his instructions, he entered the Indian camp and sounded the disposition of the natives; then, throwing off the mask, he avowed his errand, and invited McGillivray to go with him to New York to talk with the Great Father. To this proposal, McGillivray consented, and set out in the beginning of the summer, accompanied by twenty-eight chief and warriors of the nation. Their arrival excited considerable interest inll the city. On landing, they were met by the Tammany Society, arrayed in Indian costume, which escorted them to their lodgings on the banks of the North River at the tavern known henceforth as the Indian Queen. Here they remained for more than six weeks, negotiating the terms of a treaty with General Knox, the commissioner appointed by Washington for that purpose, and, the matter being at length satisfactarily arranged, the treaty was ratified, in true Indian style in Federal Hall in Wall street, on the 13th of August, the day after the adjournment of the second session of Congress. At 12 o'clock, the Creek deputation was met by the President and his suite in the Hall o'the House of Representatives, where the treaty was read and interpreted, after which, Washington addressed

Page 604

604 HISTORY OF THE the warriors in a short but emphatic speech, detailing and explaining the justice of its provisions; to each of which, as it was interpreted to them, McGillivray and his warriors gave the Indian grunt of approval. The treaty was then signed by both parties, after which Washington presented McGillivray with a string of wampum, as a memorial of the peace, with a paper of tobacco as a substitute for the ancient calumet, grown obsolete and unattainable by the innovations of modern times. McGillivray made a brief speech in reply, the " shake of peace" was interchanged between mTashington and each of the chiefs, and the ceremony was concluded by a song of peace, in which the Creek warriors joined with enthusiasm. The warriors, indeed, had good reason to be satisfied with this treaty, which ceded to them all the disputed territory, and distributed presents and money liberally among the nation. Almost immediately after its ratification, the Creeks returned to their homes in the South, leaving their name as a memorial to their place of entertainment. The visit of the Indians closed the official career of New York as the capital city of the nation, but this did not retard her prosperity, as at the time was greatly feared. Freed from the distractions of political excitement, the people turned their attention to mercantile pursuits, and soon made of their city the commercial centre of the western continent. In the autumn of 1789, James Duane was succeeded in the mayoralty by Colonel Richard Varick, who, since the evacuation, had been the city recorder. Colonel Varick was a popular lawyer of the city, who had won his military title in the

Page 605

CITY OF NEW YORK. 605 service of Schuyler in the northern army, and, after witnessing the battles of Stillwater and Saratoga and the defeat of Burgoyne, had been aid-de-camp to Arnold till the discovery of his treason, after which he had served Washington as secretary until the close of the war. In 1793, war broke out between France and England, and on the 9th of April, just five days after the news reached New York, Citizen Genet arrived at Charleston as the accredited minister to the United States from the new French Republic. This war placed the nation in an embarrassing position. Bound on one hand to France by obligations of gratitude as well as by the conditions of a treaty of alliance, it was pledged on the other hand by the federal policy to preserve strict neutrality in European wars. The nation became divided, the anti-federalists warmly espoused the cause of the French party, while the federalists, with Hamilton at their head, insisted that the treaty had heen annulled by the change in the French government; or, at all events, did not apply in case of an offensive war. Washington inclined to the latter opinion, and, while he received Genet as the minister of the Republic, proclaimed a strict neutrality in respect to warlike operations. This greatly displeased Genet, as well as the anti-federalists, who, warmly attached to France and detesting England, cheered on their late allies in their struggle for liberty, and warmly seconded the French minister in fitting out privateers from their ports to cruise against nations hostile to France. The journey of Genet through the States was a march of triumph. Everywhere, he was feted and caressed; in Philadelphia, he met with an enthusi

Page 606

606 HISTORY OF THE astic reception, and in New York, where he arrived on the 8th of August, he was welcomed with ringing of bells and salutes of cannon in honor of the success of republican France. The opposition papers of the dayFreneau's Gazette and Bache's General Advertiser at Philadelphia, Greenleaf's Patriotic Register at New York, the Chronicle at Boston, and all the republican press beside, warmly espoused the cause of the minister, and commenced a crusade against the course of the government. Encouraged by these manifestations of popular sympathy, Genet fitted out numerous privateers from the American ports, manned in many cases by American seamen, which, in the course of a few months, captured nearly fifty British vessels in direct violation of the President's proclamation of neutrality. On the 12th of June, the Ambuscade, which had brought Genet to the United States, arrived at New York, where her officers and crew were welcomed with enthusiasm by the anti-federalists, now first called democrats in derision, by reason of their sympathy with the Jacobins of the French Revolution. The Liberty-Cap was hoisted on the flagstaff of the Tontine Coffee-House, and all true patriots exhorted to protect it; tri-colored cockades were worn, the Marseillaise was chanted, and, for a season, New York seemed transformed into a veritable French city. On the 22d of June, the Ambuscade sailed on a cruise, from which she returned on the 14th of July. During her stay in port, an event occurred which greatly incensed the friends of Genet, and certainly reflected no credit upon British honesty. On the 21st, a frigate appeared off Sandy Hook, which was reported

Page 607

CITY OF NEW YORK. 607 by a pilot-boat that came in as the Concorde, a consort of the Ambuscade, and, too eager to await her arrival, the lieutenant with a boat's crew went out to meet her. Deceived by the tri-colored flag, which was hoisted on their approach, the party mounted the decks, and found themselves prisoners of war on board the British frigate Boston. This act of treachery was severely and deservedly denounced by the republicans, who urged Captain Bompard of the Ambuscade to accept the challenge sent directly after by way of bravado by the British captain to meet him at sea, and even entered the lists themselves for the coming contest. Escorted by a fleet of pilotboats, filled with spectators, the Ambuscade sailed down the bay on the 30th of July, and encountered the Boston off Sandy Hook. A bloody action ensued, in which Captain Courtney of the Boston was killed, and his vessel disabled. Finding it impossible to hold out any longer, the British frigate at length bore away for Halifax, pursued for some distance by the triumphant Ambuscade. On the 3d of August, a French fleet of fifteen sail arrived at New York, where the officers were warmly received by the republicans. On the 7th of the same month, Genet arrived at Paulus Hook on his way to the Eastern States, and was greeted with extravagant demonstrations of welcome. Bells were rung, cannon fired, and a great meeting held in the fields, at which a committee of forty was appointed to wait upon the ambassador and escort him into the city. The federalists,, on the other hand, backed by the Chamber of Commerce, held counter-meetings, denouncing the conduct of the French minister, and warmly indorsing the

Page 608

608 HISTORY OF THE proclamation of neutrality. Soon after his arrival, Genet strengthened his interests with the republican party by espousing the daughter of its leader, Governor Clinton; the marriage ceremony being performed at the mWalton House in Pearl street. The conduct of the French minister excited the indignation of the President and Congress, who ordered the captured prizes to be restored, and remonstrated with Genet against his contempt of their authority. Sustained by the powerful republican party, the ambassador openly justified his conduct; and his correspondence at length grew so offensive, that even Jefferson and Randolph, who had hitherto defended him, joined with the opposite party in demanding his recall. Before the letter reached France, a great change had been wrought in the affairs of the republic. The Girondins, the friends of Genet, had fallen from power, the Reign of Terror, under the leadership of Robespierre, had commenced, and' the Jacobins, now the dominant party, made no difficulty in conceding the President's request. Genet was formally recalled from the ministry, and Citizen Fauchet appointed in his place, with instructions to approve the proclamation of neutrality. Genet remained in the United States, and died at an advanced age at his residence on Long Island. His sons still continue residents of the city. The subsequent tragedies of the Reign of Terror destroyed much of the popular sympathy with the French republic. America became the refuge of the cnigres, and this immense influx of foreign immigration wrought a visible change in the character of the people.

Page 609

CITY OF NEW YORK. 609 In New York, where the exiles mostly congregated, was this change most of all apparent. French manners, French customs, French cookery, French furniture, French fashions, and the French language, came suddenly in vogue, and for a season, New York seemed transformed into Paris. Another element was added to make up the cosmopolitan character of the city. It had been essentially Dutch and essentially English; it now became essentially French; and when the downfall of Robespierre recalled the exiles to their homes, and the city was vacated as suddenly as it had been filled, it still retained the impress of the invasion; nor has it ever been wholly effaced, as all will acknowledge who have observed how much more predominant is the French element in this than in the other northern cities. In the summer of 1795, John Jay, the newly-elected federal governor of New York, arrived from England with a new treaty; rendered necessary by the repeated violations of the first, alleged by each nation against the other. The provisions of this treaty, which bound the United States to a strict neutrality in all wars between England and other nations, were denounced by the antifederalist or republican party, as it had now come to be called, as a shameful repudiation of the obligations due by the country to France, and the most strenuous efforts were used to induce the President to refuse its ratification. In New York, the federalists were stronger in wealth —the republicans, in numbers. In the charter elections from 1783 to 1803, the federalists almost uniformly carried six out of the seven wards of the city; yet a large proportion of the inhabitants were norn39

Page 610

610 HISTORY OF THE voters, deprived of the elective franchise by the property qualification, and many of these belonged to the republican party. This faction had sympathized warmly with Genet in his efforts to provoke a new war with England, insisting that the United States stood pledged by honor to return the aid extended her in the Revolution, and to take up arms in defence of the new republic. No sooner had the new treaty become publicly known, than a mass meeting of the republicans was held in Boston, the treaty denounced as dishonorable and disadvantageous, and a committee appointed to state objections in an address to the President. A few days after, an anonymous handbill appeared in the streets of New York, calling on the citizens to meet in front of the City Hall on the 18th of July, to join with the Bostonians in expressing their opposition to the treaty. This was instantly met by a gathering of the federalists, who resolved to attend the meeting en masse, to present both sides of the question to the people. On the day appointed, an immense concourse assembled in front of the City Hall. Aaron Burr and Brockholst Livingston, the brother-in-law of Jay, who, with Chancellor Livingston and the rest of that influential family, had espoused the cause of the Republican party, appeared as the leaders of the opposition; Alexander Hamilton and Richard Varick stood for the federalists and the treaty. The latter party at first took the lead, and succeeded in electing a chairman from among their number; then proposed at once to adjourn the meeting. This proposal, of course, was opposed by the republicans, as making of the whole thing a farce, and defeating the

Page 611

CITY OF NEW YORK. 611 purpose of the meeting. A motion was made to leave the matter to the decision of the President and Senate, and, the question being taken, both sides claimed the majority. A scene of violence ensued. Hamilton mounted the stoop of an old Dutch house which stood on the corner of Wall and Broad streets, with its gable end to the street, and attempted to speak in defence of the treaty, when he was rudely thrown from his place, and dragged through the streets by the excited multitude. A motion was made to appoint a committee of fifteen to report three days after, and a list of names was read and pronounced carried. The tumult soon increased to such a degree, that business became out of the question. " All you who agree to adjourn to the Bowling Green, " and burn the British treaty, will say Aye," shouted some one from among the mass. The thunder of the " Ayes " shook the watch-house on the south corner of Broad and Wall streets to its foundation, and the turbulent opposition ran, shouting and huzzaing, to the Bowling Green, when the treaty was burned to the sound of the Carmagnole, beneath the folds of the French and the American colors. At the adjourned meeting, which was attended chiefly by the republicans, twenty-eight resolutions, condemnatory of the treaty, were reported by the committee, and unanimously accepted. The following day, a series of counter resolutions was adopted by the Chamber of Commerce, at this time composed almost exclusively of federalists, and on the 14th of August, the treaty was finally ratified by the Senate and signed by Washington. In the autumn of 1791, the yellow fever broke out in

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612 HISTORY OF THE the vicinity of Burling Slip. Though soon checked in its ravages by the approach of frost, it excited a panic among the inhabitants, and cut down several well known citizens, among others, General Malcolm of the Revolution. In 1795, it again made its appearance, about the first of August, and raged with virulence during the remainder of the season, carrying off seven hundred and thirty-five of the citizens. But these visits were but the precursors of the coming pestilence. About the last of July, 1798, it again broke out with increased violence, heightened perhaps by the general alarm which at once diffused itself among the people. The whole community was infected with the panic, all who could fled the city, the stores were closed, the business streets deserted, and for many weeks the hearses that conveyed the victims of the pestilence to their last homes were undisputed possessors of the streets of the city. Most of the churches were closed; Trinity, Christ's Church in Ann street, and the Methodist Chapel in John street alone remaining open. The Post-office was removed to the house of Dr. James Tillary on the corner of Broadway and Wall street, and the citizens came down for their letters from their retreats at Greenwich and Bloomingdale between the hours of 9 A.M. and sundown, the time at which the physicians pronounced it safe to visit the city. The greatest suffering prevailed, and, contributions of money, provisions, and fuel poured in from the neighboring States for the relief of the poor, thus deprived of employment, and hourly threatened with the death from which their poverty forbade them to flee. From the breaking out of the pestilence to the begiuning of Novema

Page 613

CITY OF NEW YORK. 613 ber, when it ceased, the deaths amounted to 2,086, exclusive of those who had fled the city; and this from a population of fifty-five thousand. Strangely enough, not a single case occurred on the Long Island or Jersey shores. The fever lingered in the city for severalyears, breaking out with violence at intervals, yet at no time did its ravages equal those of'98. The contests between the federalists and republicans in the charter elections increased in violence, and the federalists began gradually to lose ground. In the election of 1800, the Sixth and Seventh Wards were carried by the republican party, and, elated by their success, the victors put forth renewed efforts in the election of the following year. To evade the property qualification, requiring every voter to be a landholder, an association of thirtythree young men purchased a house and lot in the Fifth Ward, jointly on the principle of a tontine, and having thus rendered themselves eligible according to law, presented themselves at the polls as republican voters.* The same scheme was adopted in the Fourth Ward by a club of seventy-one members. The election returns showed four wards for the republicans, and three for the federalists; the Fifth Ward being carried in favor of the, The names of many of the members of this early Tontine Association after. wards became prominent in the politics of the State. They were as follows: Joshua Barker, S. Tiebout, A. Macready, Peter Black, Tenius Wortman, George I. Eacher, Daniel D. Tompkins, Richard Riker, Thomas Hertell, Edmund Ferris, Arthur Smith, William Boyd, William A. Davis, William Jones, Edmund Holmes, William P. Van Ness, John Sonnelle, Jas. W. Lent, Cornelius C. Van Allen, Jno. W. Woolf, Robert I. Livingston, John Jagger, Jas. Warner, Robert Swartwout, John L. Broome, David Thompson, Joseph Brown, Samuel Lawrence, Gideon Kimberley, Henry Post, Gordon S. Mumford, Maltby Gelston, John Drake.

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614 HISTORY OF THE former by a majority of six, and the Fourth Ward by thirty-five. This result was at once contested by the federalists on the ground of illegal voting by the Tontine Association, and, being submitted to the decision of the retiring board, the majority of which belonged to that party, was pronounced null and void and the balance of power restored to the hands of the federalists. The State election having been decided in favor of the republicans by the election of ex-Governor George Clinton, Edward Livingston, the brother of the well-known chancellor of that name, received the appointment of mayor of New York.

Page 615

CHAPTER XIX. 1801. New York in the beginning of the Nineteenth Century. AT this time, the city, though the metropolis of the western world, was a mere village in comparison with the city of to-day. The city proper was bounded on Broadway by Anthony, on the North River by Harrison, and on the East River by Rutgers streets; and even within these limits, the houses were scattering, and surrounded by large gardens and vacant lots. The farmhouses on Bowery Lane extended as far as Broome street; the fields and orchards on either side reaching from river to river. From the Battery to Cedar street, Greenwich street was the outside street on the shore; there, Washington street had been commenced and partly built upon one side to Harrison street, where it terminated abruptly in the river. Above Broadway was a hilly country, sloping on the east to the Fresh Water Pond, not yet quite filled in from the surrounding hills, and descending on the west to the Lispenard Meadows; dotted with the picturesque country seats of wealthy citizens. Of the high hill at the junction of Broadway with Anthony street we have 615

Page 616

616 HISTORY OF THE already spoken. This descended precipitously to the arched bridge at Canal street, thus forming a valley, to the north of which rose another high hill, falling off abruptly to a pond in the space between Broome and Spring streets, through which Broadway was filled up and prolonged. At this time, Broadway ended at Astor Place, where a pale fence, stretching across the road, formed the southern boundary of the Randall Farm, afterward the endowment of the Sailor's Snug Harbor. The Old or Boston Post Road ran eastward, from Madison Square along the Rose Hill Farm,* by turn the property of Watts, Cruger, and General Gates, and wound its way by a circuitous route to Harlem; while the Middle Road, beginning in the Old Road near the entrance of the farm, afforded a direct avenue to the same village. The Kingsbridge or Bloomingdale Road, a continuation of the Bowery Lane, formed a junction with the Fitzroy and the Southampton Roads, and extended by the way of McGowan's Pass and Manhattanville to Kingsbridge, whence it continued to Albany. From the Bloomingdale Road, Love Lane, now Twenty-first street ran westward to the North River. On the site of Washington Square was the new Potter's Field, lately removed from its original locality at the junction of the Greenwich and Albany roads, where it had been established in 1794, and which was deemed too near the public thoroughfares by the city authorities, by whom Washington Square was selected on

• This farm covered some twenty-five blocks of ground in the Eighteenth Ward,

and was the property of John Watts prior to the Revolution.

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 617 account of its retired location. The property owners in the vicinity of the latter protested strongly against the change, and even offered to present a piece of ground in another part of the city to the corporation, but the officials remained firm, and for many years the marsh in question continued to be used as a pauper burial-ground. The negro burial ground was at the corner of Broadway and Chambers street, on the site now occupied by Stuart's marble building. The churches, too, had their respective cemeteries, for it was not until 1813 that burials were first prohibited in the city below Canal street. Public gardens were at this time favorite institutions, and were scattered in profusion over the city. On the shores of the North River in the village of Greenwich were the Indian Queen's and Tyler's, both favorite places of resort. On the west side of the Bowery in the vicinity of Broome street, was the celebrated Vauxhall Gardennot the original Bowling Green Garden, afterwards Vauxhall, at the junction of Warren and Greenwich streets, the resort of the early Dutch settlers-which had been purchased about the middle of the eighteenth century by a Swiss florist named Jacob Sperry, and afterwards sold by him to John Jacob Astor, who leased it to a Frenchman by the name of Delacroix, the proprietor at the time of which we are speaking. Far up on the Bloomingdale road was the Strawberry Hill House, afterwards christened Woodlawn; and on the eastern side of the island was the fertile Kip Farm, which, though not numbered among the places of public resort, was noted for its variety of choice fruit and flowers, and was often visited by Washington and his cabinet during his stay in the city.

Page 618

618 HISTORY OF T.HE On the hill at the junction of Broadway and Anthony streets, was a frame house with a brick front, which retained its place until a few years since, and is probably remembered by many of our readers. On the east of this hill was the country seat of Colonel Barclay. Above, on the Bowery nearly opposite Bond street, was the residence of Andrew Morris, in the vicinity of which, on the corner of Third street, stood the Minthorne mansion. To the west, above Bleecker street, were the seats of John Jacob Astor and William Neilson, and in Laight street, just above St. John's Park, was the residence of Leonard Lispenard. At the northwest on the corner of Varick and Charlton streets was the celebrated Richmond Hill Mansion, built in 1770 by the British paymaster, Abraham Mortier, on grounds leased from Trinity Church, and occupied by Washington as his head-quarters during the Revolution. After the surrender of the city to the British, it became the residence of Sir Guy Carleton, afterward Lord Dorchester. It subsequently became the property of Aaron Burr, and was his residence at the time of his fatal duel with Hamilton, and it was here that he was found by Dr. HIosack a few hours after, calmly reading the Confessions of Rousseau in his bath, as if totally oblivious of the fatal tragedy. From his hands, it passed into the possession of John Jacob Astor, who converted it into the Richmond Hill theatre. On the block bounded by Fourth, Bleecker, Perry and Charles streets, was the now venerable Van Ness House, then owned by Abijah Hammond. These grounds originally formed a part of the extensive farm of Sir Peter Warren, the brother-in-law of James and

Page 619

CITY OF' NEW YORK. 619 Oliver De Lancey, whose son-in-law, the Earl of Abingdon, disposed of his share, consisting of fifty-five acres, in 1788 to David H. Mallen for the sum of twenty-two hundred dollars. From his hands, it passed into the possession of Mr. Hammond, and was soon after disposed of to Whitehead Fish, who resided on it until his death in 1819, when it was purchased by Abraham Van Ness, for fifteen thousand dollars. On the block of ground between the Ninth and Tenth Avenues, and Twenty-second and Twenty-third streets, stood the old Chelsea House, built before the Revolution by the widow of Thomas Clarke, one of the veterans of the old French war, who had purchased the estate a short time before his death, and named it Chelsea as the retreat of an old soldier. This subsequently became the residence of Bishop Moore of Columbia College, and was afterwards donated by him to his son, Clement C. Moore, who continued to reside in it until the levelling the grounds about it compelled its demolition. At Incleuberg, now Murray Hill, lying between the Fourth and Sixth Avenues, and Thirty-sixth and Fortieth streets, was the residence of Robert Murray, the father of the grammarian, notable for having been the place where the worthy Quaker matron, by her cordial hospitality, detained the British generals long enough on the day of the capture of the city to secure to Silliman's brigade a safe retreat to Harlem. In the neighborhood, nearly opposite on the Bloomingdale road, was the Varian tHouse, and higher up at Bloomingdale was the Apthorpe Mansion, where, as we have already narrated, Washington narrowly escaped capture on

Page 620

620 HISTORY OF THE _ _ _ _,.. _ Murray Hill Cottage. the same eventful day, while anxiously awaiting the arrival of his troops from the city; and also the Grange, the residence of Alexander Hamilton. On the shores of the East River, near Turtle Bay, stood the celebrated Beekman House, built by Dr. James Beekman in 1764, and occupied in turn by the British commanders-in-chief as a country seat during the Revolution.* Here, the unfortunate Nathan Hale was tried

• The fine situation and extensive ground of this house made it a favorite residence of the British officers. During the Revolution, it was occupied from the 15th

of September, 1776, by General Howe, seven and a half months; from the 1st of May, 1777, by Commissary Loring, one year and five months; from the 20th of October, 1778, by General Clinton, three years and six months; from the 1st of May, 1782, by General Robertson, eleven and a half months; from the 16th of April, 1783, by M3r. Beekman; and from the 16th of June, 1783, to the evacuation by General Carleton, five months; in the whole, seven years, one and a half months.

Page 621

CITY OF NEW YORK. 621 and sentenced to death, and confined in the greenhouse of the garden on the night preceding his execution. Near this, on the banks of the river, was the ancient Cruger Mansion, now tenanted by General Gates, and known as the rendezvous of the leading spirits of the day. On the shores of the Harlem River, just below the High Bridge of the Croton Aqueduct, stood Colonel Roger Morris' House, a large, old-fashioned, two story building, commanding a fine view of the river from its elevated position, which had been the headquarters of Washington after his forced evacuation of the city. The old house is still standing, now known as the residence of Madame Jumel. On the block bounded by Montgomery, Clinton, Cherry, and Monroe streets was the old Belvidere House, built on the banks of the East River in 1792 by thirtytwo gentlemen, composing the Belvidere Club, and used for many years afterward as a place of public resort: and near this, in the vicinity of Cherry street, was the residence of Colonel Rutgers, with the cottage of Marinue Willett in close proximity.* In Pearl, opposite Cedar street, was the residence of Gov. George Clinton, the headquarters of Washington oil assumning the command of the army at New York. Further down on the corner of Pearl and Broad streets, was the well-known Fraunces' Tavern, the headquarters of Washington after the evacuation of the city by the British troops, and the scene of his final parting with his officers. This house was built about 1730 by the De Lancey family,:ail' was sold by Oliver De Lancey, in

• Used also for a hotel.

Page 622

622 HISTORY OF THE 1762, to Samuel Fraunces, who soon after opened it as a public tavern. It soon became notable as a Saturday night rendezvous of a gathering of choice spirits calling themselves the Social Club, and, though Fraunces was a well-known friend of the Liberty Party, was a favorite of both Whigs and Tories, who harmonized in their taste for the choice wines of the proprietor. At the lower end of Broadway stood the Kennedy House, now the Washington Hotel, built in 1760 by Captain Kennedy, afterward Earl of Cassilis, and bequeathed by him to his son Robert, from whom it passed into the possession of the late Nathaniel Prime. This house was the headquarters of Putnam prior to, and of Howe and Clinton during the Revolutionary War, and the scene of Andr6's last interview with the British general previous to his departure on the fatal West Point mission. Just above this was the King's Arms Tavern, a double house, two stories in height, with a front of yellow Holland brick, and a steep roof, covered with shingles in front and tiles in the rear, the headquarters of General Gage during his residence in the city. This afterwards became known as Burns' Coffee House, the well-known rendezvous of the Sons of Liberty, and the place from which emanated many of the patriotic resolves of the New York citizens. It was in this house that the first non-importation agreement of the colonies was signed by the merchants of the city of New York on the evening preceding the execution of the Stamp Act, and the first step thus taken toward the rebellion which ripened into their future independence. Here Arnold resided after the discovery of his treason, and it was from the

Page 623

CITY OF NEW YORK. 623 garden, which extended down to the river, that the chivalric Champe proposed to abduct the traitor and carry him off in triumph to the American lines in the Jerseys. Above this, on the site of 39 Broadway-the reputed site of the first building ever erected on the island-was the Bunker Mansion House, the residence of Washington during the second session of Congress. But a volume would scarce suffice to note all the landmarks, rendered interesting by some association of the past. The penal institutions of the island were the New Jail,* chiefly used for the imprisonment of debtors; the Bridewell, in which vagrants and minor offenders were confined, as well as criminals, while awaiting their trial, and the State Prison in Greenwich village on the shores of the North River, for convicts of a higher grade. The latter was a large stone building, surrounded by a high wall on which an armed sentry was constantly pacing. It was opened for the reception of convicts in August, 1796, and was the second State Prison in the United States. In the course of a few years, the number of prisoners in this institution, as well as in the Bridewell, became so great that it became necessary to erect another building for their reception, and a Penitentiary for the imprisonment of minor offenders was accordingly built on the shores of the East River at Bellevue. This

• The first building used for a jail was on the corner of Dock street and Coenties Slip. After the erection of the City Hall in Wall street, the criminals were

confined in dungeons in the cellar, while the debtors were imprisoned in the attic apartments, from the dormer-windows of which they used to hang out old slioes:rand bags to solicit alms of the passers by.

Page 624

624 HISTORY OF TUIE institution, which was opened on the 16th of May, 1816, was a stone building, one hundred and fifty feet in length by fifty in breadth, and three stories high. In close proximity to it stood the New Alms House, opened in the spring of the same year; a blue stone building, three hundred and twenty-five feet in front, with two wings of a hundred and fifty feet in depth each. In 1826, the Bellevue Hospital was built near by, and'the three buildings, inclosed by a stone wall, including twenty-six acres, were known henceforth as the Bellevue Establishment. The criminals in these institutions were set to work for the benefit of the State at breaking stone, picking oakum, etc. Through the efforts of Stephen Allen, then mayor of the city, and others, the tread-mill system was introduced into the Penitentiary in 1822, but after a few years' trial, was found inexpedient and abandoned. Upon the opening of the new State Prison at Sing Sing in 1828, the convicts were removed to it from the prison at Greenwich, and their places supplied by the prisoners from the Bridewell and the New Jail. In 1838, the Bridewell was demolished, and the stone of which it was composed was worked up into the Tombs, then in process of erection. The New Jail had some time previously been transformed into the modern Hall of Records. When this change was made, the fire alarm bell, which had hung in the belfry during the Revolution, was taken down and placed upon the Bridewell, where it remained until the demolition of the latter. A cherished relic of the firemen, it was then transferred to the engine house of the Naiad Hose Co., in Beaver street, where it remained until it rung out its own funeral knell

Page 625

CITY OF NEW YORK. 625 for the great fire of 1835, which swept it to the ground and destroyed it forever. In 1825, the penal institutions of the city were increased by the establishment of a House of Refuge for juvenile offenders, which was founded under the auspices of the Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents, an outgrowth from the Society for the Prevention of Pauperism, organized in 1818 by a number of the prominent philanthropists of the city. The House of Refuge was incorporated in 1824, and opened on the Ist of January, 1825, in the United States Arsenal in Madison Square, with nine inmates-six boys and three girls. On the destruction of the building by fire in 1839, the institution, now grown into considerable importance, was transferred to the fever hospital at the foot of Twenty-third street on the East River, where it remained for fifteen years, when, its increasing wants demanding enlarged accommodations, the present institution was erected on Randall's Island, and the inmates removed to it in 1854.* In 1801, the New York Hospital, the charter of which had been granted by Lord Dunmore, in 1771, to Peter Middleton, John Jones, and Samuel Bard, the three most eminent physicians of the day, and the corner stone of which had been laid in 1 773, by Governor Tryon, was the only institution of the kind in the city. This building, which had been almost consumed by fire before its completion, then transformed into barracks for the British troops during the Revolutionary War, was

• For man; of these details we are indebted to Israel Russell, Esq.

40

Page 626

626 HISTOR Y OF T H E enlarged and repaired after the restoration of peace, and opened for the reception of patients in 1791. In _ =-z~ —_ -- _... -.__.-. —:-:.-=_.: —__ ": _ -.- _-:_~_ =._. __. The Tombs. 1807, a Lunatic Asylum was erected on the southerly side of the Hospital grounds, near the main edifice, and corresponding with it in the style of architecture, which was opened in the following year. This was used for its original purpose during fourteen years, when an asylum was built at Bloomingdale, overlooking the North River, on the west side of Tenth Avenue, near O:1C Hundred and Seventeenth street, to which, in 1821, the patients were removed. The single dispensary for the aid of the out-door sick was the City Dispensary, located in a small building in the rear of the City Hall, fronting on Tryon Row, which had formerly been occupied by the Health office. This was instituted in 1790, and incorporated on the 8th of April, 1795, under the name of the New York Dispensary.

Page 627

CITY OF NEW YORK. 627 The only medical school in the city in the beginning of the nineteenth century was the Medical Faculty of Columbia College, organized in 1768 through the efforts of Drs. Bard, Middleton and others. In the Revolution, which followed soon after, the association was scattered and the college converted into a military hospital. In 1792, it was again revived, with Dr. Samuel Bard as dean of the faculty, and remained the only school of the kind in the city until the institution of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, with Dr. Romayne at the head, in 1807, under the patronage of the Regents of the University. In 1813, a fusion was effected between the two rival schools, who continued to work together until 1826, when differences arose, which finally resulted in a separation of the college, and the foundation of the Rutgers Medical College, located in Duane street near Broadway, with Drs. Hosack, MacNeven, Mott, Francis, Godman and Griscom as its first professors. Drs. John Augustine and Joseph M. Smith, Dana, Beck, Stevens, and Delafield formed the professorial staff of the rival college. At the foot of Park Place, was the venerable Columbia College, opened in 1755 under the presidency of the Rev. Samuel Johnson; then abandoned by its presideilt, Myles Cooper, in the Revolution, and converted first into barracks and afterward into a military hospital. Upon the restoration of peace, a number of gentlemen were appointed by the Legislature, under the title of Regents of the University, to superintend the literary institutions of the State, and empowered to act as Trustees of the College. In 1787, the institu

Page 628

628 HISTORY OF THE tion was reorganized, the royal charter confirmed by the legislature, and William Samuel Johnson, LL.D., appointed first president under the new r6gime. In 1801, he was succeeded by the Rev. Charles Wharton, who resigned the office a few months after, when it was bestowed upon Bishop Moore, who had acted as president pro tern. in 17 75, during the absence of Cooper. Old Columbia College, a the foot of Park Place. The benevolent istitultions were the Marine Society, incorporated in 1770, for the improvement of maritime

Page 629

CITY OF NEW YORK. 629 knowledge, and the relief of indigent sea-captains, their widows and orphans; the Chamber of Commerce, formed in 1768 and incorporated in 1770, " for the purpose of "promoting and extending all just and lawful commerce "and for affording relief to decayed members, their "widows and children;" the Humane Society, established in 1787, for the purpose of affording relief to distressed debtors, and afterward extended so as to include the resuscitation of persons apparently drowned, as well as the relief of the poor in general, and incorporated in 1814; the Manumission Society, established chiefly by Friends in 1785 for the purpose of ameliorating the condition of negro slaves throughout the State and bestowing upon them an education, and incorporated in 1808; the Sailor's Snug-Harbor, founded by Captain Randall in 1801 for the benefit of worn out and decrepit seamen, and the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, formed in 1784, and incorporated in 1792, for the relief of the necessitous among their number, and for the support of the widows and children of those who might die in indigent circumstances. In 1821, the Mechanics' Institute in Chambers street between Chatharn street and City Hall Place was built by the Society, and a school and library established for the education of its proteges. Besides the societies which we have mentioned, were the Society of the Cincinnati, founded at the close of the war by the patriots who, like their Roman namesake, had relinquished the sword for the plough, for purposes of general benevolence, and into which none but Revolutionary soldiers and their descendants were admitted; the Tammany Society or Columbian Order, founded

Page 630

630 HISTORY OF THE nearly at the same time, into which, in opposition to the exclusiveness of the former, all were admitted without regard to ancestry; the St. Andrew's Society, founded in 1756, and several masonic and other societies. Among the most remarkable of these was the Tontine Association,* founded in 1790 and incorporated in 1794 by a company of merchants for the purpose of providing a centre for the mercantile community. By the plan of this association, each shareholder selected a nominee, during whose life he was to receive his equal proportion of the net proceeds of the establishment; but upon whose death his interest reverted to the owners of the surviving nominees. The original shares were assignable and held as personal estate, and the whole property was vested in five trustees, who were to hold the property until the number of the surviving nominees was reduced to seven, when the whole was to be divided among the fortunate seven shareholders depending upon them. Under these regulations, two hundred and three shares were subscribed for at two hundred dollars each, and with this sum the Association purchased a lot of ground a hundred feet square on the corner of Wall and Water streets, and in 1792 commenced the erection of the Tontine Coffee-House, to which, upon its completion in 1794, the Merchant's Exchange was removed from the dilapidated old building in the centre of Broad below

• The plan of this Association originated from the scheme of Lorenzo Tonti, a

Neapolitan, who introduced a similar scheme into France in 1653, during the reign of Louis XIV.; whence the word Tontine came to designate a loan advanced by a number of associated capitalists for life annuities with the benefit of survivorship.See Valentine's Manual for 1852.

Page 631

CITY OF NEW YORK. 631 G I p1 - E AY -- - 631 - ~ —-- -- _ The Bible House, in Eighth Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues. Pearl street where it had been located since the Revolution. After the erection of the new Exchange in Wall street, in 1825, the building was let for various purposes; then, in May, 1855, was demolished to make room for the subsequent Tontine Building. I Many other societies sprang into being in the course of the next half century-the Bible and Common Prayer Book Society, instituted in 1809; the Protestant Episcopal Tract Society, founded in 1810, and the American Bible Society, established in 1816. Next came the various Missionary Societies-the New York Sunday School Society, established in 1816-the outgrowth of a

Page 632

632 HISTORY OF THE little Sunday School opened in 1811 by a few young women of the Society of Friends for the purpose of teaching adult colored women; the American Tract Society, instituted in 1825, the City Tract Society, founded during the ensuing year, and many more beside. The Reformed Dutch Church still continued predominant in the city which had been founded by its members. This was, indeed, the oldest denomination in America, having been organized in New Amsterdam with a handful of members as early as 1620. For a long time, the church continued to retain its distinctive customs and even language; the first English sermon ever listened to by the denomination having been delivered as lately as 1764 by Dr. Laidlie in the Middle Dutch Church in Nassau street. Even at this late date, the innovation of a foreign tongue was stoutly opposed by the ancient Knickerbockers, but was sanctioned by the Consistory as a matter of policy-the only means whereby they could restrain the younger members of their congregations, who had well-nigh forgotten the language of their sires, from straying off to listen to the more familiar English tongue as preached in the churches of other denominations. Laidlie, invited to become the English colleague of Domines Ritzma and De Ronde, at that time the officiating ministers of the South and Middle Dutch Churches, at once opened a crusade against the dances and merry holiday amusements which had come down from the genial times of the early settlers, and did much toward infusing the spirit of English asceticism among the descendants of the jovial sires of New Amsterdam. All the ministers who succeeded him preached in English

Page 633

CITY OF NEW YORK. 633 only, with the exception of Dr. Livingston and Dr. Kuypers, the latter of whom preached for many years in both languages. The last sermon in the Dutch language was preached in 1803. The customs that prevailed in the Reformed Dutch churches were, indeed, peculiar; many of them still exist among the denomination, nor are the traditions of any wholly lost. Unlike the plainly attired Puritan preachers, the domines invariably appeared in the high, circular pulpit, clad in a gown of black silk, with large, flowing sleeves; and so indispensable was this livery deemed, that, at the installation of a domine in the beginning of the nineteenth century, who came unprepared with a gown for the occasion, the senior clergyman peremptorily refused to officiate, and the ceremony would have been postponed for a week, had not a robe been opportunely furnished by a friendly minister. The tall pulpit was canopied by a ponderous sounding-board. The first psalm was set with movable figures, suspended on three sides of the pulpit, so that every one on entering might prepare for the opening chorus. Pews were set aside for the governor, mayor, city officers, and deacons, and the remaining seats were held singly by the members for their life, then booked, at.their death, to the first applicant. The clerk occupied a place in the deacon's pew, and prefaced the exercises in the morning by reading a chapter from the Bible, and, in the afternoon, by chanting the Apostolic Creed, to divert the thoughts of the people from worldly affairs. All notices designed to be publicly read were received by him from the sexton, then inserted into the end of a

Page 634

634 HISTORY OF THE long pole, and thus passed up to the cage-like pulpit, where the minister was perched far above the heads of the congregation. It was his business, too, when the last grains of sand had fallen from the hour-glass which was placed invariably at the right hand of the domine, to remind him by three raps with his cane that the time had come for the end of the sermon. A story is told of a domine who, one hot summer's day, seeing the clerk asleep and the people drowsy, quietly turned the glass himself, and, after seeing the sands run out for the second time, remarked to the congregation that, since they had been patient in sitting through two glasses, he would now proceed with the third. Before entering the pulpit, the domine raised his hat before his face, and silently offered a short prayer for a blessing on his labors. After uttering the concluding word of his text, he exclaimed, Thus far! before proceeding with his sermon. This custom is preserved to this day in some of the country churches. When the sermon was over, the deacons rose in their places, and, after listening to a short address from the domine, took each a long pole with a black velvet bag attached to the end, from which a small alarm-bell was suspended, and passed about the church to collect alms for the poor. One of the bells used in the old Dutch church in Garden street, is still preserved in the office of the Christian Intelligencer, the present organ of the denomination in the city. In the earlier times, boxes strongly bound with iron, with a hole in the lid, which was fastened by a padlock, were placed at the door to receive the alms of the congregation on their exit.

Page 635

CITY OF NEW YORK. 635:-=09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST)09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST)EVT (talk)7 7EVT (talk) 09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST)=iiREQ-09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST)= R in Reformed Dutch Church, Corner of Fifth Avenue and Twenty-first Street.

Page 636

Page 637

CITY OF NEw YORK. 637 At the Lord's supper, the communicants, invariably dressed in black, stood round the communion-table at the foot of the pulpit, and received the emblems from the minister's own hands, while the clerk read a suitable selection from the Scriptures. The stone church built by William Kieft in 1642 having been destroyed by fire in the days of the negro plot, the oldest church edifice of this denomination at the beginning of the nineteenth century, was the South Dutch Church in Garden street. This was of an octagonal form, with a brick steeple large enough to afford space for a consistory room. The windows were large, with very small window-panes set in lead, and curiously emblazoned with the coats of arms of the church dignitaries; several escutcheons also hung against the wall. In 1776, it was enlarged and repaired, but at the time of which we speak, it was not open for service. In 1807, it was rebuilt and repaired; then destroyed in the conflagration of 1835; when two congregations arose from its ashes, the Dutch church on Washington Square, and the South Reformed Dutch Church on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Twenty-first street. In Nassau street was the Middle Dutch Church, now known as the Post-office. This was at first built without pillars or gallery; the ceiling forming an entire arch without support. On the introduction of the English service in 1764, the pulpit was removed from its original place on the east side to the north end of the church, and galleries were built on the east, west and south sides. Of its use while the city was in the hands of the British, we have already spoken; in 1789-90, it was

Page 638

038 HISTORY OF THE restored to its primitive state, and continued unaltered until 1844, when it was purchased by the United States. On the Sunday evening before its final surrender by the congregation, the old building was thronged to its utmost capacity by those anxious to take a last leave of this relic of the olden times. The farewell exercises were conducted in Dutch and English by Drs. Knox and De Witt, a sermon was preached, a historical sketch of the structure given, a psalm sung, and the benediction pronounced-the last words of prayer that were uttered in the old building, being spoken in the language of the ancient Knickerbockers.* In William street was the North Dutch Church, a substantial building of brown stone, one hundred feet long by twenty wide, built originally with a tiled roof, for which

• The bell of this church still summons the congregation of the Reformed Dutch

Church in Lafayette Place, and has a curious history. It was presented to the church by'ol. Abraham De Peyster, who died in 1728, while the edifice was in the process of erection, and directed in his will that the bell should be procured from Holland at his expense. It was made at Amsterdam in 1731, and it is said that a number of citizens cast in quantities of silver coin at the fusing of the metal. When, in 1776, the church was converted into a riding-school for the British dragoons, the bell was taken down by one of the De Peyster family, and secreted until some years after the evacuation of the city; when the church was repaired and opened again for service, and the bell restored to its rightful position. Upon the transforlnation of the church into the Post-office in 1844, it was removed to the church in Ninth street near Broadway, where it remained until 1855, when the building changed hands, and the bell was removed to the church in Lafayette Place. The bell is fancifully gilt, and bears the inscription: " Me fecerunt " De Grave et N. Muller, Amsterdam, Anno 1731. " Abraham De Peyster, geboren den 8 July, 1657, gestorven den 8 Augustus, " 1728. Een legat aan de Nederduytsche Kerke, New York. (A legacy to the Low " Dutch Church at New York)." The silver baptismal basin procured for the Garden street church in 1793, is still used in the South Reformed Dutch Church in Fifth Avenue.

Page 639

CITY OF NEW YORK. 639'09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST)I!! -i- E -- -09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST)09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST)EVT (talk) 09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST) —-- ~ ~ ~ ~ I\\- -~~ —~ II j- ~ Ijjj11111 E _ 11111med Ditch Ih rin fe Pa R~eformod Dutch Ch'nrc_~ ina La.fayette Place.

Page 640

Page 641

CI Y OF NEW T ORK. 641 -L. ---— _ ~_____~__ —__ ------- ~~_ -EVT (talk) —----—.~ 09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST) — - --- - _.'=- ~-~~ ~ -— 09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST)EVT (talk) 09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST) _ ~_~_ _ — _ _-= ~. _...-.: -= -L- -__ =_.=~~ ~ 09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST)09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST)~' _. -

_- --

_ =-~z A - |i! E ==- 09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST)- I~~-I~: —=T= - 1 = - A ~ —-.mag'\ _EVT (talk) 09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST) —-- -- --— =_ __ Deformed Dutch Church, Corner of Fifth Avenue and Twenty-ninth Street. 41

Page 642

Page 643

CITY OF NEW YORKEL. 643 shingles were afterwards substituted. This still continues as one of the landmarks of the city. At Harlem was a small wooden church of great antiquity, and at Greenwich village was another, built also of wood in 1782, and afterward enlarged. Drs. Livingston, Kuypers and Abeel were at this time the pastors of the Reformed Dutch churches of the city, consolidated under the title of the Collegiate Church of New York.* The Episcopalian, the next oldest religious denomination, introduced soon after the cession of the city to the English, had at this time seven churches. Of these, the ancient Trinity, built in 1696, enlarged in 1737, burnt down in 1776, and rebuilt in 1788, was a Gothic edifice of considerable pretensions, surmounted by a tall spire, and furnished with a fine chime of bells, some of which still sound in the ears of our citizens. To this church two chapels were attached-a third was afterward added by the erection of St. John's in 1807-St. Paul's in Broadway, a substantial stone edifice, built in 1766; and St. George's in Beekman street, built in 1752; of these the Right Rev. Benjamin Moore was rector, with the Rev. Drs. Hobart and Beach as assistant ministers. In Ann street was Christ Church, a stone edifice, built in 1794, now under the care of the Rev. Dr. Lyell;

• Althouglh mrny independent congregations of the Reformed Dutch Church have

since been formed, the Collegiate Church still exists-the mother church of the denomination in New York and the oldest ecclesiastical organization in the country. Though still considered as a single church, and governed by one Consistory, it has at present four places of worship-the North Dutch Church in Fulton street, the Ninth street church, the church on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Twenty-ninth street, and the church in Lafayette Place, under the care of the Rev. Drs. Brownlee, D)e Witt, Vcrnlilyc and Chambers.

Page 644

644 HISTORY OF THE St. Mark's in Stuyvesant street, built in 1795, with the Rev. Dr. Harris as minister; Zion Church on the corner of Mott and Cross streets, built in 1801, and under the pastoral care of the Rev. Dr. Pilmore; and the Eglise du Saint Esprit, the church of the early Huguenots in Pine street, which, stripped of pulpit and pews during the Revolutioni, had been repaired in 1794, but was not opened for service until some time after. Grace Church, the ancestor of the present splendid structure at the apparent head of Broadway, was built soon after on the site of the old Lutheran Church at the corner of Broadway and Rector streets. Next in order came the Lutherans; but their ancient church in Broadway had been swept away by the fire of 1776; and the only one that now remained to them was Christ Church, a stone building on the corner of William and Frankfort streets, under the care of the Rev. Dr. Kunze, soon afterward succeeded by the well-known Rev. F. W. Geissenhainer. In Nassau, near John street, was the German Reformed Church, erected in 1765, and differing slightly in tenets from the latter. Next came the Presbyterian denomination; the first church of which was a stone building, erected in Wall street in 1719, and enlarged in 1748. In 1810, it was rebuilt in handsome style, only to fall a victim to the conflagration of 1834. It was rebuilt soon after, and occupied for eight or ten years, when, tempted by the increasing value of the ground, the congregation disposed of it for secular purposes, and removed to their new edifice in Fifth Avenue, between Eleventh and Twelfth streets. The old church was taken down, stone

Page 645

CITY OF NEW YORR. 645 kkC09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST) AL Trinity Church.'

Page 646

Page 647

CITY OF NE W YtR K 647 II..L~LS~ ^~;a~'F —~ —— I-`SS;-~ T~*fIIIf HGr ace C hurch.

Page 648

Page 649

CITY OF NEW YORK. 649 by stone and put up again in Jersey city, where it still remains one of the most conspicuous objects of the town. First Presbterian Church Fifth Avenue. First Presbyterian Church, Fifth Avenue. In Beekmnan street was the Brick Church, afterwards known as Dr. Spring's, built in 1767, on the angular lot traditionally known as " the Vineyard," which had been granted by the corporation at a rent of forty pounds per annum, to John Rogers and Joseph Treat, ministers, and John Morin Scott, Peter R. Livingston, and others,

Page 650

650 HISTORY OF THE trustees, for an indefinite period. More fortunate than its neighbor, the Brick Church escaped the great conflagration, and remained a landmark of olden times until the widening of Beekman street demanded its demolition, when the congregation commenced the erection of a new edifice on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Thirty-seventh street. The iron railing which had surrounded the church for so many years was taken down and removed to South Brooklyn, where it was set up about the residence of the Hon. J. T. Stranahan. These were Associated churches, and were under the care of the Rev. Drs. Rogers, McKnight, and Miller. The Rutgers street church, built in 1797, was a large frame building with a cupola and a public clock, and was under the charge of the Rtev. Dr. Milledollar. In Cedar street was the Scotch Presbyterian Church, built in 1758, for and at this time under the charge of Dr. Mason; and in Chambers street was the Reformed Scotch Presbyterian Church, a frame building, erected in 1797, for the Rev. Dr. Alexander McLeod. In 1807, a second Presbyterian Church was built in Cedar street for Dr. Romeyn, which became the ancestor of the Presbyterian Church in University Place, and that on the corner of Nineteenth street and Fifth Avenue. The first Baptist church in the city was an edifice of blue stone, erected in Gold street, near Fulton, in 1 790, of which the Rev. Mr. Parkinson was pastor. This church was taken down in 1840, and the stone of which it was composed worked up into the First Baptist Chulrch on the corner of Broome and.Elizabeth streets, to which the congregation soon after removed. In Oliver street

Page 651

CITY OF NEW YORK. 651 aCrhCn of _ fth u ad -- _- Pebtra C r, Cre' Fit Aeu an Nt —t t Presbyterian,Churh, Corner Of Fh Avenue and Nineteenth streeL

Page 652

Page 653

CITY OF NE W Y R0 K. Old Baptist Church, corner of Broome and Elizabeth streets. was another stone church of the same denomination, built in 1795, and rebuilt and enlarged in 1819- and in Rose street was another, built in 1799. The Methodist Church had its foundation in a small rigging loft in Horse and Cart Lane, now William street, where William Embury, a local preacher from Ireland, aided by Captain Webb, of the British army, formed a nucleus of the disciples of Wesley in 1766. Soon outgrowing this humble tenement, the society purchased a lot of ground in John street, and, in 1768, erected a stone edifice which they christened Wesley Chapel. This was removed in 1817 to Harlem, and in 1840 the present chapel erected on its site. A second was built in Forsyth street in 1790, and a third in Duane street in 1795.

Page 654

654 HISTORY OF TIHE Among the oldest of the religious societies was that of the Friends, whose first place of worship was erected in Green near Liberty street about 1706. This was rebuilt and enlarged in Liberty street in 1802, anld afterward transformed into the seed store of the well-known Grant Thorburn. The second meeting-house of the denomi-,nation, erected in Pearl street, in 1775, was taken down in 1824, to make room for other buildings. The Jews had a synagogue in Mill street-the street is now blotted out of existence-a neat stone edifice erected in 1730, nearly on the site of the small frame building which they occupied at first as a place of worship. The Moravians had a church in Partition, now Fulton, near William street, erected in 1751, of wvhich St. Patrick's Cathedral, corner of Mot' ani! Prince Streets.

Page 655

CITY OF NEW YORK. 655 the Rev. Benjamin Mortimer was pastor. The only Catholic church in the city was St. Peter's in Barclay street; a brick building erected in 1 786. The next inl order was St. Patrick's Cathedral, on the corner of Mott and Prince street, which was opened for service in 1815. This was burned in 1866. The only library in the city was the Society Library, incorporated in 1772, a sketch of which we have already given. This was located in the library building in Nassau street opposite the Middle Dutch Church, then considered an architectural ornament to the city. The Custom House was in the Government House, erected on the site of the old fort, in the place of the present Bowling Green Row. The Post-office was kept in the house of the postmaster, General Theodorus Bailey, on the corner of William and Garden streets,* in a room from twenty-five to thirty-five feet deep, with two windows fronting on Garden street, and a little vestibule on William street containing about a hundred boxes. An extension was afterwards added in Garden street, but it remained in the same spot until 1827, when it was removed to the basement of the new Exchange in Wall street. In 1844, it was transferred to the Middle Dutch Church in Nassau street, where it still remains. Three banks were at this time in operation; the Bank of New York, chartered in 1791, with a capital of $950,000, with Matthew Clarkson as president; the

• This house was also the residence of Sebastian Bauman, the first postmaster of

the city subsequently to the Revolution, appointed to the office by General Wash ington.

Page 656

656 H-IISTORY OF THE United States Bank, incorporated in the same year, with a capital of $10,000,000, with Cornelius Ray as president, and the Manhattan Bank, incorporated in 1799, with a capital of $2,050,000, with Daniel Ludlow as president. The Insurance Companies were three in number; the New York Marine Insurance, incorporated in 1798; the Mutual Fire Insurance, incorporated the same year, and the Washington Fire Insurance, incorporated in 1801. Both the banks and the insurance companies were all located in Wall street. Seven daily papers were now issued in the city-the New York Gazette and General Advertiser, published by Lang & Turner; the New York Evening Post, published by William Coleman and edited by M. Burnham; the American Citizen, published by James Cheethamn; the Commercial Advertiser, published by Zachariah Lewis, and edited by J. Mills; the Public Advertiser, edited by Charlee Holt; and the Mercantile Advertiser, published by Ramsay Crooks; besides the New York Weekly Museum, published every Saturday by M. Harrison; and two medical journals, the one published quarterly and the other semi-annually; together with the Churchman's Magazine, by T, & J. Swords. This house, which commenced business in 1787, continued in existence till 1859, under the various titles of Stanford & Swords, Stanford & Delisser, and Delisser & Procter, and is notable for having been the first publishing-house established on a permanent basis in the citv; though books were issued occasionally from the presses of Gaine, Rivington, Hodge, Loudon, and other of the newspaper proprietors. Three stages sufficed for the wants of the travelling

Page 657

CITY OF NEW YORK. 657 community-the pioneers of the army of omnibuses of the present day. One of these ran to and from Greenwich, one to and from Harlem, and one to and from Manhattanville. The first stopped at Baker's Tavern on the corner of Wall and New streets; while the others started from the Bull's Head, on the site of the Bowery Theatre. The Park Theatre. The only theatre in the city at the beginning of the pre'sent century was the Park, built in 1798, and opened three nights in each week. This theatre was burned in 1820, rebuilt and reopened in the following year, and burned again for the last time in 1849, when its site was covered with warehouses. This fronted the Park, from which it derived its name, between Ann and Beekman streets, and long retained the theatrical monopoly of the 42

Page 658

658 HISTORY OF THE city. Among those opened iii the course of the next half oentury were the Chatham, erected in 1824, and growing,out of the Chatham Garden, kept by Mr. Barrere; the New York, now the Bowery, built in 1826 at the Bull's Head; and the Lafayette opened ill 1825 in Laurens near Thompson street, under the manlagement of Mr. Dinneford. Beside these, were the Broadway and Mount Pitt Circuses, the latter situated in Grand street, opposite the upper end of East Broadway; the American or Scudder's Museum, opened in 1810 in the New York Institution, once the Alms House, in Chambers street; Peale's Museum in Broadway, opposite the Park; the Chatham Museum established some American Museum, at the North end ofthe Park.

Page 659

CITY OF NEW YORK. 659 time after by John Scudder, the son of the proprietor of the American Museum; the Rotunda, erected in 1818 in the east corner of the Park, with its entrance on Chambers street, designed for the exhibition of paintings, and many more. The markets of the city were four in number-the Exchange Market at the foot of Broad street; the Oswego Market in Broadway at the head of Maiden Lane; the Old Fly Market, which in 1822 gave place to the present Fulton Market; and the Hudson or Bare, now Washington Market, between Fulton and Vesey streets. This curious appellation is thus accounted for by a contemporary of the times. After the great fire of 1776 had destroyed the greater part of the houses in that part of the city, it was thought advisable to establish a market there for the accommodation of the workmen who were building up the burned district. But the market-house was finished long before the streets about it were rebuilt and settled; as there were few purchasers, the venders fell off, and thus. in a very little time the strange anomaly was presented of a fine market-house bare of provisions. The present Washington Markethouse was erected and opened in 1813. There were two ferries to Brooklyn, one from Fly Market Slip near the foot of Maiden Lane, and the other from Catherine Slip; one to Paulus Hook, now Jersey City; one to Elizabethtown Point; and another to Staten Island. The ship-yards were between Catherine street and Corlaer's Hook and between Corlear's Hook and Stanton street, in the part of the town then called Manhattan Island, and regarded as quite beyond the limits of the city.

Page 660

660 HISTORY OF THE The Fire Department consisted of a single engineer, who received his appointment from the Common Council and who was invested with absolute control over. the companies, engines, and all else that pertained to the organization; a number of firewardens, commissioned by the same authority to inspect buildings, chimneys, etc., and to keep order at fires; and several voluntary companies under the direction of a foreman, assistant and clerk of their own choosing. A few engine-houses had been built; the greater part of the hooks and ladders, buckets, etc., were deposited for safe keeping in the City Hall. Several of these pioneer companies continued to retain their organization until the substitution of the paid for the volunteer Fire Department system was effected. The militia consisted of a single division under the command of Major-General Stevens. The United States Arsenal was at the junction of the Old and Middle Roads, now Madison Square, while the State Arsenal was situated at the junction of Chatham and Centre streets. In the rear of the Government House, near where formerly stood the lower barracks, was the old arsenal, yard, where a quantity of military stores was deposited, and to which, from time to time, curious relics made their way, well worth the attention of antiquarians. It was from the rubbish heaped up in this place that the mutilated statue of Pitt was unearthed after the Revolution. The manners and customs of the citizens, now sixty thousand in number, were still very primitive. The Dutch language continued to be used largely in the city;

Page 661

CITY OF NEW YORK. 661 very many of the signs over the stores were in Dutch, and in Hudson Market, the resort of the farmers from New J-ersey, a knowledge of the language was absolutely indispensable. The lower part of Pearl street was at this time the fashionable part of the town, though Barclay, Robinson and. William streets were beginning to dispute its claims. Each citizen swept the street in front of his own house twice a week; and the bellman came around every day with his cart for garbage. The streets were lighted by oil lamps. Coal was almost unknown; hickory wood was the principal article of fuel. The milkmen traversed the streets early in the morning, bearing a yoke on their shoulders, from which tin-cans were suspended, shouting: "Milk, ho!" in token of their coming; and water from the celebrated Tea Water Pump on the corner of Chatham and Pearl streets, was carried about in carts, and retailed at a penny a gallon. The chimneys were swept by small negro boys, who went their rounds at daybreak, crying: " Sweep, ho! sweep, ho! from the bottom to the top, iiithout a ladder or a rope, sweep, ho!" with numerous Yariations. Numerous quaint customs and street cries were in vogue at this comparatively modern time, all of which have now passed away, and are known to us only through tradition. A strange mosaic of different nations, with its successive strata of Dutch, English and French, New York was truly a composite city, gathering floating material from every nation under the sun wherewith to form and mold a new people, which should embrace the whole universe within the scope of its sympathy, and

Page 662

662 CITY OF NEW YORK. vie with its adopted tongue in its broad and cosmopolitan character. Fit language,. indeed, is the English for such a nation; as yet a mass of crude material, gathered from the lexicons of every dialect that sprung from the confusion of tongues, to be molded by time, and use, and the master-hand of genius, into a symmetrical form, perfect because all-comprehensive, and fitting to become a universal language-the only tongue that should be spoken by the people of a New World.

Page 663

CHAPTER XX. 1801-1825. Progress of the City-War of 1812-Politics of New York-The Canal Celebration. ONE of the first events that marked the mayoralty of Edward Livingston, was the construction of the Manhattan Water-works, the forerunner of the magnificent Croton Aqueduct and Reservoir of the present day. There had always been a scarcity of good water on the island. The spring of the celebrated Tea Water Pump in Chatham street was excellent, but this would not suffice for the wants of a whole city; and the water of the other wells and pumps, which were scattered in profusion over the island, was almost unfit for use. The initiative step toward supplying the city with water had been taken in 1774 by Christopher Colles, who had constructed a reservoir at the public expense on the east side of Broadway, between Pearl and White streets,* into which water was raised from large wells sunk on the

• These grounds comprised about two acres, and were purchased by the corporation of Augustus and Frederick Van Cortlandt, at the rate of six hundred pounds

per acre. 663

Page 664

664 HISTORY OF THE premises and also from the Collect, then distributed by means of wooden pipes throughout the city. These works were completed in the spring of 1776, and placed under the superintendence of Mr. Colles; but the supply proved insufficient, the water was of an inferior quality, and in the ensuing foreign occupation of the city, the enterprise was neglected, then finally abandoned, and the citizens returned- to the wells of their ancestors, which still continued to be located in the middle of the streets. In 1798, the subject was again taken into consideration, and a report having been made by Dr. Brown, affirming the impurity of the water on the island, Engineer Weston was directed by the corporation to investigate the matter, and report upon the most feasible method of bringing in water from the mainland. He recommended the raising of the Rye Ponds to a reservoir in Westchester County, the mills to be located on the Bronx River, where the surplus water would be used in raising the water, which would thence be carried to the Harlem River in an open canal, then conveyed across the river through an elevated iron pipe to a reservoir, where it would be filtered and then distributed through the city. After some discussion, the matter culminated in the formation of the Manhattan Water Company with banking privileges. This company obtained a grant from the corporation of the grounds formerly occupied by Colles, and, erecting a reservoir in Chambers street, between Broadway and Centre street, a locality then considered far out of town, pumped water into it from wells sunk in the vicinity, whence it was distributed, by means of bored logs,

Page 665

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Page 666

Page 667

CI TY OF NEW YORK. 667 through the city. But this water proved both scarce and bad; the company, neglecting the ostensible purpose of its organization, soon turned its attention almost exclusively to banking affairs, and thus lost the confidence of the community, and it was not long before the new works were voted a failure. A new City Hall was determined on about the same time, and in 1802, a premium was offered for the best plan, which was awarded to Messrs Macomb and Mangin. City Hall and Park.

Page 668

668 HISTORY OF THE On the 20th of September, 1803, the corner-stone of the new edifice was laid in the Park by Mayor Livingston, in the presence of the corporation and the few of the citizens who had not fled from the yellow fevelr, wltich at this time was prevailing in the city. Tlis edifice, which is too well known to our readers to require firoml us a detailed description, was finished in 1812, at a cost of half a million of dollars. The front and both ends were built of white marble from the quarries of Stockbridge, Massachusetts; for the Chambers street front, red sandstone was used fromn motives of economy, it being thought that the material of this side was of little consequence, as so few citizens would ever reside on that side of the town. In 1803, Edward Livingston resigned his office, and De Witt Clinton was appointed mayor in his stead. Clinton was a native of the State of New York and a resident of the city from early youth, having been the first graduate of Columbia College after its change of name. Few of her sons have contributed more largely to the glory and prosperity of the city. Under his auspices, the Historical Society was founded, the Public School Society instituted, the Orphan Asylum established, the City Hall completed, and the city fortified for the war of 1812. He continued in the mayoralty with two years' intermission until 1815, when he resigned it to enter public life on a more extended scale as governor of his native State, and to mature the gigantic scheme of canal-navigatioll, which won for New York the proud title of the Ellpire State, and for its projector the lasting renemllbrance of posterity.

Page 669

CITY OF NEW YORK. 669 The charter election of November, 1803, was warmly contested by the two opposing parties. Since the last election, two new wards had been added to the city, and this change gave the republicans strong hopes of success. The contest resulted in favor of the federalists, who carried the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Eighth, and Ninth Wards, the two latter by a small majority, leaving the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh in the hands of the republicans. The result was accounted a gain by the latter, who now added the Fifth Ward to the Sixth and Seventh which they had carried uniformly since the election of 1800. This was the dawning of success; in the election of the following year, some changes in the franchise regulations having opened the polls to a larger number of voters, they succeeded in electing their candidates in all the wards excepting the First and Second. In 1805, they carried the Second Ward, also, by a majority of two, and thus gained undisputed ascendency in the city government. The First Ward clung persistently to the fortunes of the federal party until 1820, when the republicans, for the first time, succeeded in electing their candidate for alderman by a small majority. The violent political disputes of this period gave rise to a fatal duel between two of the most prominent citizens of New York; Alexander Hamilton, who, though born in the West Indies, had been a resident of the city from early youth, and his political antagonist, Aaron Burr, at this time the third Vice-President of the United States. The quarrel arose in political antagonism. In the State election of 1803, Burr, who had lost the con

Page 670

670 HISTORY OF THE fidence of the republican party, had been nominated for governor by the federalists, in opposition to Morgan Lewis, and, although the latter were at this time the leading party in the State, was defeated by his opponent by a large majority. This defection in the federal ranks he attributed to the influence of Hamilton, then the most prominent man in the party, who had denounced him in caucus as an unprincipled politician and warmly opposed his election; and, smarting under the influence of his defeat, he sent him a challenge, to which Hamilton denmurred at first, then afterward accepted. At sunrise on the 11th of July, the parties met on a plateau on the Jersey shore, about half a mile above Weehawken. Hamilton was mortally wounded at the first fire, and fell, discharging his pistol in the air. He was conveyed across the river to the house of Mrs. Bayard, over the site of which Horatio street now passes, where he breathed his last on the afternoon of the following day. The fatal result of this affair caused the deepest sorrow, not only in the city but throughout the whole country. Hamilton had been the bosom friend of Washington, his talents were of the highest order, he was a consummate statesman, and his moral character was without a stain. Few men stood higher than he in the esteem and confidence of the community, and even those who had been his bitterest political opponents regarded his loss as the greatest evil that could happen to a community —the loss of a mall of unblemished integrity from off its stage of action. His remains were escorted, on the 14th inst., by a large procession to Trinity Church, where the funeral oration was pronounced by Gouverneur Morris, and the body interred

Page 671

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Page 672

Page 673

CITY OF NEW YORK. 673 with military honors in the cemetery of the church. A monument was afterward erected over his grave by the Society of the Cincinnati, of which he was a member; while the St. Andrew's Society, to which he also belonged — his father having been a Scotchman, an indispensable requisite to membership in this society-caused a monument to be erected over the spot on which he fell. On the first of November, 1804, the foundation of the present Historical Society-a body to which, more than all others, the city of New York is indebted for the preservation of those documents and records which alone can preserve her true history to the world-was laid in the picture-room of the City Hall by eleven persons, who organized themselves into a society, and choosing DeWitt Clinton as the first president, pledged themselves to use their utmost efforts to collect whatever might relate to the natural, civil, literary and ecclesiastical history of the United States in general, and of the State of New York in particular. The foundation of this society was chiefly due to the instrumentality of Judge Egbert Benson and John Pintard, Esq. The association soon grew into favor, and its numbers increased slowly, but steadily. For some time, the meetings continued to be held in the City Hall, where the first historical festival of New York was held on the 4th of September, 1809, the two hundredth anniversary of the discovery by Hendrick Hudson of the island of Manhattan. In the same year, the society removed to rooms in the Government House, where it remained until the demolition o'f the building, in 1815; after which it located itself, first on the corner of Broadway and Chambers street, then in the Stuyve43

Page 674

674 HISTORY OF THE sant Institute, and afterward in the New York University, whence it removed for the last time in 1857 to the new library building on the corner of Second Avenue and Eleventh street, which, for convenience and tasteful elegance, ranks second to none of the libraries of the city. The same year was marked by one of those terrible fires which were wont to ravage the city periodically before the introduction of fire-proof buildings, together with an efficient Fire Department. The conflagration broke out on the 1Sth of December in a grocery store in Front street, and raged with fury for several hours, burning the old Coffee House on the corner of Pearl and Wall street, the scene of so many patriotic gatherings in the days of the Revolution, with many other of the old landmarks of the city. Forty stores and dwellings were destroyed by this fire, which was supposed to have been the work of an incendiary. The loss of property was estimated at two millions of dollars. The following year witnessed the initiatory movement of a noble institution which, matured and perfected, is destined to be the crowing glory of our country-the Free School. The credit of this is due chiefly to some members of the Society of Friends, who, aided by the efforts of De Witt Clinton, obtained the incorporation of the Public School Society, in 1805, with Clinton as its first president. The first school, No. 1, was opened on the 17th of A/ay, 1806, in Madison near Pearl street, with forty scholars, the instruction being gratuitous to some and almost nominal to all. Not content with thus placing the means of education within the reach of every one, the society did more; it employed persons to go

Page 675

CITY OF NEW YORK. 675 - I`I_~-~ —~3t. George's Churc

Page 676

Page 677

CITY OF NEW YORK. 677 First Public School House. about the city and gather the destitute and untaught children into the schools that they might receive the needed instruction. The experiment proved successful, and soon won the public approval, at first withheld or cautiously bestowed on the innovation. In 1808, the corporation donated the old State Arsenal, on the corner of Chatham street and Tryon Row, to the society, on condition that they should educate the children in the Alms House; and, in 1811, School No. 2 was built in Henry street, on ground given by Colonel Rutgers. The pioneer school was afterwards removed to William street, where it long stood numerically at the head of our public schools. The society continued to flourish and rapidly to increase the number of its houses until 1842, when a new school law was passed, providing for the establishment of Aard Schools, to be wholly gratuitous and supported by taxation. The two systems continued to work together harmoniously under the supervision of

Page 678

678 HISTORY OF THE a Board of Education until 1853, when the Public School Society resolved to make over their property to the corporation, and to relinquish their charter, which was accordingly done. Fifteen of the trustees were admitted into the Board of Education for two years, the remaining eighty entered the local boards, and the venerable Public School Society passed out of existence. Yet its name will ever be honored by the friends of education as the efficient pioneer of public instruction. From the single school with its forty scholars have sprung up between two and three hundred schools, beside the Free Academy, now the New York College, established in 1847, for the purpose of placing a university education within the reach of every youth of the city. Of a different nature but not less important was the event which marked the year succeeding the organization of the Public School Society-a year which will ever be memorable in the annals of our city for the successful introduction of steam navigation. In 1798, Chancellor Robert R. Livingston had received from the Legislature, as the discoverer of this new power, the exclusive right of steam navigation in all the waters within the limits of the State for twenty years, provided that within twelve months, he should produce a boat, the average speed of which should not be less than four miles an hour. This he failed to do, and the grant remained in abeyance until 1803, when, having made the acquaintance of Robert Fulton in France, and aided him in some encouraging experiments, he obtained a renewal of the monopoly for the twenty years ensuing, on condi

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Page 680

Page 681

CITY OF NEW YORK. 681 Portrait of Robert Fulton. tion that he and Fulton, his partner in the grant, should fulfill the required conditions within the space of two years. They immediately set to work to realize their design. Fulton took up his residence in New York, and commenced the construction of the Clermont, the first of the steam vessels. No one believed in the possibility of his success; the citizens looked jeeringly at the craft, and christened it in derision, " The Fulton Folly." Nothing daunted by their taunts, the sanguine projector persevered in his task, and on the 7th of August, 1807, announced his vessel as ready for the trial trip to Albany. T.he boat was launched from Jersey City. At the time appointed, thousands of spectators thronged the temporary staging that had been erected along the sloping shore, to witness the failure of the chimerical enterprise. As the wheels revolved, slowly at first, then increasing in velocity, and the vessel was propelled toward the middle of the river, the cry of " she moves, she moves!'

Page 682

682 HISTORY OF THE The Clermont-Fulton's first Steamboat. run through the unbelieving crowd; while the sailors on the other vessels, on witnessing the strange craft as she came puffing and snorting up the stream, fell upon their knees, and prayed to be delivered from the evil one. Fulton enjoyed his triumph as the speed increased, and the new power which he had chained to his bidding, bore him, in defiance of wind and tide, far from the sight of the discomfited citizens. Stopping a single night at the seat of Chancellor Livingston, he reached the place of his destination in thirty-two hours and secured the monopoly of steam navigation over the waters of New York. But Fulton had not been alone in the pursuit of this lucrative monopoly. John Stevens with his son, R. L.,Stevens, of Hoboken, had long cherished the idea of availing themselves of the power of steam, and almost simultaneously with Fulton, but just too late, had

Page 683

CITY OF NEW YORK. 683 effected their purpose in the steamer Phoenix. Anticipated in the scheme by his successful rival, Air. Stevens struck out into a new field, and, sending his steamer round to Philadelphia by sea, first won the mastery over the waters of the ocean as Fulton had done over those of the rivers. It was not long before the monopoly was set aside, and the Stevens again entered the lists of competition, producing an improved steamboat, capable of making thirteen and a half miles an hour, which convinced the doubters and persuaded them that the age of miracles was not yet past. One of the most important uses of this new power which had thus been forced into the service of mankind was in bridging the rivers which separated the city from the opposite shores. The ferries, especially those of Long Island, had always borne an important part in the history of the city; from their rent a great part of its revenue had been derived, and the proprietorship had been a constant source of dispute between the citizens and the residents at the opposite terminus. We have noted the progress of the ferries from time to time, in the preceding pages, but we propose to give here a brief review of their history, the better to explain the bearings of the vexed ferry question. The first ferry was naturally established between New York and Brooklyn, its earliest neighbor. To avoid as much as possible the labor of stemming the strong current, the narrowest part of the river was chosen, though this was far above the furthest limits of the city, being from a point below Peck Slip on the New York ti Fulton street on the Long Island side of the river. This

Page 684

684 HISTORY OF TIIE ferry-the Old Ferry, as it afterward came to be called — was maintained as a private speculation until about the middle of the seventeenth century, whlen a regular ferry was established, and made a source of revenue to the city. The first ferry-house in New York was on the corner of Broad and Garden streets, now Exchange Place, a low, one story house, with two dormer windows in the high, steep pediment roof, built in conformity with the Knickerbocker style of architecture, and an iron boat, oars and anchor for a sign, the principal landing-place of the ferry-boats, both from the Long Island and Jersey shores. The Brooklyn ferry-house at the foot of Fulton street was a commodious two story house, with stables and outhouses attached —for unlike the ferry-houses of the present day, these were also taverns for the accommodation of travellers. This ferry-house was burned in 1748 by the Sepoys of Long Island by way of revenge for the infringement on their rights by the corporation of New York. The dispute originated in this wise. As we have already said, the ferry was at first a private speculation, established in 1642 by Cornelius Dircksen, who kept a small inn near Peck Slip and owned a farm in the vicinity. William Jansen was his successor. In 1652, the Burgomasters of New Amsterdam made an unsuccessful application to Governor Stuyvesant for the ferry to Breukelen to defray the city expenses. In 1654, an ordinance was passed, regulating the rates of ferriage, and in 1658, IHarmanus Van Borsum hired the ferry from Governor Stuyvesant, at auction, at an anruual rent of three hundred guilders, and became the

Page 685

CITY OF NEW YORK. 685 successor of his father Cornelius who had died a short time before. Uponr the cession of the city to the English, the new rulers assumed control over the waters, and made the ferry pay toll to the city government. The people, however, insisted on their right to ferry themselves and their neighbors across the river, provided that they did not interfere with the landing-places of the corporation, and so formidable became the opposition of these private ferries that the lessees of the government abandoned their enterprise in despair. John Airensen, John Euwatse and Dirck Benson successively tried the experiment and abandoned the lease, and the corporation became convinced that they must adopt some new policy or abandon all hope of revenue from the ferries. Hitherto they had been balked in their endeavors to crush these private enterprises from the fact that they could claim no jurisdiction over the neighboring shores; but, in 1708, they obtained a charter from Lord Cornbury, which not only confirmed them in their title to the old ferry, but also invested them with a grant of all the land lying between high and low-water mark on the Long Island shore from the Wallabout to Red IHook, with the privilege of establishing additional ferries within these limits. The farmers along the shore were still permitted to ferry themselves and their produce across the river, but were strictly forbidden to carry any passengers. This charter incensed the Brooklynites greatly, and they did all in their power to evade its conditions. ULrging that the instrument was worthless in the' absence of

Page 686

686 HISTORY OF THE some technical formality, they continued their ferries and so harassed the corporation that in 1740 the latter obtained a more explicit renewal of their grant in the Montgomerie charter, and also procured the passage of an act by the Provincial Assembly, prohibiting private citizens from ferrying passengers across the river under penalty of a fine. After vainly endeavoring to obtain the repeal of this act, the people determined to have recourse to the law, and instituted a suit which was carried from court to court of the province, and finally referred by appeal to the king, when the vexed questions of the day were, put to rest by the Revolution. Upon the restoration of tranquillity, it was again revived, and has ever since furnished food for litigation, though the people have, as yet, been worsted in the contest. Until the year 1810, row-boats or pirogues were the only ferry-boats upon the rivers. Next came the horseboats-twin-boats, with the wheel in the centre, propelled by a sort of horizontal treadmill worked by horses, the first of which was introduced on the 3d of April, 1814, upon the Catherine street ferry. This was a boat of eight-horse power, crossing the river in from twelve to twenty minutes. The first improvement was made in the substitution of steam for horses as the motive power, and the first steamboat, the Nassau, was put on the Fulton ferry on the 8th of May in the same year; but the new agent being found as expensive as expeditious, it failed to find favor in the eyes of the Company, and, for many years, this remained the only steam ferry-boat upon the river. In 1824, the monopoly which had been granted to Fulton and Livingston was set aside by order

Page 687

CITY OF NEW YORK. 687 of the Supreme Court, the use of steam was thrown open to public competition, and the horse-boats soon became obsolete institutions. The first improvement in the steam ferry-boats was the single boat with side-wheels; the first of which was the Hoboken, built by R. L. Stevens in 1822. Simultaneously with these came the floating bridges which rise and fall with the tide, aided by counterbalancing weights on the shore-the invention of Fulton-and the spring piles, constructed by R. L. Stevens. These improvements soon found favor on the ferries, the plan of bridging the river by an arch was abandoned, in the face of this new agent, which set time and space at defiance, and the genius of steam gained undisputed dominion over the waters. In the charter election of 1806, the federalists succeeded in regaining the ascendency in the city, of which they had been deprived, and carried the First, Second, Third and Fourth Wards, together with the Fifth through an independent candidate to whom they had given their support. De Witt Clinton was in conseqence removed from the mayoralty by the Council of Appointment at Albany, and the veteran Marinus Willett was appointed in his stead; while the recorder, Pierre C. Van Wyck, was superseded in his office by Maturin Livingston. Disaffection was now springing up in the republican ranks. The scope of our work does not permit us to trace the rise and progress of the numerous political parties that sprung suddenly into existence from time to time, and as suddenly vanished; it will suffice to say that, at this time, a deadly feud

Page 688

688 H'-ISTORY OF THE existed between the Clintons and the Livingstons, that Governor Lewis, who was related to the latter, threw his influence in their favor, that the section of the republican party which still clung to Burr made common cause with these; and that with these cliques was allied that of the Madisonian republicans, who supported Madison for president in opposition to George Clinton, the ex-governor of the State. In the following year, the Clintonians regained the ascendency, De Witt Clinton was again appointed mayor, and Pierre C. Van WMyck was restored to the recordership. In the charter election, the First, Second and Ninth Wards alone were carried by the federalists. These were increased in the election of 1808, by the addition of the Third and Sixth wards, making an equal divisiQn of power. During this year the Tenth Ward was added to the city. At the State election of 1809, the federalists for the first time since 1799, carried the State, upon which the appointment of the mayor depended.* This change was owing to the declaration of war which was now pending, and against which there was strong opposition. At the charter elections, the regnant party achieved a similar success, electing their candidates for aldermen in all the wards except the Fifth and Tenth, and gaining fifteen out of twenty of the whole common council. At the first meeting of the Council of Appointment at Albany, De Witt Clinton was again removed from the mayoralty,

• The mayor was at this time appointed to office by a Council of Appointment,

consisting of a senator chosen by the Legislature from each of the four districts of the State, with the governor as chairman of the counciL

Page 689

CITY OF NEW YORK. 689 and Jacob Radcliff appointed in his stead; while Pierre C. Van Wyck was again removed from the recordership to make room for Josiah Ogden Hoffman. In the following year, the latter was restored to the office, then removed for the third time in 1813, and Hoffnlan again appointed in his place. In the charter election of 1810, the republicans gained a majority in the Fifth, Seventh, Eighth and Tenth wards. This success was followed up by a victory in the State election, which restored De Witt Clinton to the mayoralty, in which he continued until 1815. During this time, the politics of the city were fluctuating. The charter election of 1811 made no change in the Board. The election of 1812 gained to the federalists the assistant alderman of the Tenth Ward, and in 1813, the republicans gained the Sixth Ward, thus securing an equal division of power. This was recovered by the federalists in the following year; when the great issue upon which the parties bad been divided was ended by the termination of the war. From this brief sketch of the political affairs of the city during the beginning of the century, we will return to its local changes and improvements. In 1807, a new missionary enterprise was undertaken by Trinity Church by the erection of St. John's Chapel in Varick street, on what was then deemed the outskirts of civilization. This was located opposite a dreary marsh, covered with brambles and bulrushes and tenanted by frogs and watersnakes, and was regarded by the citizens at large almost as a proof of insanity on the part of the church authorities. 44

Page 690

690 HISTORY OF THE A curious fact discovered on the records of a Lutheran church of New York by one of the antiquarians to whom the city is so deeply indebted for preserving its traditions of the past, will serve to illustrate the popular faith at this period in the rise and progress of real estate in the upper part of the town. The church was at this time involved in pecuniary difficulties, contributions were solicited in its aid, and, to relieve it in its embarrassment, a friend proposed to donate to it a tract of six acres of ground in the neighborhood of the stone bridge on the corner of Broadway and Canal street; but, after mature Deliberation, the trustees refused the gift, alleging that the land in question was not worth the trouble of fencing in. The commencement of the United States Navy Yard at Brooklyn in the beginning of the century called the attention of the citizens to an act of duty which had too long been delayed. The first stroke of the spade into the sand-hill upon which the new buildings were to be erected opened a terrible mine to the eyes of the public. The whole shore, the slope of the hill, the sand island in the vicinity-all were filled with the bones bf the prisonship martyrs, who had been thrust coffinless into the ground and literally piled one upon another. The horrible revelation reminded the citizens of the too-long neglected duty; the relies were carefully collected and placed in the charge of the Tammany Society, and, on the 8th of May, 1808, escorted by one of the grandest processions.that New York had ever witnessed, were conveyed to their final resting-place in a vault in Jackson street, not far from the spot of their original inter

Page 691

CITY OF NEW YORK. 691 ment. Thirteen coffins filled with the bones were carried in the procession, and eighteen hogsheads besides were gathered from the sands and deposited in the vault. The corporation attended in a body, the bells were tolled and minute guns fired during the procession, and the whole city seemed clad in mourning. In 1811, the city was again devastated by a terrible conflagration, which raged with fury for several hours, destroying nearly a hundred houses, and baffling for a long time all the efforts of the firemen. The steeple of the Brick Church and the cupola of the New Jail took fire and were barely saved, the one by the prompt action of a sailor by the name of Stephen McCormick, the other by the presence of mind of a prisoner on the premises. Both were afterward rewarded by the corporation. One of the most important events of this period was the adoption of a plan of the future city, to which we owe the parallel streets and broad avenues of the upper part of the island, which contrast so strongly with the narrow streets and crooked lanes of the down-town locality. This plan was due to Simeon Dewitt, Gouverneur Morris, John Rutherford and S. Guel, who had been appointed by the Legislature in 1801, as commissioners to lay out and survey the whole island to Kingsbridge into streets and avenues.'By the proposed plan,

• the streets, beginning with the first on the east side of

the Bowery above Houston street, numbered upward to the extreme end of the island. These were intersected by twelve avenues, numbering westward from First A venue, the continuation of Allen street, to Twelfth Avenue upon the shores of the North River,

Page 692

692 HISTORY OF THE As avenues were afterward laid out to the eastward of the former, they were designated by the names of the letters of the alphabet, A, B, C and D. By this plan, the island was laid out with admirable regularity, while the squares and triangles which were formed by the junction of those time-honored thoroughfares which could not be removed, were converted into public parks for the adornment of the city. The despised Potter's Field became the beautiful Washington Square; the Bowery and Broadway met amicably in Union Square; Madison Square was formed from the union of the Old and the Middle roads; the great salt meadow on the eastern side of the city was drained, and Tompkins Square, with hundreds of city lots, sprung up from its depths; valleys were filled up, hills were levelled, and art seemed destined to surmount all the difficulties of nature, and to make every inch of New York Island inhabitable ground. During the occurrence of these events, the progress of the city had been greatly retarded by the threatening aspect of affairs with England. Despite the provisions of the treaty of 1795, the English had not ceased their aggressions upon American commerce. In the war that existed between England and France, the hostile powers blockaded each other's ports, and captured all American vessels that attempted to enter, despite the neutrality which was strictly maintained by the nation. Nor was this all; the British cruisers, on the motto, " Once an Englishman, always an Englishman," persisted in boarding and searching American vessels, and taking thence all naturalized citizens as subjects of the

Page 693

CITY OF NEW YO-RK. 693 British crown. These constantly recurring grievances irritated the people, and fast prepared them for an open rupture. As early as 1806, an affair of this kind occurred almost within the port of New York, which excited universal indignation. In April, the British frigate Leander, commanded by Captain Whitby, while cruising off Sandy Hook, fired into the sloop Richard, an American coasting vessel, and killed one of her men. The corpse was brought up to the city and buried at the public expense; and the citizens joined in demanding reparation of the British government for the unprovoked outrage; but, though Captain Whitby was sent home to England and tried by a court-martial, he was speedily acquitted without punishment or censure. On the 22d of June of the following year, the American frigate Chesapeake, when off the coast of Virginia, was fired upon by the British man-of-war Leopard, and forced to surrender four of her men, who were claimed as subjects to the crown of Great Britain; three of whom were afterwards proved to be American citizens who had been impressed by the British but had escaped from their service. This outrage was followed by a proclamnation from President Jefferson, forbidding British armed vessels to enter the harbors of the United States until reparation for the attack upon the Chesapeake had been made by the British government, and security given against future aggressions. War was now raging between England and France, and, in November of the same year, the British government issued " orders in council," prohibiting all trade

Page 694

694 HISTORY OF THE with France and her allies. By way of retaliation, i Church of the scension, corner of Fifth venue 1807 aTenth Street. with France and her allies. By way of retaliation, isl the following month, Bonaparte issued the celebrated Milan decree, forbidding all trade with England and her colonies, and thus struck the death-blow to American commerce. It now became evident to all that war was inevitable; and, in order to call home and detain the Amnerican ships and sailors, and to put the country in a posture of defence, on the 23d of September, 1807, an embargo

Page 695

CITY OF NEW YORK. 695 was laid by Congress on all the vessels in the harbors of the United States. The result was most disastrous; business was instantly paralyzed, failures occurred on every side, and the whole country seemed in a-state of stagnation. This measure revived the disputes between the federalists and the republicans; the latter sustaining the action of the administration, the former insisting that, if war were made at all, it should be against France as the principal aggressor. On the 1st of March, 1809, the embargo which, while failing to obtain from France and England the desired acknowledgment of American rights, was ruinous to the commerce of the country with other nations,'vas repealed by Congress, and a strict system of,.cnintercourse substituted in its stead. Relying or the promise'of Mr. Erskine, the British minister, tb.4f the obnoxious "orders in council" should be repealed before the 10th of June, President Madison, lately elected to the office, proclaimed that commercr,Jsl intercourse with England should be renewed or, that day. The promise, however, was not kept, the 1overnment disavowed the pledge of the minister, and on the 19th of August, non-intercourse with England was again proclaimed. In March, 1810, the hostile decrees of the French were revoked, and commercial intercourse swas renewed with the nation. The English, meanwhile, continued their aggressions, stationing ships of war before the American ports, to intercept the outward-bound vessels and take possession of them as lawful prizes. Scarce an American vessel was safe on the seas, and, finding that

Page 696

696 HISTORY OF THE no satisfaction was to be obtained from the British government, Congress resolved at length to bring matters to a crisis, and on the 4th of April, 1812, laid an embargo upon all vessels within the jurisdiction of the United States, which was followed on the 19th of the ensuing month by the President's proclamation of war against Great Britain. Although the citizens had differed greatly in opinion in respect to the expediency of the projected war, no sooner had it been declared, than they pledged themselves heart and hand to aid in its accomplishment. The news reached the city on the 20th of June, and on the 24th, the citizens assembled in large numbers in the Park to concert measures for future action. The meeting was called to order at 12 o'clock, noon, with Col. Henry Rutgers as president and Col. Marinus Willett as secretary. The law of Congress declaring war and the President's proclamation were read, and a preamble and resolutions, approving the action of the government, and pledging to its support " their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor," were unanimously adopted by the Assembly.* Copies of these resolutions

• These resolutions we transcribe entire-the preamble from which they are

deduced is too long to be inserted here. " Resolved, That we have viewed with pleasure and approbation the increasing " efforts of our government to preserve to our country the blessings of peace; that " we duly appreciate their able negotiations, and admire their unwearied patience to " promote so important an end; and that we consider them standing justified in the "' eyes of their fellow-citizens in all the restrictive measures to which they have "resorted, as temporary expedients, with the hope of preventing thereby the evils "of wiar. " Resolved, That while solicitous of peace, and ardently attached to its blessings, "we believe that the crisis had arrived when it could be no longer with honor

Page 697

CITY OF NEW YORK. 697 were ordered to be forwarded to the President, to Congress, and to the press for publication, and the people dispersed, fully determined to make their words good whenever they should be called upon to redeem their pledges. So vigorously were they backed by individual enterprise that, within four months after the declaration of war, twenty-six privateers were fitted out from the port, carrying two hundred and twelve guns and twenty-two thousand and thirty-nine men. The city, in the meantime, was ill prepared for defence, although, taking warning by the indications of the gathering storm, the government had for some time past been busy with its fortification. In the beginning of 1807, the city was entirely defenceless. The Narrows and the Sound were open and undefended, not a fortification was to be seen in the harbor or on any of the islands, and a small force might have sailed up to the city without opposition, and captured it as did Nicolls in the days of Stuyvesant. Awakened to a sense of the impending danger, in the spring of 1807, the general government began to take measures to fortify the harbor of New York; but the work went on slowly, and it was " retained; that we therefore hold our government justified in its appeal to arms "against Great Britain, and yield to its decision our unqualified and decided appro" b!tion. " Resolved, That as our government has now appealed to the sword, it becomes "the duty of all good citizens, at such an eventful period, to lay aside all party "animosity and private bickering, to rally as becomes brethren, equally involved in "the welfare of their common country, around the national standard, and to yield "to their government an undivided support. "Resolved, That in placing our reliance in the Most High, and soliciting his "benediction on our just cause, we pledge to our government, in support of our "beloved country,' our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."'

Page 698

698 HISTORY OF THE not until the war had been prosecuted for two years, and the city was threatened with invasion by a British 4eet, that the citizens took the work into their own hands, and succeeded in rendering the defences available. In the spring of 1814, the blockade of the southern ports, which had been maintained by the British since the beginning of the war, was extended along the entire coast, and the Common Council, alarmed by this hostile demonstration, issued a public call, urging the citizens to come together and concert measures for the defence of the city. In pursuance of this call, the people assembled in the Park in front of the City Hall on the 11th of August, 1814, to redeem the pledges of the former meeting. Colonel Henry Rutgers was again chosen chairman, and Oliver Wolcott secretary'; and Drs. Mitchell and McNeven, with Messrs. Wolcott, Riker, Anthony, Bleecker and Sampson, were appointed as a committee to draft resolutions to be presented to the meeting; pending which, the veteran Willett addressed the audience in a stirring speech, reviewing the events of their first struggle for independence, and urging them not to falter, but to support their leaders to the end. His speech was received with shouts of enthusiasm. In a short time, Richard Riker presented a preamble and resolutions in behalf of the committee, declaring their resolve to unite in arms on the first approach of the enemy, and to defend the city to the last extremity, and urging all the citizens to enroll in the militia and the naval service, to assist in the public works, and, by every means in their power, to aid the authorities in their efforts to secure the public

Page 699

CITY OF NEW YORK. 699 safety.* These resolutions were passed unanimously, committees were appointed to confer on the proper measures to be adopted, and to correspond with the citizens of other States for the purpose of inviting them to form voluntary associations similar to those proposed in the city, and the meeting adjourned amid shouts of applause.

• These resolutions read as follows:

"Resolved, That the citizens here assembled, will, to the last extremity, defend "their city. " Resolved, That we will unite ourselves in arms with our brethren of the country,' and on the first approach of the enemy, make it a COMMON CAUSE. " Resolved, That humbly confiding in the favor of the Assembly, we hope to " prove ourselves not unworthy of that freedom won by the heroes of the Revo"l' ution; and trust that the enemy they vanquished will receive from us a similar " defeat. "Resolved, That we highly approve of the measures for public defence which " have been devised by the government of the United States, by his excellency the "governor of the State, and by the corporation of this city; and that we will "coiperate in carrying the same into effectual execution. " Resolved, That it be recommended to the citizens generally, to meet, as soon as " may be practicable with convenience, in their respective wards, for the purpose of " electing discreet and efficient committees to promote the execution of the follow" ing objects: "1. To complete the voluntary enrollments of persons exempted by law from " military service. "2. To encourage the enrollment of seafaring citizens for service in the harbor, or as artillerists; and " 3. The enrollment of citizens for voluntary labor on the public works. "Resolved, That it be the special duties of the ward committees to provide, "under the direction of the corporation of the city, for the relief and protection of "the families of such persons as may be absent on public duty, and also, to' provide in the best manner practicable, for the protection of such helpless per" sons and their property, as in case of alarm may be desirous of moving into the " country. " Resolved, That we will endeavor to promote concord, and will discountenance:' all attempts to weaken the patriotic efforts of good citizens. " Resolved, That we will endeavor to discover and subject to the animadversion "of the laws, all persons who shall be concerned in any illicit commerce or "improper intercourse with the enemy."

Page 700

700 HISTORY OF THE The citizens were not slow in redeeming their pledges. Men of all classes and vocations lent a helping hand; masons, carpenters, shoemakers, merchants, and incorporated societies, all turned out in distinct bodies to aid in digging and constructing the works, and so numerous did the offers of aid become that the corporation was often obliged to entreat the friendly societies to wait from day to day for want of room. The whole city wore a martial aspect, militia companies were organizing and drilling here and there. the citizens hurried to and fro with pick and shovel to labor upon the fortifications, and everything bespoke the spirit of determined resistance. With this efficient aid, the works were soon completed. Castle Clinton, better known as Castle Garden, was constructed on the southwest point of the island, the North Battery was built at the foot of Hubert street, and Fort Gansevoort was erected at the foot of Gansevoort street. On Governor's Island, about half a mile south of the city, was Fort Columbus, with the strong Fort William in close proximity. About a mile to the westward of this, on Bedlow's Island, was a strongly built star-fort, and on Ellis Island, about a mile southwest from Castle Clinton, was a circular battery. On Staten Island, eight miles below the city, at the narrowest point of the passage between Long and Staten Island, stood Fort Richmond, a strongly built stone fortress, well supplied with all the munitions of war, with Fort Tompkins on an eminence directly in the rear, and Fort Hudson a little way below oln the shore. In the Upper Bay, about two hundred yards from Long Island was Fort Diamond, afterward Fort Lafayette, the strongest fortress of any, built on

Page 701

CITY OF NEW YORK. l01 made ground on a shoal, which could only be seen at low water. These fortifications, which in case of need could mount five hundred cannon, amply defended the harbor, and precluded the possibility of a suceessful invasion. Nor were the fortifications at Hellgate and on the upper part of the island, less effective.. On lIallet's Point stood Fort Stevens, with a stone tower in the rear; the opposite shore was strongly defended by the fortifications at Benson's Point; and strong works were erected to protect McGowan's Pass on the road to Harlem and the Manhattanville Pass on the Bloomiingdale road, between which a line of block-houses was thrown up. Early in the month of August, a requisition was made by Congress for twenty thousand troops, to be stationed in and around New York, and the corporation raised the necessary funds to meet the expense under pledge of reimbursement by the general government. Volunteers speedily flocked in from the surrounding country, and, on the 1st of September, all the artillery and infantry in the city and county were consolidated and mustered into the United States service, under their own officers, subject to the same rules, and regulations and receiving the same pay and rations as the regular troops. Daniel D. Tompkins,,at this time governor of the State, and Major-General Morgan Lewis, were the commanders at the post. The whole detached division was placed under the command of Major-General Ebenezer Stevens. Commodore Decatur was stationed in the city with a small force of picked men to be ready for action by sea or land, and a strong fleet

Page 702

702 H ISTORY OF THE lay in waiting in the harbor. The active duty required was performed in turn by the companies with their officers. Each company had its parade-ground, where the men who quartered at home were drilled for three or four hours every morning and afternoon. The battalions formed twice each week, the regiments once a week, and the brigade once in two or three weeks, while the whole division under General Stevens had three or four parades during their three months' service. During this time, the different regiments encamped in turn at Harlem, and guarded the fortifications there until relieved by a new corps from the city. When, at the close of the campaign of 1814, the division was reviewed by Governor Tompkins, it was found to consist of more than twenty-three thousand men, of whom but five hundred were regulars, while the rest were volunteers. The regular army was on the northern and western frontier, repelling the attacks of the British and Indians, and New York had none but her own sons to depend upon for safety. Happily, their protection was not needed. The battle of New Orleans virtually closed the war. On the 24th of December, 1814, a treaty of peace had been concluded at Ghent, and signed by the commissioners of both nations. Strangely enough, no mention was made in this treaty of the causes which had led to the war-the encroachments upon American commerce and the right of search and impressmenlt, but the former had ceased with the conclusion of the war with France, while Great Britain had quietly abandoned the practice of the latter. The federalists having now the ascendency in the

Page 703

CITY OF NEW' YORK. 703 State, in March, 1815, De Witt Clinton was removed from the mayoralty and John Ferguson appointed in his stead. Ferguson was at this time the naval officer of the customs. Being incapacitated by law from holding both offices, he resigned the new appointment in the ensuing June, and Jacob Radcliff, who had already acted as mayor in the last interregnum of Clinton's civic administration, was appointed in his stead, while John Ogden Hoffman was at the same time superseded in the recordership by Richard Riker. In the same year, the time of the charter elections was changed from November to April. The election of this year was warmly contested, and resulted in favor of the federalists, who carried six wards as in the previous election. In the charter election of 1816, the republicans for the first time adopted the name of Democrats, an appellation which was for some time confined only to the party in the city. In this election, they achieved a signal triumph, carrying six wards.out of the ten and effectually routing the opposite party. This result was repeated in the election of 1817. From this time, the ancient federalist party steadily declined, while new factions rose from its ruins, and allied themselves with off-shoots from the republican party. The issues that gave rise to these divisions are too complicated for any but a political history of the times; leaving all details of this nature, therefore, to those to whom it properly belongs, we shall briefly make mention of the questions of the day, and outline the career of the rival parties. At this time, the republican party was divided into the

Page 704

704 HISTORY OF THE two great divisions of Madisonians and Clintonians. To the former belonged the greater part of the Tammany party, familiarly known as "bucktails," from the deer's tail worn as an emblem in their caps by one of the orders of the society-an appellation by which the whole section of the party opposed to Clinton afterward came to be known. Of this party, Martin Van Buren became the most prominent leader.* The state election of 1818 placed De Witt Clinton in the governmental chair by the unanimous vote of all the parties in the field. In the charter election, there was less unanimity. The First, Second, and Third wards were won by the federalists without opposition, the Clintonians carried the Fourth Ward by a small majority, and the remaining six wards were won by the bucktail party. The republicans being again in the ascendency in the State, Radcliff was removed from the mayoralty, and Cadwallader D. Colden, grandson of the former lieutenant-governor of that name, of the Clintonian section, was appointed in his stead, Governor Clinton giving the casting vote necessary to secure his election in the Council of Appointment. In the following year, Richard Riker was removed from the office of Recorder, and Peter A. Jay appointed in his stead. The charter election was won by large majorities by the bucktails; the federalists carrying only the First and The section of the republican party opposed to De Witt Clinton originated as early as 1806 in the "Martling men," who took their name from their place of meeting at Martling's Long Room, on the site of the Tract TIouse. Tammany Hall, which was built in 1811, afterward became the rendezvous of the Madisonians, whence the section derived the name of the Tammany party.

Page 705

CITY OF NEW YORK. 705 Second wards entire and electing the alderman of the Third. The charter election of 1820 resulted'in a still more decided victory to the bucktails, who carried all the wards in the city, the Second alone excepted, for the first time electing an alderman in the First Ward. The State elections of the fall for the members of the Legislature resulted also in their favor, and, having thus succeeded in gaining a majority in the Council of Appointment, they removed Colden from the mayoralty to make room for Stephen Allen, and restored the recordership to their favorite, Richard Riker. At the municipal election of 1821, the bucktails, now known as the republicans, a name to which both they and the Clintonians laid claim, succeeded in electing their candidates in all except the First and Second wards. Their success in the following election was still more decisive; and their candidates were elected in every ward without opposition or by large majorities. In the charter election held in November, 1823, a new division arose in the politics of the city. The ancient federalists were well-nigh extinct; and the chief point at issue was the nomination of a successor to James Monroe, now on the eve of quitting the presideVcy. William H. Crawford, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and John C. Calhoun were presented by their respective cliques as candidates for the nomination; and this competition excited new party differences. Another question that arose at this time was in respect to the appointment of electors; a portion of the people advocating the existing system by 45

Page 706

706 HISTO RY OF THE which they were appointed by the Legislature; and others urging that this law should he repealed and the choice of the electors submitted directly to the people. The bucktail party, styled by its antagonists the " Albany Regency," which supported Crawford, avowed itself in favor of the existing system, while the friends of the other candidates, fusing on the point at issue under the name of the' people's party," united in urging the repeal of the law. The charter election was closely contested, and resulted in the election of five aldermen and six assistants on the people's ticket, thus giving to the party a majority. In the course of the year, the power of appointment of the mayor was transferred from the Council of Appointment at Albany, to the city corporation, who soon after superseded Stephen Allen in the mayoralty by the appointment of William Paulding, the former competitor of Colden. Richard Riker was also removed from the recordership to make room for Samuel Jones; then restored to the office in the.following year. In the elections of the two following years, the politics of the city were strangely complicated. New factions sprung into existence, and independent candidates were put in nomination. The people's party retained its ascendency in the election of 1824; in the following year the republicans regained their power, electing their candidates in a. majority of the wards. Since the last.election the Eleventh and Twelfth Wards had been added to the city. In the course of the year, William Paulding was removed from the mayoralty, and Philip Hone, a native-born citizen and a federalist of

Page 707

CiTY OF NEW YORK. 707 u -. —-— ~ -,.~. _ t - -PusCp. i.Il St. Paul's Chapel.

Page 708

Page 709

CITY OF NEW YORK. 709 the old school, appointed in his stead; not from any influence of his party in the council, but in consequence of a quarrel between the friends of Paulding and William P. Van Ness, the candidates of the rival democratic factions. Having thus glanced briefly at the political fluctuations of the city during the first quarter of the century, we will resume the narration of the events of general interest which transpired subsequently to the termination of the war of 1812. This war left the country in an impoverished condition, but commerce soon began rapidly to revive; so rapidly, indeed, that the unnatural growth brought on a commercial crisis in 1818-19, which occasioned many failures and much suffering. In 1817, the first regular line of packet ships to Liverpool-the "Black Ball Line "-was established by Isaac Wright and Son, Francis Thompson, Benjamin Marshall, and Jeremiah Thompson. This line consisted of four ships from four to five hundred tons -the Pacific, Amity, William Thompson, and James Cropper, which sailed regularly on the first day of every month. The "Red Star Line" was next established by Byrnes, Trimble, & Co., with four ships, the Manhattan, Hercules, Panthea, and Meteor. These sailed on the 24th of each nwnth. About six months after, the proprietors of the " Black Ball Line " added four more ships to their line to sail on the 16th of each month, which were soon after followed by the establishment of the " Swallow Tail Line " by Messrs. Fish, Grinnel & Co., and Thaddeus Phelps & Co., consisting of four ships, to sail on the 8th of each month, thus making a fleet of sixteen

Page 710

710 HISTORY OF THE packets, with a weekly departure. This was a desideratum which the citizens had had art opportunity to learn to appreciate; as, previously to this, the departures of the European packets had been very irregular and had occasioned much inconvenience to merchants and travellers. On the 11th of July, 1818, the remains of Gen. Richard Montgomery, the hero of Quebec, were transferred from their Canadian resting-place to the city, and deposited with military honors beneath the mural tomb in the front of St. Paul's Chapel, which had been erected to his memory in 1776 by order of the Continental Congress. Montgomery, though of Irish parentage, was allied to many of the prominent families of the city, through his marriage with the sister of Chancellor Livingston, and this transfer of his remains occasioned a lively interest among the people. In 1819, the first Savings Bank-the institution now located in Bleecker street-was organized under the auspices of Thomas Eddy, Dr. John Griscom, John Pintard, and other well-known citizens, and opened in the basement of the New York Institution, once the Alms House, in Chambers street, with William Bayard as its first president. The charter of the United States Bank, granted in 1791 through the efforts of Hamilton, had expired in 1811 by its own limitation, and, after endeavoring in vain to procure its renewal, the friends of the banking system, in 1812, applied to the Nlew York Legislature for a charter for a proposed " Bank of America," in the city of New York, with a capital of six millions, five millions to be subscribed at their option by the stockholders of

Page 711

CITY OF NEW YORK. 711 ilti\\,~ Jil, t S ~ 09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST)~I1 tt;1 Ic 41,1it illl x 1,1l ti'itEVT (talk);t Tomb of M o in t wll. or ioe.ll i.i I Tomb of Montgomery, in the front wall of St. Paul's C h a pel. —(For IIIcrip o I I HM 1 111 1 11 111 (lil I III'III Tombof Mntgoery in hefrntwllofSt au'sChpl.(Fr ncrpton eep.71.

Page 712

712 HISTO:RY OF TiHE li3s Monument is erected by the order of Congress, 25th Janry, 1776, to transmit to posterity a grateful remembrance of the patriotism, conduct, enterprize & perseverance of Major G(eneral lichard MIontgomer'y, Who after a series of successes amidst the most discoluragin (dii iculties Fell in the attack on Quebec, 31't Decr. 1775, Aged 37 years. Invenit et sculpsit, Parisiis J. J. Caffieri, Sculptor Regius, Anno Domini cbbcclxxvii THE STATE OF NEW YORK Caused the Remains of MAL.JOR G:ENI,. RIChttARLD MONTGOMiER., To be conveyed from Quebec And deposited beneath this Monument, the 8th day of July, 1818.

Page 713

CITY OF NEW YOR K. 713 the deceased United States Bank. This measure, which was warmly supported by the federalists as well as by a section of the republican party, was as zealously opposed by Governor Tompkins, who, finding the bill likely to pass both houses, prorogued the Legislature for sixty days, in the hope, by gaining time, to secure its defeat. But this delay availed him nothing; the Legislature, on reassembling, made it its first business to incorporate the bank, the capital of which was subsequently reduced to four millions. The City Bank, with a capital of two millions, and the New York Manufacturing Company, the ancestor of the Phoenix Bank, with a capital of one million two hundred thousand, were also incorporated during the same session by the Legislature. These were followed by a new National Bank, chartered in 1816 for twenty years, with a capital of thirty-five millions, a branch bank of which was established in New York, in Wall street. In 1819, the city was visited by the yellow fever, which soon disappeared, to return with increased violence in 1823, when its reappearance excited universal consternation. This time, the disease broke out in a new quarter. Hitherto, it had invariably made its first appearance on the eastern side of the town; it now commenced in Rector street, near the North River-a neighborhood which had always been peculiarly healthy, and confined its ravages to that quarter of the city. Although the fever had visited the city so often that it might almost have been considered a naturalized disease, with the appearance of which the citizens had grown familiar through habit, it seemed this year to be regarded.

Page 714

714 HISTORY OF THE with especial consternation. All who could, fled the city; the banks and custom house were removed to Greenwich village, the streets below the Park, comprising the infected district, were walled up, and all intercourse with them strictly prohibited, and the residents therein who were unwilling to quit their homes were forcibly removed by the Board of Health. For a tire, business was entirely suspended, and the city wore the aspect of absolute solitude, broken only by the rumbling of the hearses, and the shadows of the nurses who remained to watch the dying and care for the burial of the dead. But these precautions tended greatly to check the ravages of the disease. From the commencement of the fever, on the 17th of June, to its disappearance, on the 2d of November, the deaths numbered but two hundred and forty, being far less than in most of its previous visitations. The quarantine, established at Staten Island in 1821, soon checked the periodical recurrence of the disease, which appeared for the last time during this summer. In the summer of 1824, news was received that General Lafayette was on his way to New York. and the corporation at once prepared to welcome him as the guest of the city upon his arrival. The idol of the whole country, he was especially such of the city of New York, made up in great part of the so-called " French party," which had sympathized warmly with France in the struggle for independence, headed in the first place by Lafayette; which had denounced the neutrality of the American government as cowardly and dishonorable, and which let no opportunity slip for

Page 715

CITY OF NEW YORK. 715 demonstrating its attachment to France, and its corresponding detestation of her rival, Great Britain. Not less was he beloved by the opposite party-the friend of Hamilton, the adopted brother of Washington, the favorite of all his companions in arms, he had won golden opinions from all ranks and parties by his frankness and valor in the American Revolution, and his visit was a continuous march of triumph throughout the country. On Sunday, the 15th of August, he arrived in the ship Cadmus, and landed on Staten Island, where he remained till the next day at the residence of Daniel D. Tompkins, at this time Vice-President of the United States. On Monday, he was escorted up to the city by a large naval procession, and landed at Castle Garden amid the ringing of bells, the salutes of artillery and the shouts of the enthusiastic multitude, assembled to welcome the guest of the nation. From the Battery, he was escorted to the City Hall, where he was welcomed by the corporation, assembled there to receive him, and congratulated by Mayor Paulding on his safe arrival, then conducted to Bunker's Mansion House, where free quarters had been provided for him and his suite. During his stay in the city, he visited the navy yard, fortifications and public institutions, and held a daily levee in thb City Hall, where he was waited upon by thousands of the citizens. At his departure, he was escorted by a large detachment of troops to Kingsbridge, whence he set out for his proposed tour through the States. The beginning was but the augury of the future. Everywhere, the same welcome and the same festivities awaited him, and when he returned to New York in Septenmber.

Page 716

X716 HISTORY OF THE 1825, having accomplished a tour through- the whole country in the space of thirteen months, despite his lameness and his eighty-six years, the citizens bade adieu to him in a fete at Castle Garden which surpassed anything of the kind before witnessed in the country. The year 1825 witnessed the completion of a public work to which the city owes much of its present importance-the Erie Canal. This gigantic enterprise grew out of the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company, incorporated in 1792, with fifty members, for the purpose of improving the navigation of the Mohawk River and of opening a communication by canal to Seneca Lake and Lake Ontario. Of this company, General Philip Schuyler was president, and Barent Bleecker, Jeremiah Johnson and Elkanah Watson of Albany, with Thomas Eddy and Walter Bowne of New York, the most active members. The Northern Inland Lock Navigation Company was also organized about the same time for the purpose of opening a communication between the Hudson River and Lake Champlain. The route in qu'estion was carefully surveyed by Mr. Weston, a civil engineer from England, in company with Thomas Eddy; and their reports, added to a tour of observation made by himself in 1800 through the western part of the State, suggested to Gouverneur Morris, who was actively interested in the enterprise, the idea of a canal from the Hudson River to Lake Erie. The proposal attracted general attention; the aid of the federal government was solicited in the matter, and, failing to obtain this, a resolution calling attention to the subject was introduced into the State Legislature, in 1808, by Joshua Forman, of Onondaga

Page 717

CITY OF NEW YORK. 717 County, and4 the surveyor-general directed to have the route in question explored and surveyed, the sum of six hundred dollars being appropriated for the purpose. The survey was made by James Geddes, and a report of it furnished to the surveyor-general in 1809. On the 13th of March of the following year, the subject was brought up in the Senate by Jonas Platt, and De Witt Clinton, at this time a member of the Senate, was induced to give his support to the measure. From this time, dates the interest of Clinton in the canal; and, though he was not the original projector of the scheme, it may safely be affirmed that to bis practical talent, his indomitable energy and his obstinate perseverance is due the successful termination of the stupendous work-the giant of canals and the pride of the Empire State. Through his influence, the project was received with favor in the Senate, and a committee appointed consisting of Gouverneur Morris, Stephen Van Rensselaer, William North, Thomas Eddy, Peter B. Porter, Robert R. Livingston, and Robert Fulton, of which Morris was chairman, to survey the track of the canal, take levels, make estimates and form plans. In 1811, a report was furnished in behalf of the committee by Gouverneur Morris, accompanied with a finely executed map of the whole route; upon the receipt of which, a bill was brought into the Legislature by Clinton and passed on the 8th of April, vesting the canal commissioners with full executive power in respect to the navigation between the Hudson and the Lakes-and now the struggle began. The war, breaking out almost immediately, greatly retarded the progress of the work. The magnitude of'

Page 718

718 HIISTORY OF THE the undertaking startled the citizens, many of whom sneered at it as visionary, and termed it, in derision, "Clinton's big ditch;" and the opponents of Clinton made of the scheme a political issue, and thus strengthened the opposition by the prejudice of party. Clinton and Morris, after vainly soliciting aid from the national government, appealed for assistance to individual States, and, aided by their friends, struggled long and earnestly for the success of the enterprise. How much the public expression of sympathy in the city of New York contributed to the ultinate success of their endeavors will best be told in Clinton's own words. "At the commence"mnent of the year 1816," says he, in his reply to the New York Address, "a few individuals held a consulta"tion in the city of New York, for the purpose of call"ing the public attention to the contemplated Western'and Northern Canals. The difficulties to be sur"mounted were of the most formidable aspect. The "State, in consequence of her patriotic exertions during "the war, was considerably embarrassed in her finances; "a current of hostility had set in against the project; "and the preliminary measures, however well intended, " ably devised or faithfully executed, had unfortunately "increased instead of allaying prejudice. And such was "the weight of these and other considerations, that the "plan was generally viewed as abandoned. Experience "evinces that it is much easier to originate a measure "successfully, than it is to revive one which has already "been unfavorably received. Notwithstanding those "appalling obstacles, which were duly considered, a "public meeting was called, of which William Bayard

Page 719

CITY OF NEW YORK. 719 "was chairman and John Pintard secretary; a memorial "in favor of the canal policy was read and approved, "and a correspondent spirit, which induced the Legisla"ture to pass a law authorizing surveys and examina"tions, took place in every part of the State." On the 17th of April, 1816, a law was passed, appointing a board of commissioners with authority to lay out the track of the canals, and appropriating twenty thousand dollars for the purpose. De Witt Clinton was appointed president of the board, then removed from the office in 1824, in direct opposition to the wishes of the friends of the undertaking. On the 10th of March, 1817, the commissioners presented an elaborate report of their proceedings to the Legislature; and on the 17th of April, 1817, a law was passed amid the most strenuous opposition, providing funds for the construction of a grand canal, three hundred and sixty-three miles in length, with a surface of forty feet in breadth, declined to eighteen feet at the bottom, and containing a depth of four feet of water, sufficient for conveying vessels of more than one hundred tons burden, which should connect the waters of the Great Lakes with the Atlantic ocean, and form, next to the great wall of China, the longest line of continued labor in the world. On tile 4th of July, 1817, the ground was first broken for the canal by James Richardson, on the middle section in the vicinity of Rome, and from this date the work did not cease for a single day until its completion in 1]825. On the 22d of October, 1819, the first boat sailed on th-, Erie canal from Rome to Utica, with De Witt Clinlt(

Page 720

720 HISTORY OF THE then governor of the State, Chancellor Livingston, Gen. S. Van Rensselaer, and a large party of friends of the enterprise on board. This was a passenger-boat, named tile Chief Engineer, in compliment to Benjamin Wright, and was dragged by a single horse. The work completed, the city of New York was naturally selected as the most suitable place for the canal celebration. On the morning of the 26th of October, 1825, the first flotilla of canal-boats left Buffalo for New York, where the intelligence of its departure was received one hour and twenty minutes after by the sound of cannon stationed along the line. The answer was returned in the same time; and thus, in less than three hours, Buffalo had spoken to New York and received a reply. In our days of telegraphs, this seems slow conversation; but the electric wire had not then girdled the earth, and this rapid transmission of news seemed almost a miracle. On the 4th of November, at about five o'clock in the morning, the fleet, consisting of the Chancellor Livingston, in which were Clinton and his party, with a long line of canal packet-boats in tow, arrived at New York and anchored near the State Prison at Greenwich, amid the ringing of bells and the salutes of artillery. Here they were met by the steamship Washington, with a deputation from the Common Council on board, to congratulate the company on their arrival from Lake Erie. The fleet soon after weighed anchor, and, rounding the Battery, proceeded up the East River to the Navy Yard, where salutes were fired, and the visitors were met by the corporation. Here a grand naval procession was

Page 721

CITY OF NEW YORK. 721 formed, consisting of nearly all the vessels in port gaily decked with colors of all nations, and escorted to the United States schooner Dolphin, moored within Sandy Hook, where the great ceremony of the day was to be performed. The actors in the programme having entered the schooner, the vessels in the procession formed a circle about the spot, and Clinton poured a keg of the fresh water of Lake Erie into the waves, thus wedding the inland seas with the Atlantic ocean. Following in his footsteps, Dr. Mitchill poured into the waves waters which he had gathered from every zonefrom the Ganges and the Indus, the Nile and the Gambia, the Thames, the Seine, the Rhine and the Danube, the Mississippi and Columbia, the Orinoco, the Plate and the Amazon, in token of the varied commerce which would gather about the island, destined to become the commercial centre of the world. On the land, the celebration was not less imposing. A civic procession four and a half miles in length, numbering nearly seven thousand persons, paraded with banners and music through the principal streets of the city, then proceeded to the Battery to meet the corporation on their return from Sandy Hook. A magnificent display of fireworks was given in the evening in the Park, the public and private buildings were illuminated, and the whole city wore an air of festivity. Not a single accident occurred to mar the harmony of the day, and the Erie Canal celebration may justly be ranked as one of the most successful pageants ever witnessed in the city. Governor Clinton did not long enjoy his triumph, but expired suddenly of disease of the heart while sitting in 46

Page 722

722 CITY OF NEW YORK. his library on the 11th of February, 1828. The news of his decease occasioned deep grief in the city of which he had been the greatest benefactor. Suitable public testimonials of respect were offered by the corporation to his memory, and, on the Canal anniversary of 1853, a colossal bronze statue of him, executed by H. K. Brown, of Brooklyn, to the order of several private citizens of New York, was set up with appropriate ceremonies in Greenwood Cemetry. Mr. Clinton was twice married; first, to Miss Maria Franklin, daughter of an eminent merchant of the city, by whom he had seven sons and three daughters; and lastly, to Miss Catherine Jones, daughter of Dr. Thomas Jones of New York, who survived him.

Page 723

CHAPTER XXI. 1825-1855. Gas Companies-The Italian Opera-Journalism in the city-Great Fire of 1835-Com. mercial Panic in 1837-The Croton Aqueduct-Astor Place Opera House Riot-Crystal Palace-Position of Affairs in 1855. NOR was the Erie Canal-a work, of all others, relevant to the history of the city, to the growth of which it has contributed so largely-the only public improvement that sprung into existence during the year 1825; gas-pipes, joint-stock companies, the opera, the Sunday press, and the Merchants' Exchange, all made their first advent in the great metropolis in the course of the same year. First, of the introduction of gas into the city. Hitherto, the streets had been dimly lighted with oil; and though efforts had been made to substitute something better, and experiments had even been made in the Park with gas-lights as early as the summer of 1812, nothing definite was done until March, 1823, when the New York Gas Light Company was incorporated with a capital of $1,000,000, with the privilege of supplying all that part 728

Page 724

724 HISTORY OF THE of the city south of Canal and Grand streets. In May, 1825, it commenced the proposed improvement by laying gas-pipes in Broadway on both sides of the street, from Canal street to the Battery. From these, they were gradually extended over the southern part of the island, though for years the city presented a checkered appearance, with one block dimly lighted by the ancient oillamps, and the next brilliantly illuminated from the works of the new gas company. In 1830, the improvement was extended to the northern part of the island by the incorporation of the Manhattan Gas Light Company, with a capital of $500,000, for the purpose of supplying the upper part of the city, not included within the limits of the New York Company. The innovation soon grew into favor; both companies have been eminently successful, and at the present day, nearly the whole of New York Island is veined with a net-work of pipes, both of gas and water, bringing the two elements into the homes of the citizens, ready to gush forth at the touch of the obedient faucet. Not so beneficial in their results were the joint-stock companies, which, following in the lead of the speculative fever which was raging at this time so fiercely in England, rose only to lead an ephemeral existence, and to fall again in the course of the following year with a terrible crash, involving the all of thousands in a common ruin. The history of these is of too recent a date to be classed as yet among historical facts, nor would our limits permit it, were we disposed for the investigation; it suffices to say that the commercial panic of 1826, brought on by the failure of numerous joint-stock cornm

Page 725

CITY OF NEW YORK. 725 panies, some under the control of fraudulent stock-jobbers, and others of visionary enthusiasts, honest in purpose, yet misled themselves and misleading others by the bubble of colossal fortunes, built up in a day by a fortunate stroke, destroyed, for a time, all confidence ill business, and utterly paralyzed the commerce of the city. But this state of affairs was of short duration; business gradually revived on a surer basis, the public lost confidence in the lotteries, bogus banks, and kindred schemes with which the whole country had previously been flooded, and the chaos resulted in good to the whole community. This year witnessed the first effort to introduce the Italian opera to the shores of the New World. The theatre was already a fixed institution.; the stage ot the old Park Theatre had witnessed the performances of Cooke, Kean, Cooper, Booth, Wallack, Conway. Mathews and many others; Incledon, Braham, Phillips and other vocalists had also been received with favor by the New York public; yet no attempt had been made at operatic performances. In 1825, the Garcia troupe arrived, and, on the 29th of November, made their first appearance at the Park Theatre in the opera of "II Barbiere di Seviglia," in which Signorina Garcia. afterward the celebrated Malibran, then but seventeen years of' age, made her debut before the American public, and was received with unbounded enthusiasm. The genius of the great artist was quickly recognized, and the press of the city teemed with her praises. The first opera was continued for thirty consecutive nights, then replaced by others with equal success. She afterward appeared in English opera at the Bowery Theatre, opened for the

Page 726

726 HISTORY OF THE first time in October, 1826, where she received ten thousand dollars for seventeen nights' performances. But the attempt was premature; the country was still too young to afford the necessary encouragement to art, and, finding their success not commensurate with their wishes, the artists determined, after two years' trial, to abandon the enterprise, and, in 1827, set sail for France, where the youthful prima donna won herself a world-wide reputation as the acknowledged Queen of Song, then expired in the midst of her triumph, at the early age of twenty-eight. Other attempts to establish the Italian Opera on a permanent basis soon followed with like success. Palmo, with a choice troupe of artists and a tasteful little Opera House, seemed likely for a time to succeed, but was forced at last to abandon the enterprise. The Astor Place Opera House, built in 1848, bore the stamp of failure from its very foundation, and, passing in 1852 into the hands of Donetti, was converted into a menagerie; then, in 1854, was purchased by the Mercantile Library Association and transformed into the present Clinton Hall. The Academy of Music was opened in 1855, and, after repeated failures, Max Maretzek succeeded in naturalizing the Italian opera within its walls. It was burned on the night of May 21, 1866, together with the Medical College in Fourteenth street, but was immediately rebuilt, and was formally reopened by a masked ball, March 1, 1867. This was also the epoch of the introduction of marble as a building material. Marbles abounded of every shade and texture, and of a fineness unsurpassed by any in the Old World, yet so strong was the prejudice exist

Page 727

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Page 728

Page 729

CITY OF NEW YORK. 729 ing against them that when the American Museum, the first marble-fronted building in the city after the City Hall, was built in 1824, not a workman could be persuaded to put up the edifice, and, as a last resort, a convict was pardoned out of the State Prison at Sing Sing on condition that he would perform the work. This museum was built by John Scudder, who removed his collection thither from the rooms which he had formerly occupied in the New York Institution. It remained in his hands and those of his heirs until 1840, when it was purchased by P. T. Barnum, who soon after added to it the collection of Peale's New York Museum,,located in Broadway near the corner of Murray street, which had been purchased of the proprietor in 1838 by the New York Museum Company. In 1825, the erection of the Merchants' Exchange in Wall street was commenced and finished in 1827, when the Post-office was removed to the Rotunda, where it remained until its destruction by the conflagration of 1835. The New York University, the Masonic Hall in Broadway, nearly opposite the New York Hospital, the Arcade in Maiden Lane, and many other buildings of more or less interest were also erected about the same time. The approaching presidential election of 1828, rallied the parties together for a new contest. John Quincy Adams, the iegnant President, was the candidate of the National Republicans, the lineal descendants of the old federal party; while the pseudo "Albany Regency "party," with the republicans at large, supported the claims of General Andrew Jackson, the hero of New

Page 730

730 HISTORY OF THE The New York University. Orleans. The friends of the latter at this time assumed the name of Democrats; a term which had first been bestowed on them in derision in the days of the French Revolution, and which originated, like most of the partisan names, in New York city. The city, increased in 1827 by the addition of two wards, was now again under the rule of Mayor Paulding, who had superseded Mayor Hone in 1826. The democrats had clearly gained the ascendency, and in the charter elections of 1826,'7,'8 and'9, succeeded in electing a majority in both boards

Page 731

CITY OF NEW YORK. 731 of the Common Council. In the federal election, they also obtained the victory, and placed their candidate in the presidential chair of the United States. This was also the epoch of the anti-masonic excitement, arising from the abduction and supposed murder, in 1826, of William Morgan, a recreant Mason of Batavia, who had threatened to expose the secrets of the fraternity. This charge was soon converted into a political weapon, a combination was formed against the Masons, at this time a large and flourishing society, the most extravagant rumors of diabolical practices in their secret conclaves were put in circulation, and at the elections of 1827, the people, forgetting the ancient party divisions, ranked themselves as Masons or anti-Masons at the polls. The persecution of the luckless society was fanatical in the extreme; a number of prominent papers opened a crusade against it, public meetings were held at which seceders from its ranks denounced it as the sum and substance of all wickedness, and a prejudice was excited throughout the community which paralyzed it for years, and seemed for a time to threaten its existence. Before the presidential election, the anti-Masonic colors were adopted by the enemies of Jackson. while the democrats ranged themselves on the side of the hunted Masons, but, though the latter succeeded in electing their candidates at the polls, their efforts could not save the fated society from the unpopularity which long checked its growth. The fate of Morgan was never positively known; a body found in Lake Ontario was declared to be his by the anti-Masonic party-" a good enough Morgan till after the election," the friends of the Masonls

Page 732

732 HISTORY OF THE called it; and much doubt there was indeed of its identity. The society became almost a dead letter, and it is only within a few years that it has revived from the paralysis and regained its former position. In the course of the year 1829, Walter Bowne, a merchant of New York, and a prominent politician of the democratic party, was appointed mayor in the place of William Paulding. Mr. Bowne was a lineal descendant of John Bowne, the leader of the Quakers at Flushing, who had been imprisoned for his faith by the order of Stuyvesant; then released by the West India Company, who would sanction no religious persecution within their dominions. On the 7th of April, 1830, an amended charter was granted to the city, which provided for separate meetings of the two boards, and excluded the mayor and recorder from the Common Council, giving the mayor, however, the power of approving or disapproving the acts of this body. In the course of the following year, the Fifteenth Ward was added to the city. New political issues arose on the approach of the presidential election of 1832, and with them new divisions of party. The workingmen's party, suddenly arising in the State election of 1830 to secure for mechanics a lien on the buildings which they had erected for the better security of their wages and electing Throop as governor, then as suddenly vanishing from existence, had not interfered with the charter elections of the city. The democrats still preserved their ascendency, electing a majority in both boards, though enough national republicans were found in the city to insure a warm contest

Page 733

CITY OF N E W YORK. 733 at the polls. The first steps toward the organization of the whig party were taken by the latter in 1830, at a meeting held in the city of New York, at which Henry Clay was nominated to the Presidency. The party lines were now distinctly drawn, and for more than twenty years the people continued to be divided into the two great sections of Whigs and Democrats. The former, first adopting their distinctive appellation in the charter elections of 1833, rallied at first by the name of the Clay party under the banners of Henry Clay, in favor of a protective tariff together with the preservation of a national bank; the latter supported the reflection of Jackson, who had lately doomed this bank to dissolution by his veto of the bill passed by Congress to grant it a new charter in 1836, when the first would expire by its own limitation. The democrats were everywhere successful, electing Jackson as President and William L. Marcy as governor of the State, and gaining large majorities in both boards of the Common Council. In the following year, Mayor Bowne was superseded in the mayoralty by Gideon Lee, a New York merchant of eastern extraction, notable for having been one of the pioneers of the leather business in Ferry street. In 1832, New York, now freed from the periodical ravages of yellow fever by the strict enforcement of quaranltine regulations, was visited for the first time by the Asiatic cholera, which raged to a fearful extent, almost depopulating the city and creating a universal panic among the inhabitants. It returned two years after, modified in violence, then disappeared entirely until 1849, when it broke out early in the summer, and

Page 734

734 HISTORY OF T HE raged fearfully until late in autumn. In 1855, it again appeared, nor has it since wholly abandoned the city, but remains lurking in its midst, striking down a few victims here and there every summer, yet reserving its force for some future devastation. One of the most important events in the history of this era in its bearings upon the city as well as the whole country, was the establishment of the penny press; an institution which opened the way for cheap literature, and, by placing the daily journals within reach of every citizen, disseminated general knowledge, and tended emphatically to make of our people what they are now acknowledged to be-the greatest reading nation of any on the globe. At this time, there were about fifty daily, weekly, semi-weekly and monthly journals in New York. Foremost among these were the Commercial Advertiser, the oldest of the city papers, at this time under the charge of Col. William L. Stone; the Evening Post, edited by William Coleman; the Morning Courier of James Watson Webb and the New York Enquirer of Mordecai M. Noah, blended in 1829 into the Courier and Enquirer; the Journal of Commerce, commenced in 1827 under the editorship of David Hale; the Standard, edited by John I. Mumford, and the Spirit of the Times, just issued by William T. Porter. The New York Mirror, edited by George P. Morris, in which N. P. Willis was first attracting public attention by a series of piquant European letters, and the Knickerbocker Magazine, commenced in 1833 under the auspices of Peabody and subsequently sold by him to Louis Gaylord Clark and Clement M.

Page 735

CITY OF NEW YORK. 735 Old Church of the Messiah in Broadway. Edson, were the only literary papers of the city. In these, Irving, Cooper, Paulding, Bryant, Simms, Fay, arid a host of others, now well-known veterans in the literary world, made their first essays as candidates for,public favor, and won an earnest of their future laurels. The dailies were sixpenny journals, and were distributed to regular subscribers. Newsboys were unknown, and though, upon the occurrence of some unusual event,

Page 736

736 HISTORY OF THE a hundred extra copies were sometimes struck off in view of a possible outside demand, the chances for the sale of these were so hazardous, that few of the distributors cared to take the trouble and responsibility of offering them for sale. On the 29th of October, 1832, the New York Globe, a two-cent paper, was issued by James Gordon Bennett, the present editor of the Herald, who had been for several years connected with the National Advocate and the Courier and Enquirer; but the experiment proved unsuccessful, and the paper expired just one month after the date of its birth. The idea of the possibility of a penny paper first originated in the brain of Dr. Horatio David Sheppard, a young medical student, rich in hopes but lacking in money, who vainly endeavored to persuade his friends of the feasibility of the scheme. Convinced as he was that a spicy journal, offered everywhere by boys at the low price of one cent, would be bought up by the crowd with avidity, he found the idea scouted by all the journalists of the city to whom he in turn applied, and when he finally succeeded in prevailing upon Horace Greeley and Francis Story, who were on the point of setting up a printing establishment, to print his paper and give him credit for a week, he could only secure their cooperation by fixing the price at two cents per copy. On the 1st of January, 1833, he issued the Morning Post, his projected paper, in the midst of a violent snow-storm, which checked the sale and disheartened the few newsbloys engaged in the enterprise. At the end of the first week, he met the promised payment, during the second, his receipts scarcely covered half his expenses, and at the

Page 737

CITY OF NEW YORK. 737 expiration of the third, the young printers, themselves almost destitute of capital, finding him wholly unable to meet his engagements, were compelled to refuse him further credit, and thus to stop the publication of the paper. Discouraged at his ill success, Dr. Sheppard abandoned the ranks of journalism and returned to his profession. The idea fell into other hands. On the 3d of September, 1833, Benjamin H. Day, who, in 1829, had commenced the publication of the Daily Sentinel, which he afterward sold to George H. Evans, issued the Sun, the first penny paper ever published in New York. He soon discovered that he had struck a vein. Sneered at and despised by its more pretentious contemporaries, the cheapness of the little paper commended it to the mass, and in less than a year, its circulation increased to eight thousand copies. Entering the lists of competition with its powerful rivals without subscribers, and the acknowledged organ of no party, the proprietor of the new journal struck upon the method for insuring its circulation first projected by Sheppard, and, advertising for boys to work for him at two dollars per week, dispatched them with a hundred and twenty-five copies each to different parts of. the city to ery the papers for sale to the passers-by, with a promise of more at a reduced rate as soon as these should be disposed of. In the course of two or three hours, the papers were sold, and the boys came back for a fresh supply, which was given them at the rate of nine cents per dozen; and from this period may be dated the origin of the race of newsboys, now 47

Page 738

138 HISTORY OF THE naturalized in almost every city in the Union. The experiment soon proved successful; and the boys made the business profitable both to themselves and their employer. Ere long, the other publishers, taking the cue from this success, published an extra edition of their papers for the newsboys, while, by way of exchange, several of the regular distributors of these, finding that the profits of the boys amounted to more than their small weekly salaries, set to work to procure subscribers to the Sun, and to establish newspaper routes as private speculations. The most curious fact in the history of this first penny journal, was the publication of the celebrated " Moon Hoax," or Discoveries in the Moon, written by Richard Adams Locke, at that time editor of the Sun and subsequently one of the proprietors of the New Era. This paper, which purported to be an account of Sir John F. W. Herschel's discoveries at the Cape of Good Hope, taken from the Supplement of the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, was written with every appearance of consistency. After disarming suspicion by a scientific description of an ingeniously-invented telescope by which these discoveries had been made, the author proceeded to delineate the geographical features and the inhabitants of the moon with such graphic power and show of probability, that the gravest journals swallowed the bait, and took the account as a historical fact, piqued as they were at the lucky chance which had thrown the earliest intelligence of so important a discovery into the hands of the despised penny paper. One journal, indeed, gravely assured its readers on the day after the

Page 739

CITY OF NEW YORK. 739 publication in the Sun of the lunar discoveries, that it had also received the account by the same mail, and was only prevented from publishing it by want of sufficient space. The papers throughout the country copied and commented on the article, keeping its much despised origin as far as possible out of sight, and, in many cases, leaving it to be supposed that they themselves had copied it from the Edinburgh " Supplement." Sir John Herschel was everywhere extolled as the greatest discoverer of the age, and enthusiasts even began to speculate on the possibility of opening a telegraphic communication with their newly-descried neighbors. The discovery of the hoax excited universal merriment; but the offence was not soon forgotten or forgiven by the cheated contemporaries of the paper which had issued the canard. In 1838, Mr. Day disposed of the Sun establishment to Moses Y. Beach for thirty-eight thousand dollars. Stimulated by the success of this enterprise, in 1834, William J. Stanley, Willoughby Lynde, and Billings Hayward, commenced the publication of a second penny paper called the Transcript. This proved tolerably successful, and was continued until 1839. Soon after its publication, the Moon was issued by George H. Evans, the printer and publisher of the Working Men's Advocate. This, which was also a penny paper, survived but two or three years. The fourth penny paper, the 3Morning Star, was published soon after by Lincoln & Simmons; but this proved a failure, as did also the Morninzg Dispatch, published in 1839, by Day, the former proprietor of the Sun, and edited by H. Hastings Weld.

Page 740

740 HISTORY OF THE At this time, some of the best known journalists of the present day made their debut in the ranks of their profession. On the 22d of March, 1834, Horace Greeley, Jonas Winchester, and E. Sibbett, commenced the publication of the New Yorker, printed at first on a large folio sheet, and afterward in two forms, folio and quarto, the former at two and the latter at three dollars a year. This paper, though literary in its general character, leaned strongly to the side of the whig party. Park Benjamin was an occasional contributor to its columns, and in 1840 Henry J. Raymond, the present editor of the New York Times, then a recent graduate of Burlington College, Vermont, began his editorial career upon a salary of eight dollars per week. On the 6th of May, 1835, the New York Herald made its appearance as a two-cent paper, under the auspices of James Gordon Bennett and Anderson & Smith, a printing firm in Ann street. A few months after, the office of the paper, together with the whole printing establishment, was destroyed by fire; upon which Anderson and Smith withdrew from the firm, leaving the paper in tlhe charge of Bennett, who has ever since retained absolute control of its columns. In June of the same year, the New York Express was first issued by James and Erastus Brooks, and on the 10th of April, 1841, the Tribune appeared as the avowed organ of the whig party, edited by Horace Greeley with the assistance of Henry J. Raymond. This was a daily penny paper, about one-third the size of the present Tribune. In the ensuing July, Greeley formed; a partnership with, Thomas McElrathj and soon after merged the. New Yorker, together with

Page 741

CITY OF NEW YORK. 741 the Log Cabin, a small paper which he had issued during the Harrison campaign, into the Weekly Tribune. Raymond quitted the paper two years after to form a connection with the Courier and Enquirer, which he maintained for several years; then, on the 18th of September, 1851, issued the first number of the N. Y. Daily Times, at first a penny sheet, which, the following year, was doubled in price and size, and thus placed on a par with the most prominent of the rival dailies. At the time of the establishment of the N. Y. Tribune, a hundred periodicals and twelve daily papers were published in the city of New York. Of these, the Commercial Advertiser, Courier and Enquirer, New York American, Express, and Tribune, supported the whigs; the Evening Post, Journal of Commerce, Sun, and Herald, inclined to the democratic party, and the Signal, Star, and Tatler were neutral. The Commercial Advertiser, was then, as now, the oldest journal in the city, having been first issued on the 9th of December, 1793. Next was the Evening Post, which, commenced as a federal paper in 1800, had, in 1830, espoused the cause of the democratic party. The year 1835 will long be remembered as the era of the most fearful conflagration that ever devastated the city of New York. The fire broke out on the night of the 16th of December, in the lower part of the city. The night was intensely cold-colder than any that had been known for more than half a century; the little water that could be obtained froze in the fire-hose before it could be used, the buildings were mostly old and wooden; in short, everything favored the work of destruction.

Page 742

742 HISTORY OF THE The flames raged fiercely for three days, completely laying waste the business part of the city, and consuming 648 houses and stores with $18,000,000 worth of property; among which were the marble Exchange in Wall street, hitherto deemed fire-proof, and the South Dutch Church in Garden street. Some buildings were finally blown up by gunpowder by order of the mayor, and the work of ruin was thus arrested. But the destruction had been fearful, and not less terrible were the consequences. Unable to meet the heavy demands of the sufferers, the insurance companies unanimously suspended payment, and the city seemed almost beggared at a blow. Close upon this calamity followed the commercial distress of the winter of 1837, which succeeded the susWal s k t,_,eI Wall street looking toward Broadway.

Page 743

CITY OF NEW YORK. 743 pension of the United States Bank. For a time, the business world seemed utterly paralyzed, bankruptcy followed bankruptcy in quick succession, and ere long the banks of the State unanimously suspended payment for one year, having been authorized to do so by the State legislature. But the elasticity of the city was not long depressed by these misfortunes, a reaction took place before many months had passed, and business revived more briskly than before. Cornelius W. Lawrence was at this time mayor of the city, for the first time elected to the office by the votes of the people in April, 1834, in conformity with a recent amendment to the State Constitution. Mr. Lawrence was the candidate of the democratic party, which still retained its ascendency in the politics of the city. Two new parties had recently arisen; the native American, whose policy it was to exclude all foreigners from a voice in political affairs; and the equal rights or agrarian party, which, crystallizing in 1829 through the influence of the lectures of Frances Wright, then on her second visit to the country, had grown into a powerful faction, and now aspired to the leadership of the democratic party, from whose ranks it had first sprung. This name was also claimed by the Tammany party. The two factions assembled together at the primary meetings at Tammany Hall, the acknowledged democratic headquarters, each assuming precedence in the councils of the party, and scenes of violence often ensued. A curious accident fastened the name of " loco foco" on the friends of equal rights, a name which afterward came to be applied to the whole democratic party.

Page 744

744 HISTORY OF THE Loco foco matches-an outgrowth from the phosphorized splinters with their accompanying vial of acid and cotton which, in 1825, had superseded the ancient tinderbox, with its flint and steel-had recently come into use with the penny newspapers, and were still regarded as a novelty by the community at large. At a ratification meeting held in Tammany Hall in 1835, at which the Tammany men, finding themselves in the minority, suddenly turned off the gas and left the assembly in darkness, a box of the newly invented matches was opportunely produced by the opposite party, which was henceforth derisively styled "loco foco" by its opponents. The faction, however, accepted the name, and, idealizing it into an emblem of promptitude, proudly wore it as a badge of honor, and it was not long before the once despised nickname was adopted and acknowledged by the whole democratic party. It is a curious fact that most if not all of the party appellations which have served at various times to distinguish the politics of the country first originated in this city-republican, federalist, whig, democrat, loco foco, and many more. The Sixteenth Ward was created in 1835, as was also the Seventeeth during the following year. At the spring election of 1837, Aaron Clark was elected mavor by the whigs, who also succeeded in gaining majorities in both boards of the Common Council. The election of the following year was attended with the same result, but in the spring of 1839, Mr. Clark, who had been for the third time nominated by his party to the mayoralty, was defeated by Isaac L. Varian, the candidate of the democrats, who carried twelve wards out of the seventeen by

Page 745

CITY OF NEW YORK. 745 small majorities. Mr. Varian retained his office until 1841, when he was succeeded by Robert H. Morris, who was elected by the still triumphant democratic party. On the 23d of April, 1821, the attention of the citizens had been aroused by a new event, which was fraught with interest to the mercantile portion of the community — the arrival from England of the steamships "Sirius" and " Great Western," the first ocean steamers ever as yet seen in the harbor of New York. This new bond of union between the Old World and the New was hailed with an enthusiasm scarcely equalled by that displayed on the late announcement of the success of the Atlantic cable, and schemes were at once projected by the busy speculators for the establishment of a line of steamers between the continents, which were realized a few years after by the Cunard and the Collins lines. The spring election of 1835 decided another important event in the annals of the city. The Manhattan Works had long since been voted a failure, but though various schemes had been from time to time devised for bringing water into the city from the Bronx and various other rivers in the suburbs, nothing had been accomplished, and the people had been forced to return to the wells and pumps of olden times. But the growth of the city had now rendered it impossible to be longer delayed, and after much consideration, a plan for constructing an aqueduct from the Croton River was approved by the corporation, and the question of "Water" or "No Water " submitted to the people at the following election, and decided in the affirmative by a large majority, though those were not wanting who bewailed

Page 746

[46 HISTORY OF THE High Bridge-Croton Aqueduct. the extravagance of the measure, and thought that the water which had served their ancestors would answer very well for the present generation. The popular verdict rendered, the Croton Aqueduct was at once commenced at a distance of forty miles from the City Hall and about five miles from the Hudson River, where a dam was thrown across the Croton River, creating a pond five miles in length, covering an area of four hundred acres and containing 500,000,000 gallons of water. From this dam, the aqueduct proceeded, now tunnelling through solid rocks, then crossing valleys by embankments and brooks by culverts until it reached the Harlem

Page 747

CITY OF NEW YORK. 747 River, which it crossed by the magnificent High Bridge, built of stone, 1,450 feet long, with fourteen piers, eight of eighty feet and six of fifty feet span, one hundred and fourteen feet above tide water to the top, at a cost of $900,000. From this bridge, at the foot of One Hundred and Seventy-fourth street, the aqueduct proceeded to the Receiving Reservoir at the corner of Eighty-sixth street and Sixth Avenue, covering thirty-five acres, and containing 150,000,000 gallons, whence the water was conveyed to the Distributing Reservoir on Murray Hill, - ~ I__ L, IU __.______.: -2;:: Croton Reservoir, on Fifth Avenue, between Fortieth and Forty-second Streets. of a capacity of 21,000,000 gallons, and thence distributed by means of iron pipes through the city. The wvork progressed rapidly. On the 4th of July, 1842, the water was let into the reservoir, and the event was celebrated by an imposing procession. But these immense

Page 748

748 HISTORY OF THE reservoirs have since grown too small for the increasing wants of the city; and a mammoth reservoir has since been constructed in the Central Park of a capacity exceeding any other in existence. Next came the Magnetic Telegraph, first opened to the New Yorkers through the New York, Philadelphia and Washington line, constructed in 1845-the second in the United States, the first having been constructed in 1844 between Washington and Baltimore. In the following year, a line was opened between Boston and New York, and another the year after, between New York and Albany. Others followed in quick succession, and New York was soon placed within speaking distance of the chief cities of the Union. On the 19th of July, 1845, another great fire, second only in its ravages to that of 1835, broke out in New street in the vicinity of Wall, and burned in a southerly direction to Stone street, laying waste the entire district between Broadway and the eastern side of Broad street, and consuming several million dollars' worth of property. The explosion of a saltpetre warehouse in Broad street during this conflagration, gave rise to the vexed question, "Will saltpetre explode?" which furnished food for some research and much merriment to the savans of the day. In 1844, James Harper was elected mayor of the city by the native American party, aided by the support of a large number of whigs. In the elections of the two following years, the democrats were triumphant, electing William F. Havemeyer and A. HI. Mickle to the mayoralty. In 1847, the whigs regained the ascendency, elect

Page 749

CITY OF NEW YORK. 749 ing their candidate, William V. Brady. The following year, William F. Havemeyer was reelected by his party. In the April election of 1849, the whigs were again successful, electing Caleb S. Woodhull as mayor, and gaining a majority in both boards of the Common Council. In 1849, an amended charter was granted to the city, by which the day of the charter election was changed from the second Tuesday in April to the day of the general State election in November, the term of office to commence on the first Monday of the ensuing January. By the provisions of this charter, which was to take effect on the first of June, 1849, the Mayor and Aldermen were to hold their offices for two years, while the Assistant Aldermen were to be elected annually as before. The city at this time consisted of eighteen wards, an additional one having been erected in 1845. Another was added in 1851, and the number was increased to twenty during the course of the following year. The mayoralty of Caleb S. Woodhull was marked by the occurrence of the Astor Place Opera riot, an event which created as much excitement as did the notorious Doctors' Mob in its day. The native American party was at this time powerful in the city, and a strong prejudice existed among the populace against every one branded with the stamp of foreign birth. To enter into a discussion of the causes or the justice of this hostility, would transcend the limits of the present work; it suffices to say that, at this crisis, the open rivalry between Edwin Forrest, the favorite American tragedian, and the English actor, Macready, was made the occasion for a popular outbreak, and that,. on the night of the 10th of

Page 750

750 HISTORY OF THE May, 1849, while the latter was performing Macbeth,in compliance with an invitation, at the newly-erected Astor Place Opera-house, the mob surrounded the building and attempted to hinder the performance of the play. A scene of violence ensued; the mob, incensed by opposition, threatened to burn the building, and the mayor was fiinally compelled, as a last resort, to call out the military and order them to fire upon the rioters. The volley was succeeded by a sharp encounter, in which the mob assailed the soldiers in turn, wounding nearly one hundred and fifty of their number, and the contest Interior of Castle Garden in former times.

Page 751

CITY OF NEW YORK. 751 did not end until several valuable lives had been sacrificed and a host of bitter feelings engendered which time has not yet been able to efface. On the expiration of his term of office, Mayor Woodhull was succeeded by Ambrose C. Kingsland, the candidate of the whig party. Many local events and changes occurred about the same time, which are of too recent a date to require more than a brief notice at our hands. Among these were the visit of Jenny Lind to the United States, and her first appearance in Castle Garden on the 7th of September, 1850, the subsequent visits of Parodi, Catherine Hayes, Sontag, Grisi and many other European celebrities; the new municipal regulations imposed by the amended city charter of 1849, the trial of the caloric ship Ericsson, the Grinnell expedition to the Arctic regions, and the arrival of the Hungarian patriot, Louis Kossuth, on the 5th of December, 1851. At the November election of 1852, Jacob A. Westervelt was elected mayor by the democratic party. During the ensuing session of the Legislature, the city charter was again amended in some important particulars, among which was the institution of a Board of Councilmen, composed of sixty members, to be chosen respectively from the sixty districts into which the Common Council was directed to apportion the city, in the place of the long-standing Board of Assistant Aldermen. The chief event which characterized the administratijon of Mayor Westervelt, was the opening of the WVorld's Fair for the Exhibition of the Industry of -si Nations, on the 14th of July, 1853, at the Crystal Palace in Reservoir Square, near the Distributing Reservoir of the

Page 752

752 HISTORY OF THE Crystal Palace. Croton Aqueduct. The fairy-like Greek cross of glass, bound together with withes of iron, with its graceful dome, its arched naves, and its broad aisles and galleries, filled with choice productions of art and manufactures gathered from the most distant parts of the earth-quaint old armor from the Tower of Lbndon, gossamer fabrics from the looms of Cashmere, Sevres china, Gobelin tapestry, Indian curiosities, stuffs, jewelry, musical instruments, carriages and machinery of home and foreign manufacture, Marochetti's colossal equestrian statue of Washington, Kiss's Amazon, Thorwafdsen's Christ and the Apostles, Powers' Greek slave, and a host; of other works of art beside-will long be remembered; as the most tasteful ornament that ever graced the metropolis. Contemporary with this, was Franconi's Hippodrome on Madison Square, covering an

Page 753

CITY OF NEW YORK. 753 area of two acres of ground, an exotic from France, which flourished for a few months, then disappeared from the city. Scarcely more lasting was the existence of the beautiful Palace, which vanished in the short space of half an hour before the touch of the fiery element on the 5th of October, 1858, and fell, burying the rich collection of the Fair of the American Institute, then on exhibition within its walls, in a molten mass of ruins. On the 10th of December, 1853, the printing and publishing establishment of the Messrs. Harper & Brothers, in Franklin Square, was destroyed by fire. This establishment was the largest of its kind in the world, consisting of nine five-story buildings, and combining all the departments necessary for the manufacture of books. Over six hundred persons were thrown out of employment by this conflagration, which destroyed more than a million of dollars. The enterprising proprietors immediately set to work to retrieve their loss, and in 1854 erected a magnificent structure on the site of the burned buildings, covering half an acre, and extending from Franklin Square to Cliff Street. As this New York publishing house is the most extensive in the world, as well as the largest and now the oldest in the city, the growth of which it serves well to illustrate, it deserves special mention at our hands. It had its origin in a small book and job printing office, established in 1817, by James Harper, the future mayor, and his brother John. In 1823 the third brother, Joseph W. Harper, became a member of the firm, and in 1826 the fourth brother, Fletcher Harper, in turn entered the establishment. At that time their printing office had become 48

Page 754

754 HISTORY OF THE the largest in the city, though it employed but fifty persons and did its work on ten hand presses. In 1825 the Messrs. Harper removed to 81 and 82 Cliff street, where they entered more largely upon the publication of books on their own account. At the time of the destruction of their establishment, they kept in constant operation thirty-three Adams' power-presses of the largest and best description, and their current publications numbered nearly sixteen hundred. The present establishment presents an imposing appearance, with its ornamental iron fakade, five stories high, and one hundred and twenty feet wide on Franklin Square, opposite the old Walton House, the palace of the last century. The four brothers still remain at their post and seem to bid Time defiance. Few firms in New York have remained thus unbroken for half a century, and few, also, are better known through the length and breadth of the country.

Page 755

CHAPTER XXII. 1855-1860. Consolidation of Brooklyn, Williamsburgh and Bushwick-Hard Winter-Mayor Wood's Administration-Charter of 1857-Castle Garden transformed into an Emigrant Depft-Rachel and Thackeray in New York-The Central ParkAmended Charter of 1857-Burning of the Quarantine Buildings-Changes in the City-Ridgewood Water Works-Police Riots-Financial Distress-Burdell Murder-Potter's Field-Broadway Tabernacle-Burning of Crystal Palace-Japanese Embassy-Great Eastern-Lady Franklin-The Prince of Wales in New York -Election of Mr. Lincoln. ON the 1st of January, 1855, Mayor Westervelt was superseded in office by Fernando Wood, the successful candidate of thedemocratic party. High hopes were founded on the new mayor, who inaugurated his rule by advocating numerous municipal reforms, among others the suppression of the Sunday liquor traffic and the passage of the Prohibitory Liquor Law, which was enacted in the course of the winter, only to be declared unconstitutional the following season by the Court of Appeals. The contest respecting the sale of intoxicating beverages, which has been continued to our time, was fairly inaugurated, and assumed gigantic proportions at this epoch. The same date was marked by an event of great importance to the sister city of Brooklyn, which is so closely identified in interests with New York, that they can scarcely be separated in thought. On the first of

Page 756

756 HISTORY OF THE January, 1855, the act which had recently been passed for the consolidation of the cities of Brooklyn and Williamsburg and the town of Bushwick took effect, and Brooklyn suddenly leaped from the rank of the seventh to that of the third city in the Union, with a territory of twenty-two square miles, and a population of at least 200,000. It had been incorporated as a city just twenty years before, with a population of 24,000. On the same territory the population had sextupled, and the wealth quintupled at this time. The new city was divided into two districts, the Eastern and the Western; the former comprising the territory north and east of the Naval Hospital and Flushing avenue, or Williamsburgh and Bushwick, and the latter the region south and west of the aforesaid boundaries, or Brooklyn proper. The two districts had separate fire departments and distinct machinery for the collection of taxes; in all other respects they were practically one, with their common centre at the Brooklyn City Hall. By a somewhat singular coincidence the first mayor of the newly-con. solidated city was George Hall, who had been the first mayor of Brooklyn after its original incorporation, twenty years before. Many of the citizens of Brooklyn desired its annexation to New York, and a bill for this purpose was ineffectually introduced the next year into the Legislature. The winter of 1855 was a hard one for the poor. Work was scarce and laborers plenty. Scarcely had the year opened when the cry of famine was raised. Thousands of suffering men, unable to find employment or bread, gathered in the Park and elsewhere, and proclaimed their destitution, or paraded the streets with

Page 757

CITY OF NEW YORK. 757 banners and mottoes appealing for aid, and cases of want and starvation appeared on every side. New York is never deaf to such a cry. Measures for relieving the needy were at once devised, both by private individuals and the municipal authorities, ward relief associations were formed, soup kitchens were opened in every part of the city, where the hungry were fed from day to day, and a system of visitation was organized for the purpose of allaying the suffering. In the Sixth Ward alone, in one day in the month of January, nine thousand persons were fed by public charity; not one of whom, it may be remarked in passing, was an American. In this connection we will mention an incident which manifests the rapid changes of the panorama before our eyes, so rapid, indeed, that we do not take note in the whirl how the marvels of to-day become the cast-off baubles of to-morrow. The residence of Dr. Townsend, on the corner of Thirty-Fifth street and Fifth avenue, was completed the same season, and was regarded as such an example of almost royal splendor, to use the language of the day, that it was thrown open for exhibition to the public for the benefit of the Five Points House of Industry. In this short lapse of time the so-called palace has been ruthlessly demolished to make room for a still more sumptuous structure; and doubtless the latter will ere long be eclipsed by some private dwelling of still greater magnificence. The year 1855 was an uneventful one to New York. Various schemes were agitated for the erection of a new Post-office, —the old Dutch church in Nassau street having long been inadequate to the needs of the city, — an up-town Post-office and a new City Hall; but nothing

Page 758

758 HISTORY OF THE was done. The summer witnessed the transformation of Castle Garden into an emigrant depot, a change which at first seemed desecration, for the old fort at the foot of the Battery, with its beautiful grounds, was hallowed to the people by many associations, and was not even yet regarded as too far off from the private residences for a place of public resort. Castle Clinton was first granted to the city of New York by an act of March 16, 1790, it having been previously reserved in the Montgomerie Charter. After the war of 1812, being no longer needed for military purposes, it was used for many years as a place of public amusement. There the annual fairs of the American Institute were held, and there circuses, menageries, concerts, theatricals and operas followed each other, from the Chinese Junk to Bosio, Sontag;, Alboni, Jenny Lind and Grisi. But the necessities of the case were urgent; New York had become the great centre of immigration, and it was imperatively necessary that some place should be provided where these ignorant and friendless foreigners would find a safe refuge on first reaching our shores. After much debate,. therefore, Castle Garden was surrendered to the Commissioners of Emigration, who adapted it to its new purpose, and on the 1st of August, 1855, it was opened for the reception of the emigrants, who were landed there direct from quarantine. In the latter part of the sanme summer the great tragedienne, Rachel, arrived at New York, where she first appeared at the. Metropolitan Theatre, and was received with unbounded applause. In the autumn of the same year Thackeray reached this city, and delivered his first lecture, on George I.,. at Dr. Chapi'm's church, on,

Page 759

CITY OF NEW YORK. 759 Broadway, between Spring and Prince streets, on the Ist of November. In the winter of 1855-56, an important improvement was made in the streets of the city by extending Canal street from Centre street across Baxter to Mulberry street, where it intersected Walker street, and widening the latter street twenty-five feet to East Broadway. Park Place and Duane street were likewise widened. A broad thoroughfare was thus made across the city, which was also greatly improved by the extension of the Bowery and Chambers street. By far the most important event of 1856 was the establishment of the Central Park, now the pride of the city. The need of a large public park had long been felt, and various schemes had been mooted from time to time for supplying the deficiency; but these had all proved abortive, and as the city extended and became denser, its breathing-places diminished rather than increased; for the Battery was transformed into an emigrant depot, and the City Hall Park, crowded with public buildings, in noway served the purpose for which it was originally designed. In the beginning of the century, as we have already narrated, a plan was set on foot to surround the Fresh Water Pond with ornamental grounds, and thus to secure to New York a natural feature of rare beauty possessed by few citiesa magnificent lake in its midst; but the scheme met with no support, and the crystal Kolck, instead of being preserved, was gradually filled up and became the site of the Five Points district, the most noisome spot in the city. Later, when Gouverneur Morris laid out a map of the upper part of the city, he planned a park containing

Page 760

760 HISTORY OF THE three hundred acres, to be bounded by Twenty-third and Thirty-fourth streets, and Third and Eighth Avenues; but these spacious grounds dwindled down in reality to Madison Square with its six acres, while the remainder became the fashionable quarter of the town. A few other parks were scattered over the cityTompkins Square, Gramercy Park, Stuyvesant Park, Union Square, Washington Square, and St. John's Park; but these were altogether insufficient for the wants of the population, being simple promenades, in some cases private, and possessing no facilities for riding or driving. It was of the utmost importance to secure the unappropriated lands of the city for this purpose while there was time. On the 5th of April, 1851, Mayor Kingsland had made a report to the Board of Aldermen, urging the selection of a site for a public park. This was referred to the Committee on Lands and Places, who concurred in the report and recommended the purchase of Jones's Wood, a fine tract of forest land extending along the East River, and bounded by the Third Avenue and Sixty-sixth and Seventy-fifth streets. Their report was adopted by the Common Council, and an application was made to the Legislature for authorization to secure the lands in question, which was granted, and the Jones's Wood Bill was passed July 11, 1851. This was but a first step. Various objections were raised to the proposed site, both on account of its limited space and the monotonous character of the ground, and its situation at the extreme east of the city, and a more central location was urged. On the 5th of August, 1851, the Board of Aldermen appointed

Page 761

CITY OF NEW YORK. 761 Commissioners to examine and report upon the merits of the different sites suggested. After mature deliberation, the Committee made choice of a tract of land bounded by Fifty-ninth and One Hundred and Sixth streets and Fifth and Eighth Avenues, about two and a half miles long by half a mile wide, and comprising 776 1070- acres. The report was approved, and on the 23d of July, 1853, the Legislature passed an act authorizing the purchase of the Central Park. On the same day, the friends of the Jones's Wood Park obtained a, similar act in favor of their chosen location, the previous one having remained a dead letter on account of some technical flaw; and thus the matter stood until the following.spring, when the Jones's Wood Act was finally repealed. On the 17th of November, 1853, five Commissioners of Estimate and Appraisement were appointed by the Supreme Court to take land for the Central Park. They completed their labors in the summer of 1855, valuing the land at $5,398,695; and on the 5th of February, 1856, their report was confirmed by the Common Council and the purchase consummated, $1,658,395 of the amount being levied on the owners of the adjacent property. The State Arsenal and grounds were afterwards purchased at a cost of $275,000. At first sight, the spot selected seemed an unpromising one. The land was as wild and uncultivated as in the days of the aborigines of Manhattan. The surface was greatly diversified, presenting a succession of rocky hills and marshy valleys, covered with brush and brambles, with a sprinkling of fine trees, and intersected by a few

Page 762

762 HISTORY OF THE little rivulets that took their rise among the marshes on the west and flowed eastward to the river. Yet it was admirably designed by Nature for its purpose, lacking nothing but trees, a want that could be supplied by time, and susceptible of becoming a spot of rare beauty in the hands of a skillful landscape gardener, as time has abundantly proved. In area it equaled Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens united, and was seven times larger than all the public parks and squares of New York combined. As its name indicated, it was central in location; lying at an equal distance from the East and North Rivers and the Battery and Kingsbridge, the new park embraced ground rich in historic association-McGowan's Pass, the scene of the battle of Harlem Plains, the old Boston post road of the early Dutch settlers, and the fortifications of the War of 1812. Yet fully as we realize the utility of our beautiful Central Park at this day, and disposed as we are to increase rather than lessen it, the citizens of that time were not equally alive to its importance; bitter complaints were made of the exorbitant sum expended in the purchase of such an unnecessary extent of land, and such earnest endeavors were made to narrow its limits, that the Common Council at last passed a resolution to petition the Legislature to reduce the size of the new park. This resolution, happily, was vetoed by the mayor. On the 19th of May, 1856, the Common Council adopted an ordinance creating the Mayor and Street Commissioner, Commissioners of the Central Park. The latter immediately invited a number of private citizens, distinguished for their taste and knowledge, to attend the meetings, and form a Consulting Board. In pursu

Page 763

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Page 765

CITY OF NEW YORK. 765 ance with this invitation the Consulting Board met, for the first time, on the 29th of May, 1856, and elected Washington Irving president. Under the united superintendence of these bodies, preliminary surveys were made, and a plan offered by Lieutenant Viele, under whose superintendence the survey had been made, was adopted, though nothing further was done for the want of the necessary appropriations. To meet this exigency, on the 17th of April, 1857, the control of the Park was placed by the Legislature in the hands of a Board of Commissioners, not to exceed eleven in number, who were to hold office for five years, and who were empowered to expend the moneys to be raised by the issue of stock by the Common Council. Upon consideration, the plan already adopted was abandoned by the new Commissioners, who advertised for fresh plans, and in April, 1858, adopted that of Messrs. Olmstead and Vaux, and at once commenced its execution. On the 2d of April, 1859, an act was passed by the Legislature extending the Northern boundary of the Park to One Hundred and Tenth street, and thus including a high hill west of McGowan's Pass, which embraces a view of the whole island. In 1864, the Park was again enlarged by the annexation of Manhattan Square, a rugged tract of unimproved ground, covering a space of 19-A-%- acres, and bounded by Seventy-seventh and Eighty-first streets, and Eighth and Ninth Avenues. The whole area of the Park was thus increased to 862-%-~ acres. The largest of the London parks has but 403 acres. Under the skillful and judicious management of the Board of Commissioners, to whom too much praise cannot be awarded, the admirable plan of Messrs. Olmstead

Page 766

766 HISTORY OF THE and Vaux was executed as rapidly as possible, and the barren waste transformed into pleasure grounds almost unrivaled in natural and artistic beauty, and which are of inestimable value to the citizens of New York. Free alike to all classes, with no restriction save that of good conduct, the poor man, who has no other escape from brick walls, here finds a place where he can drink health and life from the pure breezes in the moments snatched from labor, and enjoy the beauties about him far more than his richer brethren who whirl past him in gilded carriages along the gay drive; for pedestrians alone can appreciate the Park to the full; the shaded by-paths, sheltered nooks, and fascinating views of the romantic Ramble are accessible to them alone; and the riders only obtain a bird's-eye view of the place, without ever penetrating to its inner arcana. At present, the Park is well-nigh completed, as far as the general design is concerned. Time alone will supply its greatest lack, that of fine trees. The cost to the city, thus far, has been over $10,000,000, and never was money more judiciously expended. By successive acts of the Legislature, the entire control of the reservoirs, and the laying out and grading of the adjacent streets, has been given to the Park Commissioners, who are thus enabled to carry out their plans untrammeled. The Park, itself, is too well known to require more than the briefest description at our hands; we will only attempt to specify a few general features. It is virtually divided into two parks, an upper and a lower, by the old Croton reservoir, covering an area of thirty acres in the centre of the grounds, and the new reservoir, just above the latter, which comprises one hundred and six

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Page 769

CITY OF NEW YORK. 769 acres. The lower park is most highly finished; here are found the arsenal, now used as a museum; the lake, covered by gondolas and filled with swans in summer, and the resort of merry skaters in winter; the mall, the water-terrace and fountain, the magnificent bridges, with their exquisite sculpture, the shaven lawns, the music-pavilion, and the bewildering Ramble, with its cave. The upper park is wilder, and more in the state of nature: here are the lofty hill of which we have spoken, the fortifications and block-house of 1812; Harlem Lake, and two smaller sheets of water; Mount St. Vincent, which was occupied, for more than three years, as a soldiers' hospital during the late war; the rugged cliffs, and the broad meadows. It is in contemplation to devote Manhattan Square, the last acquisition, to the purpose of a zoological garden. The number of animals, both foreign and domestic, that are already in the Park, is considerable; stately Cape buffaloes, timid deer, and placid southdown sheep, with abundance of rabbits and squirrels, are met in the grounds. A fine collection of birds and animals form the nucleus of the proposed zoological gardens. Statues, also, are in process of erection. Choice shrubs and flowers everywhere adorn the grounds, through which wind over ten miles of carriage-road and thirty miles of walks; in short, everything gives promise that the Central Park will, in time, be unsurpassed by any public park in existence. On the 7th of April, 1856, considerable interest was awakened by the launch of the Adriatic, the largest steamship as yet afloat. In the same spring, a wellknown landmark passed away from New York; namely, the Brick Church in Beekman street, which, erected in 49

Page 770

770 HISTORY OF THE 1767-68, on the edge of the Swamp, or what was formerly a portion of the estate of Jacob Leisler, had reared its tall spire there for nearly a century. On the 25th of May, 1856, service was held for the last time in the old church, which was soon afterwards replaced by the Times Building. one of the finest structures in the city. The great popular excitement of the spring of 1856 was the assault on Senator Sumner by Preston Brooks, which roused the indignation of the whole North, and created great excitement in New York City. This excitement found expression in an immense mass meeting at the Broadway Tabernacle, the largest ever held in that well-known hall. George Griswold was chosen president, and a large number of the most influential citizens acted as vice-presidents. Speeches were made and resolutions adopted expressive of sympathy for Mr. Sumner, and indignation for the outrage which he had suffered. In July, 1856, the first statue of modern New York was set up; namely, the equestrian statue of Washington, at the lower end of Union Square. Since the demolition of the Pitt statue in Wall street and the statue of George III. on the Bowling Green, the public places of the city had remained unadorned by works of art. A resolution was adopted by the Common Council in the same month, authorizing the erection of a monument to General Worth, whose remains had been brought from San Antonio at the close of the summer of 1855, by the city, and deposited in Greenwood Cemetery. The triangle formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, west of Madison Square, was

Page 771

CITY OF NEW YORK. 771 selected as the site of the monument. Even at that late date, this location was regarded as far out of town, almost beyond the inhabited part of the city. On the 31st of July, 1856, the ground was broken for the construction of the Ridgewood Water Works, designed to supply the city of Brooklyn with water. The sources of supply were a number of small lakes, nineteen miles distant, the chief reservoir being in the vicinity of Cypress Hill Cemetery, six miles from Brooklyn. This great public work was completed within three years. The inauguration of the Ridgewood Water Works was celebrated in an imposing manner on the 28th of April, 1859. The reservoir covered twenty-seven acres, and contained 173,000,000 gallons of water. The year 1857 was a disastrous one to New York; a year of mob rule; beginning with civil strife and ending with financial ruin. Many defects in the city charter called for remedy, and the growing abuses in the municipal government of New York, proceeding from the ignorant majority that controlled the elections, seemed to demand that certain powers should be transferred from the keeping of the city to that of the state, which was so deeply interested in the welfare of the great American Metropolis. It began to be more and more realized that there were two peoples in New York, the property owners, or bona-fide citizens, who were for the most part respectable, orderly, and lawabiding men; and the poor and illiterate masses, chiefly of foreign birth, who owned scarce a rod of land or a dollar, yet who ruled the city by their votes, and elected to office only such men as would pander to their

Page 772

772 HISTORY OF THE vices. Nevertheless, the latter class represented and still represents New York City in the eyes of many; a most unjust judgment. In the spring of 1857, the State Legislature passed several bills relating to New York, and amended the charter in several important particulars. The charter and state elections, which had hitherto been held on the same day, were separated; the first Tuesday in December being fixed as the date of the former. The comptroller, as well as the Corporation Council and mayor, were to be elected by the people. The city was divided into seventeen aldermanic districts, from each of which an alderman was to be elected by the people once in two years. The Board of Councilmen was composed of six members elected annually from each senatorial district, or twenty-four in all. The Almshouse and Fire Departments remained unchanged; and the superintendence of the Central Park was given to a Board, to be appointed by the State Government. The most important innovation, however, was the transfer of the Police Department from the city to the state. By the Metropolitan Police Act, a police district was created, comprising the counties of New York, Kings, West Chester and Richmond; and a Board of Commissioners was instituted, to be appointed for five years by the governor and Senate, to have the sole control of the appointment, trial and management of the police force, which was not to outnumber two thousand, and to appoint the chief of police and the minor officers. This Board was composed of five members. The Police Commissioners were to secure the peace and protection of the city, to ensure quiet at the elections, and to

Page 773

CITY OF NEW YORK. 773 look after the public health. The first members of the Board appointed were Simeon Draper, General James W. Nye and Jacob Chadwell, of New York; James S. T. Stranahan, of Kings County; and James Bowen, of Westchester County; the mayors of New York and Brooklyn being members ex-officio. This was the signal for war. Mayor Wood, who had strenuously opposed the action of the Legislature, announced his determination to test the constitutionality of the law to the uttermost, and to resist its execution; he refused to surrender the police property or to disband the old police; and for some time the city witnessed the curious spectacle of two departments-the Metropolitan Police under the commissioners, and the Municipal Police under the mayor —vieing for mastery. After exhausting all the resources of the law to evade obedience to the act, the mayor and municipal government finally caused it to be referred to the Court of Appeals. Before the final decision came, blood was spilled. On the 16th of June, matters were brought to a crisis by the forcible ejection from the City Hall of Daniel D. Conover, who had been appointed street commissioner by Governor King, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of the former incumbent. The deputy commissioner meanwhile claimed his right to hold the office, and a third competitor, Charles Devlin, had been appointed by Mayor Wood, who claimed the appointing power. Mr. Conover immediately obtained a warrant from the recorder to arrest the mayor on the charge of inciting a riot, and another from Judge Hofifman for the violence offered him personally, and, armed with these documents, and attended by fifty of

Page 774

774 HISTORY OF THE the Metropolitan Police, returned to the City Hall. Captain Walling of the police at first attempted in vain to gain an entrance with one warrant. Mr. Conover followed with the other, but met with no better success. The City Hall was filled with armed policemen, who attacked the new corners, joined by the crowd without. A fierce affray ensued, during which twelve of the policemen were severely wounded. The Seventh Regiment chanced to be passing down Broadway, on its way to take the boat for Boston, whither it had been invited to receive an ovation. It was summoned to the spot, and its presence almost instantly sufficed to quell the riot. Mr. Conover, accompanied by General Sandford, entered the City Hall and served the writ on the mayor, who, seeing further resistance useless, submitted to arrest. The Seventh Regiment resumed its journey; nevertheless the city continued in a state of intense excitement, and nine regiments were ordered to remain under arms. Their services were not needed, however, and the Metropolitan Police Act being declared constitutional by the Court of Appeals on the first of July, the mayor seemed disposed to submit, and the disturbance was supposed to be ended. The city, however, had become greatly demoralized by this ferment. Amidst the civil strife of the police, the repression of crime had been neglected. An organized attempt seems to have been made by the ruffians of the city, to take advantage of the prevailing demoralization to institute mob rule, in order to rob and plunder under cover thereof. The national holiday afforded an opportunity for this outbreak. On the evening of the 3d of July, the disturbance commenced

Page 775

CITY OF NEW YORK. 775 by an altercation between two gangs of rowdies, the one styled the Dead Rabbits or Roach Guard, from the Five Points District, and the other the Atlantic Guard or Bowery Boys, from the Bowery. The next morning the Dead Rabbits attacked their rivals in Bayard street, near the Bowery. The greatest confusion followed; sticks, stones and knives were freely used on both sides, and men, women and children were wounded. A small body of policemen was dispatched to the spot, but it was soon driven off, with several wounded, and the riot went on. The rioters tore up paving stones, and seized drays, trucks and whatever came first to hand, wherewith to erect barricades; and the streets of New York soon resembled those of Paris in insurrection. The greatest consternation and horror prevailed through the city; the Seventh Regiment, which was still in Boston, was summoned home by telegraph, and several regiments of the city militia were called out; but the riot was not quelled until late in the afternoon, when six men had been killed and over a hundred wounded. There was little fighting the next day until about seven in the evening, when a new disturbance broke out in Centre and Anthony streets. The militia were summoned to the spot, and dispersed the crowd. Several regiments were ordered to remain under arms, but no other troubles occurred. This riot aroused the citizens to the danger of the position, and intensified the prejudice against the Municipal Police, which was accused of abetting the rioters. Vigorous measures were taken to organize the Metropolitan Police and secure its efficiency in spite of the factious resistance which still existed. The rioters were

Page 776

776 HISTORY OF THE by no means quieted, however; and on the 13th and 14th of July, another outbreak occurred among the Germans of the Seventeenth Ward, who had hitherto held aloof from the disturbance, which had been almost wholly confined to the Irish. The riot continued for two days, but was finally quelled by the police without the assistance of the militia, who were under arms, awaiting the signal for action. The peace of the city was not again disturbed, and the elements of disorder were gradually restrained. The scourge of civil war was quickly succeeded by that of financial distress. In the autumn of 1857, a great monetary tempest swept over the United States. For several years, the country had been in the full tide of prosperity. Business was flourishing, commerce prosperous, and credit undisputed both at home and abroad; the granaries were overflowing with the yield of a luxuriant harvest, and everything seemed to prophesy a continued era of prosperity. In the midst of the sunshine, a thunderbolt fell upon the country. The credit system had been expanded to its utmost limits, and the slightest contraction was sufficient to cause the commercial edifice to totter on its foundation. The first blow fell on the 24th of August, 1857, by the suspension of the Ohio Life and Trust Company, an institution hitherto regarded as above suspicion, for the enormous sum of seven millions of dollars. This was followed by the suspension of the Philadelphia banks, September 25, 26, succeeded by the general suspension of the banks of Pennsylvania, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Rhode Island. An universal panic was the result; the whole community

Page 777

CITY OF NEW YORK. 777 seemed paralyzed by an utter lack of confidence; the credit system fell to the ground, carrying with it the fortunes of half the merchants, and business was prostrated. Failure followed failure. A run upon the banks -forced the State Legislature to pass an act, October 13, 14, authorizing a general suspension of specie payment by the banks for one year; the city banks, however, resumed payment on the 24th of December. The Massachusetts banks suspended payment on the same day. The panic spread through the United States, and thence extended across the ocean, involving the European nations in the general ruin. The manufactories stopped work throughout the country, thus throwing thousands out of employment and reducing them to a state of utter destitution. A state of terrible suffering ensued. Crowds of the unemployed workmen gathered in the Park, clamoring for bread and threatening to procure it at all hazards, while many more, as needy and less demonstrative, perished silently of cold and starvation. For some time, serious danger was apprehended from the rioters, who accused the speculators of being at the root of the evil and threatened to break open the flour and provision stores and distribute the contents among the starving people. Prompt measures were taken by the corporation to alleviate the suffering and provide for the public safety. Many of the unemployed were set to work on the Central Park and other public works, soup-houses were opened throughout the city, and private associations were formed for the relief of the suffering; but this aid failed to reach all, and many perished from sheer starvation, almost within sight of the plentiful harvests at the West, which lay moldering

Page 778

778 HISTORY OF THIE in the granaries for the want of money wherewith to pay the cost of their transportation. Money abounded, yet those who had it dared neither trust it with their neighbor, or risk it themselves in any speculative adadventure; but, falling into the opposite extreme of distrust, kept their treasure locked up in hard dollars in their cash-boxes as the only safe place of deposit. As spring advanced, business gradually revived, the manufactories slowly commenced work on a diminished scale, the banks resumed payment one by one, and a moderate degree of confidence was restored; yet it was long before business recovered its wonted vitality. The failures during the year numbered 5123, and the liabilities amounted to $291,750,000. Various landmarks had been displaced in the course of the year. On the 29th of January, 1857, the remaining portion of the Columbia College grounds, in Park Place, was sold, and the college was removed to Fiftieth street, between Fourth and Fifth Avenues. The fifteen lots of ground on which it stood were purchased for the sum of $576,350. On the 31st of January, the city was thrown into a state of unwonted excitement by the murder of Dr. Harvey Burdell, a well known dentist, residing at 31 Bond street, who was found in his room frightfully mangled. Frequent as murders are in a great city like New York, the horror of the event and the peculiarly mysterious circumstances attendant thereon, absorbed the attention of all, and for days and weeks it continued the chief topic of conversation. Mrs. Cunningham, a widow who hired the house of Dr. Burdell, and who claimed to have been privately married to the murdered

Page 779

CITY OF NEW YORK. 779 man, with two of her lodgers, Messrs. Eckel and Snodgrass, were deeply implicated by circumstances, and were arrested on suspicion; but nothing was proved; the parties were all acquitted, and the affair remained enveloped in mystery. In April, 1857, the city government resolved to remove the hundred thousand bodies that filled the Potter's Field, or pauper burial ground, from the city limits to Ward's Island, where seventy acres had been purchased for the purpose. Previous to 1823, the Washington Parade ground had been devoted to this use, after which the ground now occupied by the distributing reservoir, on the corner of Forty-second street and Fifth Avenue, was taken for a public cemetery. At the expiration of two years, the bodies were removed from both Washington and Reservoir Squares to the new Potter's Field, bounded by Forty-eighth and Fiftieth streets, and Fourth and Lexington Avenues. This site was granted by the city, in the following year, to the State Woman's Hospital, founded in 1857 by Dr. J. Marion Sims, and subsequently conducted by Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet, the grandson of the eminent lawyer of that name, whose monument forms one of the prominent features of St. Paul's Churchyard, and the grand-nephew of the celebrated Irish patriot.. The same year witnessed the demolition of the old Broadway Tabernacle, the spacious hall of which had long been known as the usual scene of the large public assemblies, as well as the centre of congregational worship in the lower part of the city. This building had been erected in 1835-36, by a society formed for the purpose of establishing a free church in that quarter.

Page 780

780 HISTORY OF THE The undertaking failed through lack of funds, and the church was sold in 1840. In 1845 it was purchased by the Tabernacle congregation, who continued to meet there, under the charge of the Rev. Joseph P. Thompson, until, April 23, 1857, it was finally closed. A new Tabernacle was erected by the Society on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Thirty-fourth street, which was dedicated on the 24th of April, 1859. On the first Tuesday in December, 1857, the date fixed by the amended charter for the annual election of municipal officers, Fernando Wood, who was again a candidate for the mayoralty, was defeated by Daniel F. Tiemann, a prominent merchant of the city. The new mayor was duly installed in office on the 1st of January, 1858. A great revolution followed the stirring scenes of 1857. The next few years were not marked by many events of municipal importance. The destruction of the quarantine buildings by the populace of Staten Island, in July, who were determined that their shores should no longer be appropriated to this purpose, occasioned great excitement, indeed, during the summer of 1858, and gave rise to a controversy which has continued till the present time. During this year the new State Arsenal was erected on the corner of Seventh Avenue and Thirty-fifth street; and the Cooper Institute, built by Peter Cooper at the cost of over $600,000, for the purpose of furnishing free courses of lectures and other facilities for popular instruction, was thrown open to the public. The School of Design for Women, an admirable institution for the training of women in drawing, painting, wood-engraving, etc., found a home

Page 781

CITY OF NEW YORK. 781 in this building. On the 15th of August the cornerstone of the new Roman Catholic Cathedral on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Fiftieth street was laid by Archbishop Hughes, in the presence of an immense concourse of people. This structure is in the form of a Latin cross, three hundred and twenty-eight feet long by one hundred and seventy-five feet wide, and is the largest church edifice in America, with a capacity for accommodation not exceeded by any Gothic building in the world. The great fire of the year was the conflagration, before mentioned, of the Crystal Palace, during the fair of the American Institute, which vanished like a dream on the 5th of October, 1858, leaving naught but dust and ashes. On the 13th of February the hospital on Blackwell's Island had been burned, and the physicians, with five hundred patients, had barely escaped with their lives. The hospital was rebuilt in the course of the year. The City Hall also narrowly escaped burning on the occasion of the great cable celebration, of which we shall speak hereafter. On the 3d of July, 1858, the remains of President Monroe were removed from the cemetery in Second street, where they had long reposed, to Richmond, Virginia, escorted by the Seventh Regiment of New York. The regiment returned bearing the corpse of one of their beloved comrades, Lieutenant Hamilton, a descendant of Alexander Hamilton, who had died on the way, and whose remains were interred in Trinity church-yard. In the summer of 1860, the Atlantic Garden, at No. 9 Broadway, formerly Burns's Coffee-House, the Faneuil

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782 HISTORY OF THE Hall of New York, was purchased by the Hudson River Railroad Company and demolished, to make room for their dep6t. During the years that intervened between the great financial crisis and the civil war, little occurred of peculiar interest to New York City; which nevertheless was deeply stirred by national events, the Kansas troubles, the John Brown raid, and the great presidential election of 1860. Fernando Wood resumed the mayoralty at the opening of the latter year, having been elected in December, 1859. Despite the impending storms, the year 1860 seemed especially devoted to festivities. An unusual influx of distinguished personages from abroad visited the city, and were received with lavish hospitality. First came the members of the Japanese Embassy, who reached New York on the 16th of June, 1860. The arrival of these strangers from an almost unknown country excited universal curiosity and interest. They were made the guests of the city during their stay, and entertained with all possible respect. On their arrival at Castle Garden, they were escorted by the National Guard to the Metropolitan Hotel, where preparations had been made for their reception; at night a grand serenade was given them, and the hotel and surrounding buildings were illuminated in their honor. On the 18th of June a grand ball was given them at Niblo's Theatre. They spent some days in visiting the public institutions, and finally left the city and country on the 1st of July. Their visit was of peculiar significance, as being the first voluntary overture on the part of their hitherto secluded nation to open communication with the rest of the world, and

Page 783

CITY OF NEW YORK. 783 deserved especial notice from New York, the commercial metropolis of America. Close in the wake of the Japanese followed another visitor, in the shape of the mammoth ship, the Great Eastern, which had been recently built in England, and which still carries off the palm from all rivals in magnitude. The huge vessel was moored for some weeks in the North River, where it was thrown open to the public, and was visited by thousands. During the same summer, Prince de Joinville visited New York, as well as Lady Franklin, who came to thank the New Yorkers for the interest and sympathy which they had evinced for her unhappy husband, and the generosity with which they had endeavored to learn his fate. The most important guest of the year, however, was the Prince of Wales, who reached Newfoundland in July, and after making an extended tour through British America and the Western and Southern States, reached New York on the 11th of October, 1860. The visit to the American republic of the heir-apparent to the British throne was regarded as a peculiar mark of re-spect to the country, and did much to extinguish the feud that had been smoldering among Americans since the Wars of the Revolution and 1812. This feud had come to be a thing of tradition, well-nigh obliterated by time; and the popular manners of the young prince, who travelled under the title of Baron Renfrew, as well as the universal esteem felt for his mother, insured him a hearty welcome. He was met at Castle Garden by the First Division of the New York State Militia, numberinlg over seven thousand; after reviewing the troops, Ae was conducted to the City Hall, where he was received

Page 784

784 HISTORY OF THE by the mayor and Common Council, and was thence escorted to the Fifth Avenue Hotel, through streets lined with spectators, and gayly decorated with the united British and American flags. It is estimated that over two hundred thousand people participated in the ovation, yet such was the admirable order preserved that not a single disturbance occurred in this immense crowd. The next morning he breakfasted with the mayor, after which he visited several of the public institutions, together with the Central Park, where he planted an oak. On the same night a grand reception and ball were given him at the Academy of Music. On the next night he was entertained by a firemen's torchlight parade, one of the finest displays of the kind ever witnessed in the city. On Sunday he attended Trinity Church. The next morning, he quitted New York, on his way to Boston, where similar demonstrations awaited him. The friendly feeling awakened by the presence of this distinguished guest was hailed as an omen of future cordiality between America and England; this cordiality, however, was soon doomed to be overshadowed by the attitude of the latter in our great national struggle. The festivities were soon forgotten in the turmoil of the presidential election. New York became the scene of the wildest excitement. Mass meetings of the four parties in the field were held in the public halls, and torch-light processions paraded the streets, with numerous banners and devices. Foremost among the transient associations was the Wide-Awakes, a republican organization, which sprang into existence for the occasion, and which attracted much attention by its originality.

Page 785

CITY OF NEW YORK. 785 The tide of excitement ran high. The democrats were stronger in numbers, and the republicans in wealth and influence. The other two parties, the "Douglas" and " Bell and Everett," were too small to weigh heavily in the scale. Secession was loudly discussed; but was regarded by most as an idle threat, designed for political effect. The Southern students in the Medical College met, indeed, just before the election, and resolved, if the republican party were successful, to withdraw in a body and return to their homes; but they were restrained, and the affair passed over. The election of Mr. Lincoln decided the contest. 50

Page 786

CHAPTER XXIII. 1860-1867. Accession of Mr. Lincoln-Breaking out of the Insurrection-Peace MeasuresUnion Square Meeting-March of the New York Regiments-Union Defence Committee-Relief Association —Death of Colonel Ellsworth-War MeetingsVolunteering-Union League Club-Sanitary Commission-Loyal Publication Society-The Draft-The Great Riot-The Sanitary Fair-The Presidential Election in New York-Hotel Burning-Goldwin Smith —Fall of RichmondAssassination of President Lincoln-His Obsequies in New York-Paid Fire Department-Death of Preston King —Academy of Design-Burning of Barnum's Museum-Atlantic Telegraph-Board of Health-Cholera in New York-Demolition of St. John's Park and Tammany Hall-Burning of Winter GardenConclusion. WE are not presumptuous enough to undertake to give, in these few pages, a history of New York City during the great civil war. To do justice to this subject would require a volume double the size of the present one; moreover, this epoch is still too near our own to belong to the domain of history. Not till the smoke of battle is cleared away, and the passions and prejudices aroused by this period of bitter contention effaced, can the story of this eventful era be fairly written. He would be cold and unimpassioned indeed that could be an actor in this intense drama and remain sufficiently unmoved thereby to narrate it without laying himself open to the charge of special pleading. The most that we can hope to do, in the brief space allowed us, is to chronicle

Page 787

CITY OF NEW YORK. 787 some of the prominent events that transpired in our city during this time, and to aid in storing up materials for the future historian.* New York City occupied a peculiar position at the outset of the conflict. It cannot be denied that her most fervent wish was peace. By her commercial position, as the great centre of the United States, she had been brought into constant intercourse with the people of the insurgent section, and entertained the most friendly feeling for them as individuals, much as she deprecated their public action. Again, she foresaw that in case of war she would not only lose heavily, but would also be obliged to bear the brunt of battle, and to furnish the money, without which it would be impossible to prosecute the conflict. It was natural, therefore, that her citizens should be unanimous in exhausting their resources to preserve peace, from different motives, it is true. We speak of New York collectively, but it must not be forgotten that there are two New Yorks: Political New York, by which the city is usually judged, and which comprises its so-called rulers; and Civil New York, made up of its native-born citizens, who, outnumbered by a foreign majority, honor the law of majorities, obedience to which they demand from others, pay the taxes that are imposed on them, -and hold the wealth which enables the city to sustain its position as the western metropolis. Of these, the

• In preparing this sketch the author has consulted, besides the journals of the

day, Greeley's American Conflict, Moore's Rebellion Record, Harper's Pictorial History of the Rebellion, Lossing's Civil War in America, and the American Annual Cyclopcedia, Mayor Opdyke's official documents, Pollard's Lost Cause, and various other current publications.

Page 788

788 HIII STORY OF THE dominant party, headed by Mayor Wood, desired peace at any price; another large class, composed chiefly of the men of wealth, were willing to make all possible concessions to avoid the war, of which they knew that they must pay the cost; and a third party believed that compromises enough had been made, and that the country should brave the issue. Yet all met on the common ground of the preservation of the Union. Scarcely the shadow of a disposition was anywhere manifested to interfere with the existing institutions of the South, which many deplored, but which most regarded as a painful necessity, beyond the reach of outside interference. Therefore, when, after Mr. Lincoln's election, menacing events followed thick and fast, New York at first put forth her efforts to avert the tempest. Floyd's huge robbery, the withdrawal of the South Carolina senators, the secession of their state, followed by that of others, and the seizure of the public property, caused universal consternation; yet men still clung to the belief that the difficulty would be settled. The actual secession of the states, indeed, had drawn in a few of the ultra members of the democratic party, among whom was the mayor, who, on the 7th of January, 1861, sent a message to the Common Council setting forth the advantages that would accrue to New York should she also secede from the Union and become a free city. It is just to say, however, that he did not formally recommend secession. The suggestion was scouted with indignation; why, it was asked, should not Manhattanville, Yorkville, and Harlem secede in turn, and where would be the end? Four days after, on the 11th of January, the State Legislature passed a

Page 789

CITY OF NEW YORK. 789 series of resolutions, tendering to the President " whatever aid in men and money might be required to enable him to enforce the laws and uphold the authority of the Federal Government," and on the 15th inst. MajorGeneral Sandford offered the services of the whole First Division of the Militia of New York in support of the United States authority. New York City, nevertheless, determined to make one more effort to avert the horrors of war. A memorial in favor of compromise measures was circulated. On the 18th of January a large meeting of merchants was held at the Chamber of Commerce, where a similar memorial was adopted, which was sent to Washington in February, with forty thousand names appended. On the 28th of January an immense Union meeting was held at the Cooper Institute, when it was resolved to send three commissioners to the conventions of the people of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, to confer with the delegates of these states, assembled in convention, in regard to the measures best calculated to restore the peace and integrity of the Union. The Crittenden Compromise was suggested in these meetings as a basis of pacification. On the 22d of January the chief of the Metropolitan Police, John A. Kennedy, seized thirty-eight cases of muskets which were about to be shipped for Georgia, and deposited them in the State Arsenal of the city. Information of the seizure was at once sent to the consignees, who appealed to Governor Brown, of Georgia. Mr. Toombs, who was at Milledgeville, at once dispatched a menacing telegram to Mayor Wood, demand

Page 790

790 HISTORY OF THE ing the cause of this act. The mayor apologized in reply, protesting that he had no authority over the police. Governor Brown retaliated by seizing two brigs, two barks, and a schooner, which were lying in the harbor, and sent word that they would be held till the arms were released. Governor Morgan referred the owners to the United States Courts for redress. They were soon informed, however, that the arms had been surrendered to their agent, G. B. Lamar, whereupon Governor Brown released the vessels, which quickly left the harbor. Some delay, nevertheless, having arisen in the release of the arms, the governor seized three other vessels, all owned in New York, and held them till the arms were actually in the possession of the claimants. These arms were said to belong in part to private individuals, and in part to the State of Alabama, and were supposed to be designed for the use of the insurgent govern;ment. The end of this phase of the contest soon came. State after state seceded, fortress after fortress was seized, armies were form; d throughout the South, and a Provisional Government was organized at Montgomery. At length the blow fell. Fort Sumter, where Major Anderson and his little band had been for months beleaguered, was evacuated on the 14th of April, 1861. And here let us say, that it was owing to the gallantry of a sergeant of the New York police force, Peter Hart, who had formerly served with Major Anderson in Mexico, that the American flag remained unfurled to the end over the fort. When, in the thickest of the fight, the flag was finally shot down, after having been hit nine times, Hart volunteered to raise it again, and,

Page 791

CITY OF NEW YORK. 791 climbing a temporary staff amidst a blinding hail of shot and shell, nailed the torn banner fast, and descended in safety. Sergeant Jasper had immortalized himself of old by a similar act of daring, close by, at Fort Moultrie. Mrs. Anderson had made a perilous journey to Fort Sumter early in January, for the purpose of carrying to her husband this brave auxiliary, in whose faith she had full trust, and who was permitted to remain on condition of being a non-combatant. He served the country better than by arms. At a time when all parts of the country are claiming initiatory honors, it is well not to forget that a New Yorker saved the stars and stripes from falling in the first historic battle of the great war, as a New Yorker, Lieutenant De Peyster, was the first to raise them anew over the Confederate Capital. The uprising that followed the fall of Fort Sumter was unparalleled. The peaceful attitude of New York had led it to be supposed that she would cast her fortunes with the South, or at all events stand aloof from the contest. Never was there a greater mistake. The crisis come, she nerved her energies to meet it, and from that hour to the close of the struggle, her citizens never faltered or withheld their blood and treasure. Those who had been most anxious for peace now vied with each other in asserting their determination to preserve the Union, and the mayor, who just before had urged the advantages of secession, issued a proclamation calling on all the citizens to unite in defence of the country. On the day after the evacuation of Fort Sumter, President Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for seventy-five thousand men, to serve for three months, the quota for New York being thirteen thousand. The

Page 792

792 HISTORY OF THE New York Legislature instantly responded by passing an act authorizing the enlistment of thirty thousand men, for two years instead of three months, and appropriating three million dollars for the war. The State, nevertheless, like the country, was almost defenceless; its arms had rusted in the half a century of peace that had gone by, and of its twenty thousand regular militia, only eight thousand had muskets or rifles fit for service, while its whole supply of field-pieces amounted to but one hundred and fifty. Steps were taken to supply the deficiency; the regiments prepared to march; the recruiting offices that were everywhere opened were seen thronged with thousands eager to enlist, and those were envied who were first accepted. And these volunteers did not come from the dregs of the people; the majority were young men of family and fortune, who held it an honor to serve as private soldiers in their country's cause. The Seventh Regiment, which was foremost in the field, is well-known as being composed of the best citizens of New York, and many other of the militia regiments claimed to be its rivals. Besides the regular militia, numerous volunteer organizations were formed under different names. The national flag was everywhere displayed, on public buildings and private residences, steamboats and railroad cars, and even the dresses of the citizens, who wore the stars and stripes in every conceivable form. The enthusiasm was general throughout the Northern States, which vied with each other in sending troops to the defense of the menaced National Capitol. Five Pennsylvania companies, which had been hurried forward by Governor Curtin from the interior of the State

Page 793

CITY OF NEW YORK. 793 without waiting to organize them into a regiment, were the first to reach the spot. On the 18th of April the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment marched through New York on its way to Washington, and received a most enthusiastic welcome. " Through New York the march was triumphal," wrote Governor Andrew. Yet it had been predicted that the regiment would be attacked on its way through the city. On the next day, the 19th, New York's favorite regiment, the Seventh, under the command of Colonel Marshall Lefferts, which had been drilling night and day, was to set out for Washington. At an early hour the sidewalks were densely thronged, and the streets seemed literally lined with banners. The moment was a thrilling one; the city, that had known nought but peace within the memory of the present generation, was on the brink of a terrible war with those whom she had held as brethren, and was about to send forth her cherished sons to encounter its nameless perils. It was the first plunge; and never, perhaps, did the emotions of the ensuing terrible years equal the intensity of that moment. The regiment formed in Lafayette Place in front of the Astor Library, about four o'clock in the afternoon. The surrounding windows, housetops, and even trees, were thronged with enthusiastic spectators. Just before they were ready to move, intelligence was received that three of their guests of the day before had been massacred on their way through Baltimore. An electric thrill ran through the crowd and steeled all hearts with a determination to avenge their deaths. Forty-eight rounds of ball cartridge were served out to the members of the regiment, and having formed in line,

Page 794

794 HISTORY OF THE they marched through Fourth street to Broadway, down this great thoroughfare to Cortlandt street, and thence to Jersey City Ferry, and crossing the river, commenced their journey to Washington. Never had New York seemed gayer than on this sunny day, with hundreds of thousands of bright colored flags floating in the breeze, and hundreds of thousands of people assembled to take farewell of their departing brethren. The brilliant display that had lately greeted the Japanese Embassy and the Prince of Wales paled before this demonstration; but the holiday garb was only external, and all hearts were filled with sadness at the the fratricidal war, the first scene of which was passing before them. Here we leave the gallant Seventh, the story of whose six days' march to the National Capitol has been so graphically described by one who speedily gave his life in defense of his country. On the same day a meeting of the merchants of New York was held at the Chamber of Commerce, at which resolutions indorsing the action of the Government, and urging a blockade of all the Southern ports, were unanimously adopted, and a large committee of prominent capitalists was appointed to make arrangements for placing the nine million dollars still untaken of the Government loan. The announcement having been made that several of the regiments preparing to leave were embarrassed for want of funds, a collection was instantly taken up, and twenty-one thousand dollars were raised in ten minutes. On the evening of the day that President Lincoln had issued his call for troops, several gentlemen had met at the house of R. II. McCurdy, and resolved on

Page 795

CITY OF NEW YORK. 795 measures for the support of the government. They determined to call a public meeting of all parties to aid in sustaining the government in this crisis, and appointed a committee, consisting of a large number of influential citizens, to make the necessary arrangements. The members of this committee were notified of their appointment the next day, by a circular, and requested to meet at the Chamber of Commerce, on the corner of William and Cedar streets. A call was at once issued for a great mass meeting at Union Square, to be composed of men of all parties who were desirous of preserving the Union. The great Union Square meeting will long be remembered. For the time, as complete unanimity of sentiment prevailed as could ever be achieved among a million of people. All differences of opinion seemed hushed for the time, and the only thought was the common safety. The largest concourse of people that had ever been witnessed in New York assembled on the afternoon of the 20th of April, in Union Square. All the places of business in the city were closed. Four stands had been erected for the speakers; but these proved insufficient, and those who were unable to obtain a place within hearing of the principal speakers, were addressed from the balconies, and even from the roofs of.the houses. More than a hundred thousand persons were supposed to have been present. Major Anderson and his officers were there, with the tattered flag of Sumter. The leaders of all parties joined in the demonstration; democrats and repubIicans, conservatives and radicals, all were united in the first flush of excitement. The four

Page 796

796 HISTORY OF THE presidents of the meeting were, John A. Dix, Ex-Governor Fish, Ex-Mayor Havemeyer, and Moses H. Grinnell. Among the numerous speakers were Daniel S. Dickinson, Robert J. Walker, David S. Coddington, Professor Mitchell and Colonel Baker, both of whom were doomed to die in defence of their principles, and Mayor Wood, who, on his own responsibility, pledged the corporation of New York to fit out the brigade which Colonel Baker had offered to raise. The speeches were of the most stirring character, a list of patriotic resolutions was adopted, and a Committee of Safety was appointed, composed of some of the most distinguished men of New York, without reference to party, and charged to represent the citizens in the collection of funds and the transaction of such other business in aid of the movements of the government as the public interest might require. The Committee organized that evening under the name of the Union Defence Committee. It was composed of the following citizens:John A. Dix, chairman; Simeon Draper, vice-chairman; William M. Evarts, secretary; Theodore Dehon, treasurer; Moses Taylor, Richard M. Blatchford, Edwards Pierrepont, Alexander T. Stewart, Samuel Sloane, John Jacob Astor, Jr., John J. Cisco, James S. Wadsworth, Isaac Bell, James Boorman, Charles H. Marshall, Robert H. McCurdy, Moses H. Grinnell, Royal Phelps, William E. Dodge, Greene C. Bronson, Hamilton Fish, William F. Havemeyer, Charles H. Russell, James T. Brady, Rudolph A. Witthaus, Abiel A. Low, Prosper M. Wetmore, A. C. Richards, and the mayor, comptroller and presidents of the two Boards of the Common Council of the City of New York. The Committee had

Page 797

CITY OF NEW YORK. 797 rooms at No. 30 Pine street, open during the day, and at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, open in the evening. It was not enough to provide men; money also was needed. On the 22d of April the Common Council, by the recommendation of the mayor, passed an ordinance authorizing a loan of one million of dollars for the defence of the Union, in pursuance of which Union Defence Fund Bonds, payable May 1, 1862, were issued. On the same day a meeting of the whole New York Bar was held, at which twenty-five thousand dollars were contributed for the same purpose. A loan- of five hundred thousand dollars in aid of the families of volunteers, payable July 1, 1862, was subsequently made by the Common Council. This was but a beginning. It is estimated that in the course of three months, New York furnished one hundred and fifty millions to the government; and at the close of the year the secretary of the treasury reported that, out of the two hundred and sixty million dollars borrowed by the government, New York had furnished two hundred and ten millions. Boston had reduced the quota of her advance from thirty to twenty per cent, while New York took not only her own, but what Boston rejected. Without this aid, the government would have been forced, through lack of means, to consent to the dissolutin1 of the Union. New York now presented the aspect of a military city. The City Hall Park was filled with barracks for the accommodation of the Northern and Eastern troops that passed through the city on their way to the seat of war. Sunday was destined to be marked by great events throughout the conflict, but of all the

Page 798

798 HISTORY OF THE memorable Sundays during these four years, none perhaps was more impressive than the day after the great Union Square meeting. Sermons appropriate to the occasion were preached everywhere, and contributions were taken up to aid in fitting out regiments. In many of the churches, the flag was displayed, and the Star%pangled Banner sung by the congregation after the service. The streets were thronged with an immense crowd assembled to witness the departure of the three regiments-the Sixth, Colonel Pinckney, the Twelfth, Colonel Butterfield, and the Seventy-first, Colonel Vosburgh, that were to set out for Washington that afternoon. Bells were rung, cannon fired, and flags displayed on all the shipping and public buildings. The popular enthusiasm seemed unbounded. During the few remaining days of the memorable month of April, the troops already mentioned were followed by the Eighth Regiment, Colonel Lyons; the Thirteenth, Colonel Smith; the Fifth, Colonel Schwarzwaelder; the Second, Colonel Tompkins; the Sixty-ninth, Colonel Corcoran; the Ninth, Colonel Stiles; and the Twenty-fifth, Colonel Bryan.* On the 22d of April General Wool, the commander

• The New York City militia regiments which served for three months, at the

expiration of which time they returned and were discharged, were as follows: Regiments. Commanders. Left NewYork. No. of Men. Second...... Col. Geo. W. Tompkins.. April 28 500 Fifth.... C. Schwarzwaelder.. " 27 600 Sixth....... Jos. C. Pinckney.. " 21 550 Seventh..... Marshall Lefferts.. " 19 1,050 Eighth...... George Lyons... 23 900 Ninth..... " John W. Stiles... 30 800 Twelfth..... " Daniel Butterfield.. 21 900 Sixty-ninth... "Michael Corcoran.. 29 1,050 Seventy-first.... "A. S. Vosburgh...'21 950

Page 799

CITY OF NEW YORK. 799 of the Eastern Department, which comprised all the country north of the Potomac and east of the Mississippi River, arrived in New York and fixed his quarters at the St. Nicholas Hotel. He had been preceded by Governor Morgan, who, having received orders from Washington to send on troops as fast as possible, had accepted the offer of Colonel Ellsworth's regiment of Zouaves, and commanded that rations and transportation should be furnished to all soldiers ordered to Washington. A complication arose between these officials in relation to the Zouave regiment, which was full, and which the governor wished to reduce to seventy-seven men per company. None would go without the whole, and General Wool took the responsibility of ordering them forward at once. By way of reproof for his somewhat irregular promptness in this and other matters, he was afterwards retired from service; but the action was subsequently reconsidered, and he was restored to command. The Union Defence Committee co-operated with him and aided him in hastening troops to the seat of war. The twenty-one regiments offered by the State over and above its quota had been accepted, and on the 24th of April an agent left for Europe with five hundred thousand dollars wherewith to purchase arms. In the meantime, the women of the city set to work Vith one accord to prepare means for softening the labors of the soldiers in the field, and alleviating the sufferings of the sick and wounded. On the 25th of April a number of ladies met at a private house and formed the plan of a Central Relief Association. A committee was appointed, with instructions to call a meeting of the women of New York at Cooper Institute, on the

Page 800

800 HISTORY OF TIIE morning of the 29th inst., to concert measures for the relief of the sick and wounded. The largest gathering of women ever seen in the city responded to the appeal. David Dudley Field was chosen president, and the meeting was addressed by the Rev. Henry W. Bellows, Hannibal Hamlin, the Vice-President of the United States, and others. An organization was effected, with Dr. Valentine Mott as president; Dr. Bellows, vice-president; G. F. Allen, secretary; and Howard Potter, treasurer; and the corner-stone was thus laid of that noble institution, the United States Sanitary Commission, which followed the army everywhere, and assuaged the sufferings caused by war. Thousands of women, and even children, devoted themselves to scraping lint, knitting socks, making garments, and preparing delicacies for the sick and wounded whom they saw in perspective; and scores of the most tenderly reared and delicate young ladies volunteered their services as hospital nurses, and went into training under the directions of the city physicians. The month of April, 1861, was a'sublime era in the annals of New York, as in those of the whole country. Minor differences were forgotten, and, for the moment, all hearts in the great city seemed to beat in unison. The work of forwarding troops went on, and by the 25th of May the authorized thirty thousand men had been raised by the State, and by the 12th of July they had been organized into thirty-eight regiments, officered, and despatched to the seat of war. Ten regiments were accepted in addition from the Union Defence Committee, in response to a call made by the President on the 4th o" May for volunteers, and by the 1st of July the State

Page 801

CITY OF NEW YORK. 801 of New York had nearly forty-seven thousand troops in the field; consisting of three months' militia, three years' militia, two years' volunteers, and three years' volunteers. Of these, the Eleventh, New York Zouaves, Colonel Ellsworth, the first volunteer regiment in the field; the Twenty-Eighth, Colonel Bennett; and the Fourteenth, Colonel Wood, left New York City in May, followed in June by the Eighth, Colonel Blenker; the Tenth, Colonel McChesney; the Garibaldi Guard, Colonel D'Utassy; the Twelfth, Colonel Quincy; the Thirteenth, Colonel Walrath; the Ninth, Colonel Hawkins; the Sixth, Colonel Wilson; the Fourteenth, Colonel McQuade; the Thirty-Eighth, Colonel Hobart; the Eighteenth, Colonel Jackson; the Seventeenth, Colonel Lansing; the Thirty-seventh, Colonel McCunn; and the Thirty-first, Colonel Pratt, of the volunteers; and the Seventy-ninth, Colonel Cameron; the Nineteenth, Colonel Clark; Company K., Ninth New York, Captain Bunting; the Twenty-first, Colonel Rogers; the Twentysixth, Colonel Christin; the Twenty-ninth, Colonel Von Steinwehr; the Twenty-eighth, Colonel Donnelly; the First, Colonel Montgomery; the Sixteenth, Colonel Davies; and the Thirtieth, Colonel Matheson, of the New York State troops. Money was poured out with a lavish hand; churches, associations, and individuals liberally contributing everywhere to the outfit of the troops. On the 8th of May General John A. Dix was appointed Major-General of New York, and on the 15th of May, the other Major-Generalship was bestowed on James S. Wadsworth, who afterwards fell in the battle of the Wilderness. 51

Page 802

802 HISTORY OF THE Time forbids us to follow the soldiers through their wanderings; it suffices to say that there was not a land engagement in 1861, east of the Alleghanies and south of Washington, in which the brave New York soldiers did not participate. The first flag taken from the insurgents was the trophy of two New Yorkers, William McSpedon, of New York City, and Samuel Smith, of Queens County, Long Island, who, spying from Washington a Confederate flag flying in Alexandria, went over and captured it. On the next day, another New Yorker, Colonel Ellsworth, the commander of the first volunteer regiment that marched from New York, fell while attempting to haul down the stars and bars. He was the first officer that had fallen in the struggle, and the first man, in fact, in the campaign. His death caused an intense excitement in New York, where he was well known, and where his ability and gallant bearing had inspired great admiration. His body was taken to Washington, where the funeral services were performed at the White House, President Lincoln officiating as chief mourner; it was then brought to New York, where it lay in state for two days at the City Hall, after which it was escorted through the streets by an immense procession to the railroad depot, whence it was taken to Colonel Ellsworth's native place, Mechanicsville, N. Y., for interment,, Under the influence of the popular excitement, a regiment was immediately formed, under the name of the Ellsworth Avengers. His fate but presaged that of thousands of others. To chronicle the sons of New York who fell in the sanguinary conflict would far transcend the limits of this brief sketch. The disastrous battle of Bull Run was

Page 803

CITY OF NEW YORK. 803 especially fatal to the New York troops, many of whom were killed or made prisoners, among others, Colonels Corcoran and Wood, who were held as hostages for the crew of a privateer imprisoned by the United States government on a charge of piracy. Immediately after this disaster, without waiting for additional authority from the Legislature, Governor Morgan issued a proclamation calling for twenty-five thousand troops to serve for three years. On the 1st of October the quota of the State was raised to one hundred thousand, and on the ist of November to one hundred and twenty thousand men. In the December election of 1861 George Opdyke, a New York merchant of earnest patriotism and untiring energy, was chosen mayor. This was a fortunate choice, which secured to the city, during the two most critical years of the war, the services of a loyal and efficient chief magistrate. Time forbids us to dilate on the events of the year farther than to say that, in spite of the Bull Run disaster, the result had been favorable to the Federal forces; the Border States having been secured to the Union, the insurgents driven out of Western Virginia, the blockade maintained, and many important naval advantages won. During the year 1861 New York City had put into the field over sixty thousand volunteers, exclusive of militia; and heavily as she had suffered from the loss of her Southern debts, had loaned to the general government more than one hundred million dollars. The campaign of 1862 opened brilliantly. Signal victories followed each other for month after month: in the West the fall of Forts Donelson and Henry, Nash

Page 804

804 HISTORY OF THE ville, Memphis and Corinth, and the battle of Pittsburg Landing; on the coast, the successful expedition of Burnside; and at the South, the capture of New Orleans, inspired the public with a belief that the war was fast advancing to a happy termination. Under the lead of her patriotic mayor, New York continued her contributions of men and money without stint, and by repeated demonstrations manifested her fidelity to the Union cause. On the 14th of February, 1862, Mayor Opdyke issued a proclamation of congratulation on General Burnside's victory at Roanoke Island, and the other triumphs of the Union arms, and recommended that on the following day a hundred guns should be fired from the Battery and Madison Square, and the national flag displayed on the public and private buildings. In accordance with the spirit of the times, the 22d of February was celebrated with unusual solemnity, and a mass meeting was held at the Cooper Institute. On the 11th of April the mayor also issued a proclamation of thanksgiving for the victory at Pittsburg Landing. Meanwhile the city exerted itself to aid the sick and wounded, and to provide for the families of the volunteers. An appropriation was made for a company of loyal refugees from Florida, who had been driven from their homes and reduced to utter destitution. On the 2d of May, 1862, a Home for Sick and Wounded Soldiers, capable of accommodating four or five hundred patients, was opened by an association of ladies, headed by Mrs. Valentine Mott, in the building on the corner of I exington Avenue and Fifty-first street, erected a few years before for an Infants' Home. Other similar irstitutions were opened; among others.

Page 805

CITY OF NEW YORK. 805 Mount St. Vincent, in the Central Park. On the 18th of June the Common Council passed an ordinance appropriating five hundred thousand dollars for the relief of the families of volunteers. After half a year of uninterrupted victory, the season of reverses began. General McClellan's campaign against Richmond, at the head of the Grand Army of the Potomac, from which so much had been expected, proved a failure, and the country was overshadowed with gloom. At this juncture, the Chamber of Commerce met on the 7th of July, and passed an unani1-nous resolution that a committee of five should be appointed, to meet similar committees from the Union Defence Committee and other loyal organizations, for the purpose of devising measures to sustain the National Government. This resolution was transmitted to the Common Council by Mayor Opdyke, with the recommendation that it should also pledge the people of the metropolis to the support of the government in the prosecution of the war and the maintenance of the national honor, and that a, public meeting should be called, without distinction of party, to express the undiminished confidence of the citizens in the justice of their cause, and their inflexible purpose to maintain it to the end, and to proffer to the government all the aid it-might need, to the extent of their resources. ~ In August, General Corcoran was released from his thirteen months' imprisonment by the Richmond authorities, and was received with great enthusiasm, on the 22d of August, at Castle Garden, where he was met by the municipal authorities and addressed by the mayor. The rank of brigadier-general had been con

Page 806

806 HISTORY OF THE ferred on him by President Lincoln, in appreciation of his valor and sufferings. On the 27th inst. a great war-meeting was held in the City Hall Park, which was thronged to overflowing. Speeches were made by Mayor Opdyke, General Corcoran, and others, and it was resolved, as far as practicable, to close all places of business at 3 P. M. until the 13th of the ensuing September, in order to enable loyal citizens to carry forward volunteering, and to perfect themselves in military drill. To further this work, the Common Council passed an ordinance, which was approved by the mayor, offering fifty dollars bounty to each volunteer.* This was an exciting epoch of the war. General Pope had concentrated a large force about Washington, and a decisive engagement was hourly expected. The crisis came; and on the 30th of August the second disastrous battle of Bull Run was fought, followed shortly after by the Confederate advance into Maryland. The battles of South Mountain and Antietam repelled the invaders, and another campaign against Richmond was undertaken, again without success. The battle of Fredericksburg closed the year disastrously. Yet, if less had been gained than the public had hoped,

• The following New York City Militia Regiments served for three months in

1862. See Report of County Volunteer Committee. Regiments. Commanders. |Left NewYork No. of Men. Seventh..... Col. Marshall Lefferts.. May 26 700 Eighth..... " J. M. Varian... I" 29 820 Eleventh... " Joachim Maidhoff.. 28 630 Twelfth..... Wm. G. Ward... June 6 805 Thirty-seventh.. "Chas. Roome.... May 29 600 Sixty-ninth.... " James Bagley... " 30 1,000 Seventy-first... "Henry P. Martin.. " 28 830 5,385

Page 807

CITY OF NEW YORK. 807 little had been lost. The whole coast, from Cape Henry to the Rio Grande, was occupied by the Union forces, with the exception of Charleston, Mobile, Savannah, and Wilmington, and a few unimportant places; and the Northern Army was closing in upon the insurgent territory. During the year, New York City appropriated a million and a half of dollars for the relief of the families of volunteers. It was estimated that during the first two years of the war the people of the city had contributed to its support, in taxes, gratuities and loans to the government, not less than three hundred millions of dollars, and had furnished over eighty thousand volunteers.* Yet the great metropolis did not flag beneath this heavy burden, but bore the load cheerfully and without complaint; and on viewing the sacrifices which she readily imposed on herself-heavier, far, than were endured by any other city in the Union-we marvel that any one should dare to impugn her loyalty, or to judge her by the irresponsible masses that too often rule her elections. The year 1863 was the turning-point of the conflict, and also the most eventful, if we except the brilliant succession of victories which marked its termination. The season opened gloomily; although the area of the Febellion had been reduced, its spirit seemed more defiant than ever. The first great event of the year was the emancipation proclamation, which took effect on the 1st of January, and virtually blotted slavery from the soil of the republic. Some believed, and others doubted, in the efficacy of this act, which was not

• See Mayor Opdyke's Annual Message, January 1, 1863.

Page 808

808 rHISTORY OF THE at first followed by any brilliant results. The unanimity which had characterized the conflict in the beginning no longer prevailed; a large patty had been formed in the North which was anxious for peace at any price. This party exerted a powerful influence in New York City, which had become the centre of Southern immigration. It was confidently predicted that this city, the political complexion of which was so strongly democratic, would refuse to assist longer in prosecuting the war, and would openly declare in favor of peace. As the season waned, even the most stout-hearted lost courage, and wavered in their faith of ultimate success. The last State election had resulted in a triumph of the democratic party, and the governor was notoriously opposed to the war. Under these influences, a great mass meeting was held in New York, on the 3d of June, consisting of deputies from all parts of the State, where resolutions were passed denouncing the administration, and counselling compromises in order to obtain peace. This was not, however, the prevailing spirit among the citizens, who, in contradistinction, held war meetings, formed patriotic organizations, and left nothing undone to support the administration. Foremost among these was the Union League Club, which was formed on the broad basis of unqualified loyalty to the government of the country, and unswerving support of its efforts for the suppression of the rebellion, and which embraced in its ranks almost every prominent loyalist in the city. The history of the Union League Club is the history of New York patriotism. We shall have occasion to recur again to this great institution; it suffices to say here that from its organization in 1863,

Page 809

CITY OF NEW YORK. 809 to the present time, it has been untiring in its efforts to secure the triumph of the right, and to uproot the causes of strife. One of the most remarkable outgrowths of the Union League Club was the Loyal Publication Society, which played so important a part in the great struggle, that a sketch of its rise and progress will not be inappropriate in this connection. As we have already said, the year 1863 opened gloomy and beset with difficulties. It is now an admitted historical fact, that a vast conspiracy-" The " Knights of the Golden Circle "-was laboring in the West to carry the people of that mighty region into the rebellion of the South. In the East a powerful faction poisoned the public mind, not only by the regular action of the press, but also by the working of a society, organized at New York, which, under the euphonious name of "The Society for the Diffusion of Political " Knowledge," preached disloyalty and hostility to all the measures of the government. It was under these circumstances that William T. Blodgett, one of the most zealous patriots of New York, met at Washington, in the beginning of February, the secretaries of war and of the navy, the Hon. Edwin M. Stanton and the Hon. Gideon Welles, as well as the speaker of the House of Representatives, the Hon. Schuyler Colfax. These gentlemen consulted about the means of counteracting the efforts made by the Northern allies of the Southern government. Immediately after his return to New York, Mr. Blodgett invited a number of loyal and devoted citizens to a consultation about the organization of a society such as

Page 810

810 HISTORY OF THE had been suggested in the interview which had taken place at Washington. This initiatory step speedily led to the wished-for result. On the evening of the 14th of February, 1863, at a meeting held at the house of Charles Butler, the Loyal Publication Society was organized. Charles King was unanimously elected permanent president, and John Austin Stevens, Jr., permanent secretary. The following resolution was unanimously adopted as the fundamental law: "Resolved, That the object of this organization is "and shall be confined to the distribution of journals and "documents of unquestionable and unconditional loyalty "throughout the United States, and particularly in the "armies now engaged in the suppression of the rebellion, "and to counteract, as far as practicable, the efforts now "being made by the enemies of the government and the "advocates of a disgraceful Peace, to circulate journals "and documents of a disloyal character." Eighty prominent citizens subscribed for the necessary funds, and the Society at once began its patriotic work. The number of subscribers rapidly increased to 171, and the money contributed in the second year amounted to $11,620.94. The Society held its first anniversary meeting on February 13, 1864. Mr. King resigned as president on account of continued ill-health, and Dr. Francis Lieber was unanimously elected in his place. Mr. John Austin Stevens had tendered his resignation as permanent secretary, but was unanimously re-elected. Both these gentlemen were continued in their functions until the

Page 811

CITY OF NEW YORK. 811 final dissolution of the Society. Among the most active members of the Society are to be mentioned Messrs. Morris Ketchum, Charles Butler, George Griswold, Charles H. Marshall, James McKaye, Jackson S. Schultz, C. G. Detmold, T. B. Coddington, LeGrand B. Cannon, George P. Putnam, Wm. P. Blodgett, Sinclair Tousey, George Cabot Ward, T. Butler Wright, Grosvenor Lowrey, Fred. Schutz, W. C. Church and Charles Astor Bristed. The Society published in the first year 43 pamphlets, containing 720 pages of printed matter. The total number of the documents was 400,000, at a cost of $1.0,211.46. The pamphlets published by the Society were distributed in every accessible State. Between the 23d of February and the 4th of April, 1863, there were sent to Washington, for distribution to the Army of the Rappahannock, 36,000 journals and publications. Mr. Robert Dale Owen's "Future of the Northwest" was the powerful and effective reply to the insidious efforts of the conspirators of the " Golden Circle." In April, 1863, a plan was submitted to the Society to aid in the establishment of an "Army and Navy "' Journal" on principles of unconditional loyalty. Under the auspices of the Loyal Publication Society of New York, aided by that of New England, and the Union League Club of Philadelphia, this well-known and deserving journal was established in New York, under the direction of Captain W. C. Church. Soon there came from many parts of the country the warmest expressions of thanks to the Loyal Publication Society for the great service rendered to the cause of the Union and Liberty.

Page 812

812 HISTORY OF THE During the second year the Society published 33 pamphlets, containing 637 pages of printed matter, and distributed them all over the country and to the armies, in 470,000 copies. A great number of them was sent to England, France, and other European countries, where they helped the noble friends of our cause to dispel the clouds of errors, prejudices and evil passions raised by the emissaries of the Confederate government and its aiders and abettors. On the second anniversary meeting of the Society the following addition was made to the declaration of the object of the Loyal Publication Society: "By the dissemination, North and South, of well"considered information and principles, to aid the ":national government in the suppression and final ex"tinction of slavery, by amendment to the Constitution "of the United States, to reconcile the master and slave "to their new and changed conditions, and so to adjust "their interests that peace and harmony may soon pre"vail, and the nation, repairing the ravages of' war, "enter upon a new, unbroken career of liberty, justice "and prosperity." During the third year of its operation the Loyal Publication Society issued only ten pamphlets, but these formed a substantial volume of 526 pages. The complete overthrow of the rebellion led several of the most active and influential members of the Society to think the mission of that organization fulfilled. Hence at the third anniversary meeting, held on February 27, 1866, at the rooms of the Society, the following motion was made and unanimously adopted: " In the opinion of this Society, the condition of the

Page 813

CITY OF NEW YORK. 813 "country no longer calls for the active labors of this "Society as an independent organization." The president, Dr. Francis Lieber, addressed some deeply felt and impressive remarks to the members present, and adjourned the Society sine die, with the words: God save the Great Republic! God protect our Country! The property, stereotype plates and effects of the Loyal Publication Society were transferred to the Union League Club of New York. The Loyal Publication Society of New York has been the worthy twin-sister of the Sanitary Commission; the latter took care of the bodies of our patriotic soldiers, the former administered salutary remedies to many an infected mind. The documents published by that patriotic Society are now eagerly sought for by historians and public libraries.*

• The following list of the publications issued by the Loyal Publication Society

during its existence will indicate its scope and spirit, and is a valuable historical record: No. 1. Future of the Northwest. By Robert Dale Owen. 2. Echo from the Army. Extracts from Letters of Soldiers. 3. Union Mass Meeting, Cooper Institute, March 6, 1863. Speeches of Brady, Van Buren, &c. 4. Three Voices: the Soldier, Farmer and Poet. 5. Voices from the Army. Letters and Resolutions of Soldiers. 6. Northern True Men. Addresses of Connecticut Soldiers-Extracts from Richmond Journals. 7. Speech of Major-General Butler. Academy of Music, New York, April 2, 1863. 8. Separation; War without End. Ed. Laboulaye. 9. The Venom and the Antidote. Copperhead Declarations. Soldiers' Letters. 10. A few Words in Behalf of the Loyal Women of the United States. By One of Themselves. MIrs. C. M. Kirkland. 11. No Failure for the North. Atlantic Monthly. 12. Address to King Cotton. Eugene Pelletan.

Page 814

814 HISTORY OF THE Most of the great national benevolent organizations, indeed, had their rise in New York City. The United States Sanitary Commission, that noble instrument of good, was in some sort an outgrowth, as we have already stated, of the Woman's Central Relief Association, formed in New York in April, 1861, and was first sugNo. 13. How a Free People conduct a long War. Stille'. 14. The Preservation of the Union a National Economic Necessity. 15. Elements of Discord in Secessia. By William Alexander, Esq., of Texas. 16. No Party now, but all for our Country. Francis Lieber. 17. The Cause of the War. Col. Charles Anderson. 18. Opinions of the early Presidents and of the Fathers of the Republic upon Slavery, and upon Negroes as Men and Soldiers. 19. (inteit unb ireideit, t on.ermann ~Rarter. 20. Military Despotism! Suspension of the Habeas Corpusl &c. 21. Letter addressed to the Opera-House Meeting, Cincinnati. By Col. Charles Anderson. 22. Emancipation is Peace. By Robert Dale Owen. 23. Letter of Peter Cooper on Slave Emancipation. 24. Patriotism. Sermon by the Rev. Jos. Fransiola, of St. Peter's (Catholic) Church, Brooklyn. 25. The Conditions of Reconstruction. By Robert Dale Owen. 26. Letter to the President. By Gen. A. J. Hamilton, of Texas. 27. Nullification and Compromise: a Retrospective View. By John Mason Williams. 28. The Death of Slavery. Letter from Peter Cooper to Gov. Seymour. 29. Slavery Plantations and the Yeomanry. Francis Lieber. 30. Rebel Conditions of Peace. Extracts from Richmond Journals. 31. Address of the Loyal Leagues, Utica, October 20, 1863. 32. War Power of the President-Summary Imprisonment. By J. Heermans. 33. The Two Ways of Treason. 34. The Monroe Doctrine. By Edward Everett, &c. 35 The Arguments of Secessionists. Francis Lieber. 36. Prophecy and Fulfilment. Letter of A. H. Stephens-Address of E. W. Gantt. 37. How the South Rejected Compromise, &c. Speech of Mr. Chase in Peace Conference of 1861. 38. Letters on our National Struggle. By Brigadier-General Thomas F'ancis Meagher. 39. Bible View of Slavery, by John H. Hopkins, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese of Vermont. Examined by Henry Drisler.

Page 815

CITY OF NEW YORK. 815 gested by Henry W. Bellows, D.D., W. H. Van Buren, M.D., and Jacob Harsen, M.D., all representatives of this and kindred associations of New York, who, on the 18th of May, 1861, addressed the secretary of war, recommending the formation of an organization of this kind. The Commission was duly authorized on the 9th No. 40. The Conscription Act: a Series of Articles. By Geo. B. Butler, N. Y. 41. Reponse de MM. De Gasparin, Laboulaye, &c. 42. Reply of Messrs. Gasparin, Laboulaye, and others. 43. [ntroort ber W.erren Ze (aaparin,?abloufape,'Martin, o tin,an bie?oVa!'Nationat Veague. 44. Proceedings of First Anniversary Meeting of the Loyal Publication Society, February 13, 1864. 45. Finances and Resources of the United States. By H. G. Stebbins. 46. How the War Commenced. From Cincinnati Daily Commercial. 47. Result of Serf Emancipation in Russia. 48. Resources of the United States. By S. B. Ruggles. 49. Patriotic Songs. A collection by G. P. Putnam. 50. The Constitution Vindicated. James A. Hamilton. 51. No Property in Man. Charles Sumner. 52. Rebellion, Slavery and Peace. N. G. Upham. 53. How the War Commenced. (German Translation for the South.) By Dr. F. Schutz. 54. Our Burden and Our Strength. David A. Wells. 55. Emancipated Slave and His Master. (German Translation.) By Dr. F. Schutz, for the Society. 56. The Assertions of a Secessionist. Alex. H. Stephens. 57. Growler's Income Tax. By T: S. Arthur, Philadelphia. 58. Emancipated Slave and his Master. James McKaye, L. P. S. 59. Lincoln or McClellan. (German.) By Francis Lieber. 60. Peace through Victory. (Sermon.) By Rev. J. P. Thompson. 61. Sherman vs. Hood. Broadside. By the Secretary. 62. The War for the Union. By William Swinton. 63. Letter on McClellan's Nomination. Hon. Gerrit Smith. 64. Letters of Loyal Soldiers. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4. By the Secretary. 65. Submissionists and their Record. Parts 1 and 2. By the Secretary. 66. Coercion Completed, or Treason Triumphant. By John C. Hamilton. 67. Lincoln or McClellan. (English.) By Francis Lieber. 68. The Cowards' Convention. By Charles Astor Bristed. 69. Whom do the English wish Elected? By Frederick Milne Edge. 70. Collection of Letters from Europe. By G. P. Putnam, L. P. S.

Page 816

816 HISTORY OF THE of June, 1861, with the Rev. Dr. Bellows as president. It speedily extended its ramifications over the whole country, and proved an indescribable blessing to the soldiers. The United States Christian Commission was also organized in New York, at a Convention of the Young Men's Christian Associations, held on the 16th November, 1861. This association, which was designed to promote the physical comfort and spiritual welfare of the soldiers, was an instrument of great usefulness during the war. Another most important organization was the United States Union Commission, which was organized in 1864, under the auspices of the Rev. Dr. Joseph P. Thompson, of New York, for the purpose of relieving the necessities of the destitute refugees from the South, and which has since united with the Freedmen's Commission. Besides these great national organizaNo. 71. Lincoln or McClellan. (Dutch Translation.) 72. Address of Dr. Schutz, at Philadelphia, October 5, 1865. 73. Address of N. G. Taylor on Loyalty and Sufferings of East Tennessee. 74. The Slave Power. By J. C. Hamilton. 75. The Great Issue. Address by John Jay. 76. Narrative of Sufferings of U. S. Prisoners of War in the hands of Rebel Authorities. By U. S. Sanitary Commission. 77. Address on Secession. Delivered by Dr. Lieber in South Carolina in 1851. 78. Report of the Society. 79. Letter on Amendments of the Constitution. By Francis Lieber. 80. America for Free Working Men. By C. Nordhof. 81. General McClellan's Campaign. By F. M. Edge. 82. Speech on Reconstruction. By Ifon. Wm. D. Kelley. 83. Amendments of the Constitution. By Francis Lieber. 84. Crimes of the South. By W. W. Broom. 85. Lincoln's Life and its Lessons. By Rev. J. P. Thompson, D. D. 86. National System of Education. By Rev. Charles Brooks. 87. Gasparin's Letter to President Johnson. Translated by Miary L. Booth. 88. Memorial Service for Three Hundred Thousand Union Soldiers, with a Commemorative Discourse. By Jos. P. Thompson, D. D.

Page 817

CITY OF NEW YORK. 817 tions, numberless minor associations were formed for the relief of the soldiers. In July, 1863, a State Soldiers' Depot was established in Howard street, which was endowed by the State. and which combined a soldiers' home, hospital, and reading-room. This institution had agents on all the railroad trains, whose duty it was to protect the soldiers from wrong, and to look after the sick and wounded. A Soldiers' Rest was established in Fourth Avenue, near the railroad depots on the corner of Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh streets, under the auspices of the Union League Club, where soldiers arriving in and leaving the city were provided for during their temporary stay. At No. 194 Broadway were the rooms of the New England Soldiers' Relief Association, which was organized in 1862 for the especial benefit of the soldiers from New England, but which opened its doors to all without distinction. But even to catalogue all the noble associations that sprung up in New York City through public and private enterprise, would fill a volume; and as we have before remarked, we cannot in this brief sketch undertake to do justice to the patriotism of New York City, but only to chronicle some of the most striking examples thereof. We should not omit mention, however, of a movement which was set on foot about the same time to discourage the importation of goods during the war, and thus prevent specie from leaving the country. For this end, a large meeting of the women of New York was held at the Cooper Institute, where great numbers pledged themselves to purchase no articles except those of home manufacture, save in cases of absolute necessity, until peace should be declared. 52

Page 818

818 HISTORY OF THE In the mean time, the army was rapidly being depleted by the expiration of the terms of enlistment of the two years', twelve months', and nine months' regiments. Some sixty-five thousand men would leave the service in the spring and summer of 1863, and there was little probability that their places would be supplied by volunteers, even under the temptation of the enormous bounties offered. To meet this exigency, on the 3d of March, 1863, Congress passed an enrolment and conscription act, authorizing the President to recruit the army when necessary, by drafting from the able-bodied citizens between the ages of twenty and forty-five. The drafted men were allowed to furnish substitutes, or to pay $300, in consideration of which the government undertook to procure them. Although conscription had been practised from the very beginning by the South, this measure was denounced by a large class in the North, as violent and unconstitutional, and a virulent spirit of opposition was manifested, especially among those opposed to the war. A general enrolment nevertheless was made, and early in May a draft of three hundred thousand men was ordered to take place in each district, as soon as the enrolment therein was completed, and the quota assigned. Just at this juncture General Lee invaded Maryland and Pennsylvania, with the hope of transferring the seat of war to -the north of the Potomac, and relieving the Shenandoah Valley of the Federal troops. The Confederates ravaged Southern Pennsylvania, and advanced to within a few miles of Harrisburg, and their commander issued manifestoes from that place and York. The greatest consternation prevailed. The

Page 819

CITY OF NEW YORK. 819 governor of Pennsylvania called the troops of the State to arms, and entreated assistance from the neighboring States. President Lincoln made a requisition on Governor Seymour for twenty thousand militia, to aid in repelling the invasion; to which the latter responded by directing General Sandford, the commander of the New York City militia, to send every available regiment at his disposal to the seat of war for thirty days' service, and giving similar orders to the militia of the neighboring cities. The troops were immediately directed to hold themselves in readiness, and on the following day, the 16th of June, General Sandford issued a general order directing the regiments of the First Division of the New York State Militia, comprising all those belonging in New York City, to repair forthwith to Harrisburg. The Seventh Regiment at once led the way, followed within a few days by nearly all the rest of the city militia, as well as those of Brooklyn.* The result is well known: the tide of invasion was driven back, and the national holiday was gladdened by the news of the victory of Gettysburg and the capture of Vicksburg.

• Regiments. Commanders. Left NewYork. No. of Men.

Fourth..... Col. Daniel W. Teller.. June 20 500 Fifth...... Louis Burger... " 19 828.Sixth...... Joel W. Mason... " 22 656 Seventh.... " Marshall Lefferts.. " 16 850 Eighth..... " J. M. Varian.... " 18 371 Eleventh.. " J. Maidhoff.... 18 762 Twelfth... "' m. G. Ward... 19 684 Twenty-second. "Lloyd Aspinwall.. " 19 568 Thirty-seventh.. "Chas. Roome.... " 19 693 Fifty-fifth.... Eugene Le Gal... " 24 350 Sixty-ninth.... " James Bagley... " 22 600 Seventy-first... "B. L. Trafford... " 18 737 Eighty-fourth... "F. A. Conkling... July 3 480 8,079

Page 820

820 HISTORY OF THE This joy was soon overshadowed by the most humiliating event ever recorded in the annals of New York. The victories which rejoiced the hearts of the loyal citizens exasperated the disloyal part of the population, and urged them to desperate measures. The draft was to commence on the 11th of July, and the opportunity was seized to instigate an outbreak which might turn the scale anew. New York was in a most defenceless condition, being stripped of troops and devoid of any means of protection. Mayor Opdyke had remonstrated with Governor Seymour against thus draining the city of the militia on the eve of the draft, but the governor had replied that the orders of his superiors left him no discretion in the matter; and, moreover, that he was confident that the city would be safe under the protection of the police. Not sharing this security, the mayor ineffectually urged the governor to authorize the raising of twenty or thirty new regiments, in order to strengthen the militia force. Failing in this, he next asked the government to postpone the draft until the return of the troops from their thirty days' service; but this was not deemed advisable, and the draft was commenced under the direction of Colonel Nugent, the provost-marshal, on Saturday, the 11th of July, on the corner of Forty-sixth street and Third Avenue, in the ninth congressional district. A large crowd assembled, but the drafting proceeded quietly, amidst the apparent good-humor of the spectators, and it was generally supposed that the apprehended danger had passed by. The next day secret meetings were held, and measures were concerted to resist the draft by force. Early on Monday morning an organized band went from shop

Page 821

CITY OF NEW YORK. 821 to shop, persuading or coercing the men to quit their work and join the procession that was on its way to the provost-marshal's office in Third Avenue. Captain Jenkins and his assistants had just commenced drafting, when the report of a pistol was heard in the street, and at the signal a volley of paving-stones crashed through the windows, overturning the inkstands, and felling two or three of the officials to the ground. In an instant after the infuriated mob, suddenly fired with rage, burst open the doors, broke the furniture, destroyed the records, and beat and dispersed the officials. Deputy Provost-Marshal Vanderpoel was carried out for dead; the rest escaped uninjured. Not content with wreaking their vengeance on the drafting machinery, the rioters proceeded to fire the building, after pouring camphene on the floor, and the whole block between Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth streets was speedily reduced to ashes. Chief-Engineer Decker, of the Fire Department, hastened to the spot, but the rioters had gained possession of the hydrants, and would not suffer the firemen to have access to them till the flames were beyond control. The police were driven off, and Superintendent Kenne'dy was knocked down and nearly beaten to death. In this emergency the mayor made a requisition on General Sandford and General Wool to call out the troops under their command, and telegraphed to Governor Seymour urging him to send militia from the adjoining counties. He also telegraphed to the governors of the neighboring States, and requested the co-operation of Mr. Acton, the president of the police board. General Wool immediately ordered all the garrisons of the various fortifications in the neighborhood to repair to the city,

Page 822

822 HISTORY OF THE and requested Admiral Paulding to send the marines from the Brooklyn Navy Yard. General Harvey Brown was placed in immediate command of the forces in New York, and was stationed at the police headquarters, whence expeditions of the military and the police were sent in various directions to quell the riot wherever it was reported to be most formidable. General Sandford, with the handful of the militia that remained in the city, took up his headquarters at the Seventh Avenue Arsenal, which he defended from attack, dispersing several mobs in the vicinity, and General Wool and the mayor established themselves at the St. Nicholas. The Tenth New York Regiment, happily, had not yet left. It was ordered to remain, and was stationed, part in the City Arsenal and part in the arsenal at the Central Park. The entire force assembled in the city up to twelve o'clock at night did not amount to one thousand men. A detachment of the Invalid Corps of about fifty in number, under the command of Lieutenant Reed, was sent in a Third Avenue car to the scene of the riot at Forty-sixth street. The crowd, which by this time had swelled to an army of men, women and children, received notice of their coming, and tearing up the railroad tracks and breaking the telegraph wires, armed themselves therewith, and awaited them at Forty-third street. The soldiers left the car, and Lieutenant Reed, after vainly directing the mob to disperse, committed the fatal mistake of ordering his men to fire blank cartridges. The farcical discharge exasperated the rioters, who sprang on the troops, wrenched their muskets from their hands, and beat and maltreated them. The unfortunate soldiers fled in every direction, pursued

Page 823

CITY OF NEW YORK. 823 by the rioters; many were killed and nearly all severely injured... The police attempted to interfere, but were driven off with the loss of one of their number. The sight of blood intoxicated the mob, who lost sight of the draft to enter upon a crusade of murder and plunder. After sacking and burning two private residences in Lexington Avenue, one of which they wrongly supposed to belong to a deputy provost-mnarshal, they proceeded to the office of Provost-Marshal Manierre, in Broadway, near Twenty-eighth street, where the draft had also been commenced in the morning, but had been since suspended. A part of the crowd passed down Fifth Avenue. On their way they perceived the American flag displayed in honor of the late victories, over the residence of Judge White, in Fifth Avenue, near Thirty-fifth street. They halted and cried, "Haul down that d-d rag!" The order remaining unheeded, they flung stones through the windows and were about to set fire to the house, when some one proposed that they should first burn the provost-marshal's office, whereupon they left, promising to return and complete their work. In a short time the whole block in Broadway between Twenty-eighth and Twentyninth streets was in flames. The lower part was used for stores filled with costly articles, and the upper part was occupied as a fashionable boarding-house. The wildest confusionsprevailed. The rioters rifled the buildings of their contents, and the surrounding streets, usually the resort of fashionable promenaders, were soon filled with squalid men, women and children, laden with rich furniture, silver, and articles of wearing apparel. The neighborhood rang with the shouts and:yrlls of the lawless mob.

Page 824

824 IHIS-TORY. OF THE From this place the mob proceeded to the Colored Orphan Asylum in Fifth Avenue, between Forty-third and Forty-fourth streets, the home of seven or eight hundred colored children, and proceeded to demolish the building in order to gratify their spite against the negroes, whom they regarded as the prime cause of the draft. This feeling rapidly developed, and became one of the most prominent features of the riot. The unfortunate negroes were everywhere hunted down; the hotels and private houses where they were employed were attacked, and all who gave them shelter were threatened with violence. It is supposed that a dozen at least were brutally murdered during the course of the day. Some were driven into the river, and others beaten to death or suspended from the lampposts. One was thrown into a barrel of blazing whiskey; another, after having been beaten till he was senseless, was hung to a tree over a fire, where he remained until midnight, when he was taken down by the police. The thieves of the city boldly joined the mob, which now thought only of plunder. The Bull's Head Tavern, on Forty-fourth street, was burned to the ground because the proprietor refused to supply the rioters with liquor. The residence of Mayor Opdyke was attacked, and Postmaster Wakeman's house at Yorkville was burned to the ground, together with the Twenty-Third Precinct station-house in the vicinity. In the afternoon Mayor Opdyke issued a proclamation warning the rioters to desist from their proceedings and return to their homes. At the same time he authorized loyal citizens to organize defences on their own premises, and to shoot down any one who should

Page 825

CIT-Y- OF NEW YORK. 825 attempt to break in. A detachment of the police was sent to the Armory in Second Avenue, where a quantity of fire-arms was stored, and the superintendent was directed to arm his men, and to defend the building to the last extremity. The rioters made a furious onslaught on the premises, and were at first repulsed. They returned to the attack, and after a sharp conflict overpowered the defenders and fired the building, which fell, burying some of their number beneath the ruins. General Wool issued a proclamation to the veteran volunteers, requesting them to report the next morning at the police headquarters, at 300 Mulberry street, to aid in suppressing the riot. Meanwhile the work of devastation went on. The mob stopped the omnibuses, cars and carriages, broke the telegraph wires, and attacked and murdered the passers without provocation. No man of respectable appearance was safe. Toward evening an immense crowd assembled in Printing-House Square, in front of the Tribune office, and, after threatening demonstrations, attacked the building. They forced the doors, broke the counters and furniture, and had already kindled a fire, when a detachment of the police charged upon them and put them to flight. This was an unusual circumstance; in most of the collisions of the first day the police were overpowered. The most extravagant rumors were circulated; it was reported that the rioters had seized the gas-works and the reservoir, and were about to cut off the water and light. The inhabitants were panic-stricken; they were generally unarmed, flight was impossible, and the city lay at the mercy of a brute crowd. It was a true reign of terror. None who passed through that terrible night will ever

Page 826

826 HISTORY OF THE forget its horrors. Mobs sprang up in all parts of the city, the horizon was illumined with the flames of blazing houses in every direction, and the air rung with the yells of the rioters. Late in the evening a heavy shower extinguished the smouldering fires and cooled the fury of the crowd. The sun rose the next morning on a lugubrious scene. The usual street cries were hushed, and an appalling silence prevailed everywhere. No one ventured abroad, the tradesmen missed their daily rounds, and the breakfast-tables were left unsupplied. The stores were closed and the streets deserted, save by ruffianly men and fiendish women, who were seen prowling here and there, or occasionally a frightened negro crouching in a corner and wildly looking about for some means of escape. This day was even more fearful than the preceding one. The mob early recommenced its fiendish work, burning houses, shooting men, and, above all, persecuting the negroes. How many of this unfortunate race perished on that fearful day will never be truly known. Their houses were burned over their heads, and those who escaped from the flames were hunted down and put to death relentlessly. Negroes were seen hanging all day from the lamp-posts, without any one having the courage to cut them down. Age or sex was no protection from these fiends, who for a few hours held the whole city at their feet. In obedience to the call of General Wool, the exofficers of the returned regiments had met the evening before at the armory of the Seventh Regiment, and concerted measures for rallying their men on the next day, which was accordingly done. Several encounters

Page 827

CITY OF NEW YORK. 827 took place between the military and the rioters; and whenever ball-cartridges were promptly used, the latter fled. Lieutenant Wood, at the head of a hundred and fifty soldiers from Fort Lafayette, attempted to disperse a mob of two thousand men, near the corner of Grand and Pitt streets, by ordering his troops to fire over their heads. this unfortunate proceeding only exasperated the crowd, who answered with stones and other missiles. The troops at length aimed and fired at the rioters, who instantly dispersed, with a loss of twelve of their number. two of whom were children. Early in the morning news was received that a large mob had gathered in Thirty-fourth street for the purpose of plundering and burning the houses in that region. A squad of three hundred policemen, under Inspector Carpenter, was sent to the spot, and with some difficulty succeeded in dispersing the rioters. As they quitted the spot, they were met by Colonel H. T. O'Brien, of the Eleventh New York State Volunteers, with a detachment of soldiers and two field-pieces. Perceiving that the mob was rallying again, they retraced their steps, and were met with a volley of paving-stones and other missiles; without hesitation, they fired on the crowd, killing several, among others, a woman and two children. The rioters fled, uttering'hreats of vengeance against O'Brien. At noon a fierce battle was fought at the Union Steam Works, on the corner of Second Avenue and Twentysecond street, for the possession of the arms from the Armory, which had been secreted there the day before. After a protracted contest, the police and military succeeded in dispersing the rioters and taking from them a large quantity of arms.

Page 828

828 HISTORY OF THE Meanwhile, a bloody scene was being enacted close by. On returning to his head-quarters, Colonel O'Brien had learned that his house was attacked by the mob; he instantly proceeded thither, and found it sacked from top to bottom. Anxious to learn the fate of his family, he quitted the place and entered a drug-store on the corner of Thirty-fourth street, which was indi-rectly assailed with sticks and stones by the rioters. The proprietor entreated O'Brien to escape; but fearing no danger, he boldly stepped on the sidewalk to expostulate with the crowd, whereupon he was felled to the earth and stunned, after which his body was dragged for hours through the streets and exposed to the most brutal outrages. Two priests, who had been permitted to read the last prayers over the dying man, secretly carried his corpse by night in a cart to the dead-house at Bellevue. The mayor subsequently offered a special reward of five hundred dollars for the conviction of the perpetrators of this outrage, which was never avenged. At noon Governor Seymour arrived in the city and addressed a mild speech to the rioters from the steps of the City Hall, informing them that he had urged the government to consent to a suspension of the draft, and had been informed that it would be postponed. During the day the Common Council held a special meeting, and unanimously adopted an ordinance appropriating $2,500,000 to pay the commutation of drafted men. The mayor was urged to approve this ordinance at once, but firmly refused to do so till he had given the subject mature consideration; feeling, he said, that it would be purchasing the peace of the city too dearly thus to bow

Page 829

CITY OF NEW YORK. 829 to the dictation of the mob, and to nullify the draft by the expenditure of honor and the sacrifice of so much treasure. He afterwards vetoed the ordinance. At two in the afternoon the merchants and bankers assembled in force at the Merchants' Exchange, No. 111 Broadway, and on motion of John Austin Stevens, Jr., the secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, unanimously resolved to close their places of business, and to meet on the south side of Wall street for immediate organization in companies of hundreds, pursuant to the call of the mayor, to aid in suppressing the riot. Meanwhile the mayor telegraphed to the secretary of war, requesting him to send a military force to the city. At the same time he issued a proclamation, requesting loyal citizens to report at the police headquarters, No. 300 Mulberry street, for the purpose of being sworn in as special policemen for the preservation of law and order. The venders of arms and ammunition were& ordered to close their stores at once, and to cease selling to private persons; while those citizens whose houses were threatened by the rioters were furnished with arms for their defence. An attack on the gas-works being apprehended, the mayor directed a manufacturer of calcium lights to have a sufficient number of these lights in readiness to facilitate the movements of the forces in.case of need. The gas-works, however, were not molested. In the mean time the work of arson and pillage went on. Mr. Gibbons's house, in Lamartine Place, was sacked by the rioters, under the belief that it was the residence of Mr. Greeley, who chanced to be staying at the house of one of the editors of the Tribune on the same block.

Page 830

830 HISTORY OF THE Allerton's Hotel, the Weehawken Ferry-house, and the negro quarters in various parts of the city were burned during the day. At evening, the sky was illumined with the flames of the Eighteenth Precinct stationhouse, in East Twenty-second street, together with the fire-alarm bell-tower, No. 51 Engine Htouse, and a number of private dwellings, among others, the residence of Port Warden Peck, in East Thirty-third street. By this time, many of the citizens had armed their houses with muskets and hand-grenades, and in Printing-House Square two formidable rifled batteries, in front of the Times office, overawed the mob, and prevented a recurrence of the scenes of the preceding night. On Wednesday, the 15th, it was evident that the riot had reached its climax, and was on the wane, formidable as it still continued. The persecution of the negroes raged even worse than ever. The colored population were subjected to the most frightful atrocities; all day long the bodies of negroes hung suspended from trees and lamp-posts in various parts of the city, after their houses had been burned over their heads. The principal fires on this day were a lumberyard in Fourteenth street, and two large grain elevators in the Atlantic Dock Basin. The citizens, by this time, began to recover from their panic, and to take active measures for their protection. The secretary of war ordered home the regiments that were doing duty in Pennsylvania, while the police and military steadily gained the advantage in their collisions with the mob. On the afternoon of the 15th the mayor issued a proclamation, announcing that the

Page 831

CITY OF NEW YORK. 831 riot was in a great measure subdued, with the exception of the bands that were organized for the purpose of plunder, and requesting the citizens to form voluntary associations to patrol and guard their respective districts. He also declared that the lines of omnibuses, railroads and telegraphs, all of which had been suspended, must be put into full operation immediately, and promised them adequate military protection. On the evening of the 15th the Tenth and Fifty-sixth New York Regiments arrived from the seat of war, followed soon after by the Seventh, Eighth, Seventy-fourth and One Hundred and Sixty-second New York, and Twenty-sixth Michigan regiments. The news of the riot had fired the militia with indignation, and they were eager to reach the city to strike a blow at the dastardly enemy. At midnight on the 15th General Kilpatrick, who had obtained leave of absence from the Army of the Potomac for the express purpose of coming to New York to subdue the riot, arrived, and was placed in command of all the cavalry in the city. The presence of these troops overawed the mob, and the disturbance practically ceased on the 16th, though turbulent manifestations continued for some days after. It is just to say, however, that before the arrival of the militia, the combined action of the police and the citizens, together with the slender military force at the disposal of the authorities, had really sufficed to quell, in the short space of three days, one of the most formidable riots ever known. On the 16th Archbishop Hughes invited the rioters to assemble the next day, Friday, in front of his residence on the corner of Madison Avenue and Thirty-sixth

Page 832

832 HISTORY OF THE street, where he would address them. Some five or six thousand persons gathered on the spot. The archbishop appeared on the balcony in his pontifical robes, and exhorted his hearers to return to their homes, and to offer no further resistance to the government. The command was obeyed; the crowd dispersed quietly, and no disturbance ensued. A large cavalry force patrolled the disaffected district during the night without opposition. The next morning seventy stands of arms and several casks of paving-stones, which had been secreted by the rioters, were found and captured. On the 17th the mayor issued a proclamation declaring that order was restored. A few days after a reward was offered for the conviction of those who had been guilty of murderr arson in the late riot. Many of the ringleaders were arrested and brought to trial; some were convicted and punished, but none in a degree commensurate with their crime. A man by the name of Andrews was accused of having been the most active of the rioters. In all probability the secret history of this terrible affair and its real instigators still remains unwritten. The number that perished therein is unknown. Thekilled and wounded were estimated by the police at one thousand. The mob and the colored population suffered most severely, the loss of the military forces and the police being comparatively slight. The city subsequently paid about $1,500,000 in indemnification for the losses sustained through the riot. Had the militia been in New York, it is not probable that the riot would have lasted a single day. As it was, it is doubtful whether any outbreak of such magnitude was ever subdued in so short a time, with such slender

Page 833

CITY OF NEW Y~Or K. 833 forces and so little loss. The draft met with like opposition everywhere; in Boston a formidable riot broke out, which was suppressed by a strong military organization, and similar disturbances occurred in several of the Eastern and Western States. The Common Council subsequently passed a relief bill to pay $300 commutation to every drafted man in indigent circumstances. The draft was resumed in the autumn, and was peacefully concluded. New auxiliaries soon strengthened the army and lessened the necessity of conscription. On the 3d of December the Committee on Volunteering of the Union League Club obtained permission from the war department to raise a colored regiment, to be known as the Twentieth Regiment of Colored Troops, to whom no bounties would be paid, and who would receive ten dollars per month. In spite of these hard conditions, in fourteen days the work was so far advanced that the committee felt justified in applying for leave to raise another regiment, which was granted on the 5th of January, 1864. On the 27th of January this regiment, the Twenty-sixth, was likewise full, and authority was asked and received to raise a third, the Thirty-first. On account of delay in obtaining arms, the Twentieth Regiment did not leave for New Orleans until the 5th Qf March, when, after a presentation of colors from the ladies of New York in front of the Club House, where they were addressed by Charles King, the president of Columbia College, they marched down Broadway a thousand strong, escorted by the Club, amidst a brilliant ovation, which exhibited a striking contrast to the scene of a few months before, when their race had been hunted through the streets. 3

Page 834

834 HISTORY OF TiHE In December, 1863, C. Godfrey Gunther, a New York merchant, was elected mayor by the democratic party, who thus regained the ascendancy in the executive department of the city government. The spring of 1864 was rendered noticeable by a series of fairs, held in all the large cities through the North, for the benefit of the United States Sanitary Commission. Chief among these was the great Metropolitan Fair in New York City, which was opened on the 5th of April, and which netted $1,100,000, for the relief of the soldiers, a sum exceeding that produced by any other fair in the country. Two large buildings were erected for the purpose, one in Fourteenth street, near Sixth Avenue, and the other in Seventeenth street, on Union Square, both of which were filled with stalls loaded with articles for sale, and presided over by the most beautiful and fashionable women of the city. This fair was the ruling sensation of the day, and no pains were spared to render it attractive. The most striking feature in the Seventeenth street building was the Knickerbocker Kitchen, which was fitted up in the style of the old Dutch Colony times, with genuine relics furnished by the descendants of Stuyvesant and his contemporaries, who, arrayed in the fashion of those ancient times, served doughnuts and waffles to the curious spectators. The larger building in Fourteenth street contained several departments apart from the fair proper; among others, a fine picture-gallery, rich in works of art, loaned or donated by the owners, a hall of arms and trophies, a curiosity-shop, which was a veritable bazaar of quaint relics, and a Sunny Side pavilion, wherein were assembled a choice collection

Page 835

CITY OF NEW YORK. 835 of mementoes of Washington Irving, that kingiy author to whom New York claims the honor of having given birth, and whose early home, now swept away by the tide of business, might long have been seen in William, between John and Fulton streets. The fair was in every respect a success, and remains one of the pleasantest reminiscences of the times. A sanitary fair had been held in Brooklyn, in February, from which over five hundred thousand dollars were realized. The opening of the campaign was gloomy. The Union forces met with reverse after reverse in Florida, Louisiana and North Carolina, and the bloody massacre at Fort Pillow filled the public mind with grief and indignation. Repeated calls were made for troops, and New York continued her inexhaustible supplies of men and money. According to the official report of the Committee on Volunteering, the total number of men furnished by New York City from the beginning of the war to the 1st of October, 1864, was one hundred and twenty-six thousand three hundred and ten. In March, Ulysses S. Grant was appointed Lieutenant-General, and placed in command of the armies of the United States. He immediately made preparations for an advance upon Richmond, and early in May the final struggle commenced, and with it the most sanguinary season of the war. This bloody May will long be remembered; the battles of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania Court House, favorable as was their result, appalled the public by the terrible loss of life which they involved. The whole summer was one of combat; but the era of decided success began with Farragut's victory in Mobile Bay; the fall of Atlanta followed;

Page 836

836 HISTORY OF THE then came Sheridan's famous ride through the Shenandoah Valley, Stoneman's raid and Sherman's triumphal march along the seaboard; and the year ended with the capture of Savannah and the fall of Fort Fisher. The presidential election was the great event of the autumn. A recurrence of the riots was apprehended in New York, and vigilant measures were taken by the authorities to provide against this emergency. A report having been spread that rebel agents in Canada designed to send large bodies of men into the United States, with a view to vote at the approaching election, General Dix, who was then in command of the Department of the East, issued an order requiring all persons from the insurrectionary States to report themselves for registry. In pursuance with this order, several hundred Southerners appeared at the head-quarters of General Peck, No. 37 Bleecker street, and were duly registered. On the 2d of November the mayor received a telegram from the secretary of war, informing him that there was a conspiracy on foot to fire the principal Northern cities on the day of the election. The mayor answered, expressing his disbelief in such an attempt, but promising to take precautions against it, and to invoke the Federal assistance if necessary. The government deemed it advisable, however, without interfering with the election, to procure ample means of protection, and for this purpose, despatched General Butler from Fortress Monroe to New York, to take command of the troops in the city, where he arrived on the 4th of November. On the ensuing Monday seven thousand troops landed at Fort Hamilton and Governor's Island. The next morning these troops were

Page 837

CITY OF NEW YORK. 837 embarked on steamers and stationed off the Battery, and in the North and East Rivers, where they remained for the next three days, within call in case of need. The day passed off quietly, and Abraham Lincoln was the second time elected President of the United States. The alarm had not. been groundless; scarcely were the troops removed from the city, when on the night of the 25th of November the St. James, St. Nicholas and Metropolitan Hotels, Lafarge House, Barnum's Museum, United States Hotel, Astor House, Lovejoy's Hotel, Tammany Hotel, New England House, Howard House, Belmont House, Fifth Avenue Hotel, Hartford Hotel, and some shipping and a lumber yard on the North River, were one after the other discovered to be in flames. The incendiaries, furnished with small travelling bags containing the materials for destruction, had taken rooms at the divers hotels like ordinary lodgers, and closing the shutters of their apartments, had torn up the bedding, saturated it and the furniture with phosphorus and turpentine, and, after lighting a slow match, locked the doors and left the houses to burn with their inmates. The precautions which they had taken to avert a premature discovery foiled the attempt; the flames were smothered in the tightly closed rooms, and were speedily extinguished. One of the participators in this horrible crime, Robert Kennedy, was subsequently arrested and hung, having first confessed that he had formed one of a party of eight, organized for the purpose of firing the principal buildings in New York City, in retaliation for Sheridan's raid in the Shenandoah Valley. In the autumn of 1864 Professor Goldwin Smith

Page 838

838 HIISTORY OF THE visited the United States to witness the presidential election, and was received with enthusiasm, as the representative of the band that had nobly upheld the cause of the Union in Europe from the beginning of the struggle. Prominent among these were Cobden, Bright, Mill, Cairnes and Smith, in England; and De Gasparin, Laboulaye, Cochin and Martin in France. Count De Gasparin was the earliest champion of the North in Europe; his book, The Uprising of a Great People, which was published in Paris almost simultaneously with the breaking out of the conflict, appeared in New York about the time of the disaster of Bull Run, and flashed like inspiration from Maine to California, reviving the drooping spirits of the nation. Augustin Cochin's great work on the abolition of slavery appeared just before the emancipation proclamation, and equalled a whole phalanx in support of that beneficent measure; Edouard Laboulaye, by his brilliant lectures before the College of France and his successful extravaganza, Paris in America, did more than almost any other man to mould French public opinion in favor of the Union; and Henri Martin, the celebrated historian, never failed in all his writings to express his cordial sympathy with the American Republic. Across the Channel, John Bright, Richard Cobden, John Stuart Mill and Professors Cairnes and Smith, labored with equal zeal to defend the North against the bias of their government, which so nearly involved us in foreign war. This brilliant galaxy of names will rank side by side with that of Lafayette and Beaumarchais in the eyes of posterity. Goldwin Smith met a cordial welcome in New York. On the 12th of November a public recep

Page 839

CITY OF NEW YORK. 839 tlon was given him by the Union League Club, -at their rooms.in Union Square, where a magnificent banquet was served, presided over by Charles Butler, of New York, at which a large number of the most distinguished men of the country were present, together with Auguste Laugel, the able advocate of the Union in the columns of Revue des Duex Mondes. At the risk of some repetition, we recur to the Union League Club, in order to give in this place a brief sketch of its rise and progress, without which a chronicle of the times would be signally incomplete, and which must remain a matter of historic interest in the annals of New York. The part borne through the war by the club, which the Hon. Schuyler Colfax, speaker of the House of Representatives, fitly characterized as that "noble organization on which the government leaned in the darkest hours of trial and peril," forms so illustrious a feature in the recent history of New York, that some sketch of its organization, progress and results becomes a necessary appendage to a complete history of the national metropolis. The proposition of Mayor Fernando Wood in January, 1861, that the City of New York should withdraw, not simply from the Union, but from the State, and become a free city, afforded a striking proof of the absence of national American sentiment in the democratic masses, to whose sympathies the mayor appealed; and the subsequent efforts of leading democrats to secure, through Lord Lyons, British intervention in our domestic affairs, indicated the strength of their feeling in behalf of the rebellion, and the grounds upon which its leaders had confidently counted

Page 840

840 HIISTOIY OF THE upon the effective sympathy of New York. Subsequent exhibitions of that same un-American sentiment were afforded by Mayor Gunther's attempt to arrest the foreign emigration, which flowed in as life-blood to invigorate the republic in the struggle, and to check the joy of our citizens at the victories of our soldiers and the triumph of the American flag. In January, 1863, the Union League Club was formed by gentlemen who had already, for some two years, been associated in the effort to encourage and sustain the government in the struggle with the rebellion, and who now found it essential to present an united front in behalf of the true spirit of the nation against the insidious treason which lurked all around them, and against " the dwarfed and pinched ideas of a nationality which, unable to embrace the expanse of a continent, or the dignity and welfare of a nation, was restricted to the interest of a faction, the confines of a state, even the suburbs of a city." They felt that the purifying of the social circles of the national metropolis would tend more than anything else to brighten everywhere the national atmosphere. The call issued was for the formation of a club, to be known as "The National Club," the object of which should be to cultivate a profound national devotion, as distinguished from state or sectional feeling, to strengthen a love and respect for the Union and discourage whatever tended to give undue prominence to purely local interests, to discuss and urge upon public attention large and noble schemes of national advancement, to elevate and uphold the popular faith in republican government, to dignify politics as a pursuit and a study,

Page 841

CITY OF NEW YORK. 841 to awaken a practical interest in public affairs ill those who had become discouraged, to enforce a sense of the sacred obligations inherent in citizenship, and finally to bring to bear upon the national life all that a body of earnest and patriotic men could accomplish by united effort. The call was promptly responded to by the influential gentlemen to whom it was addressed, and on the 6th of February the articles of association were adopted under the name of "The Union League Club." The articles were brief and simple, and appealed to loyal citizens of all parties. They read as follows: "1. The condition of membership shall be absolute "and unqualified loyalty to the government of the "United States, and unwavering support of its efforts " for the suppression of the rebellion. " 2. The primary object of the association shall be to " discountenance and rebuke by moral and social influ" ences all disloyalty to the Federal Government, and " to that end the members will use every proper means' in public and private. " 3. We pledge ourselves by every means in our "power, collectively and individually, to resist to the "uttermost every attempt against the territorial integ"rity of the nation." The five hundred members who were presently enrolled largely represented the olden respectability and the substantial worth of New York. Among the great commercial names were those of Astor, Bininger, Benkard, Brooks, Brown, Chittenden, Constable, Delano, Drew, Forbes, Grinnell, Greene, Griswold, Haggerty, Hall, Jones, Lorillard, Le Roy, Marshall, Minturn, Nye,

Page 842

842 HISTORY OF TIIE Parish, Pell, Prime, Roosevelt, Shermall, Schultz, Spofford, Stewart, Schieffelin, Sturges, Vermilye and Wolfe. Descendants of the Dutch, English and Iluguenots prominent in our colonial and revolutionary history, appear in the names of Beekman, De Forest, De Peyster, Fish, Gerry, Hamilton, Jay, King, Murray, Putnam, Stuyvesant, Suydam, Van Duzen, Van Nostrand, Van Rensselaer, Van Wart, Van Winkle and Winthrop. Names of note in American literature, law, science and art: Bancroft, Bristed, Bryant, Butler, Irving, Sedgwick, Webster, Tuckerman; Bonney, Evarts, Bowne, Cutting, Emmet, Murray, Hoffman, Noyes, Stoughton, Strong and Swan; LeGrand Cannon, Cyrus Field, Cisco, Bacon, Delafield, Doremus and Joy; Blodgett, Cropsey, Hunt, Johnston, Kensett; with such representation of modern Europe as Iselin from France, Detmold and Lieber from Germany, and Botta from Italy. In March a committee of five were appointed to confer with similar committees of the Union League Clubs in Philadelphia and Baltimore, with reference to the establishment of a common basis of action, and in April a committee of one hundred gentlemen from the Philadelphia Club, embracing names equally eminent in law, literature, science, and commerce, came to New York, were welcomed by the Union League in their new Club House, entertained at Delmonico's, and assisted at the grand Sumter celebration in Union Square. On the Fourth of July the Clubs had arranged for a joint celebration of the day, and a further conference at Philadelphia; but the rebel invasion of Pennsylvania gave to the national anniversary new memories on the

Page 843

CITY OF NEW YORK. 843 field of' Gettysburg, and soon afterwards in New York, where the leaders of the rebellion were jprepared in case Lee had been victorious to inaugurate " the Fourth' by a revolutionary coup dtat, the rebel element, disappointed by the great victory of Meade, broke out in riots, robbery, arson, and murder, in which a brutality that might have shocked the Jacobins of Paris, was inaugurated against the negroes, until the military and metropolitan police, with a slender force, but a most gallant spirit, met and checked the rioters with so firm a hand that with their dispersion and defeat perished the last hope of the rebels of inaugurating a successful Northern insurrection against nationality, liberty and law. The Club resolved to exert its already large influence in the approaching presidential election for the success of the Union cause, and on the evening of the 8th of November, 1863, they had the satisfaction of knowing that the State of New York was again arrayed on the side of nationality and freedom, and that the re-election of Mr. Lincoln ensured the life of the republic. The same month the Committee on Volunteering, consisting of Messrs. Van Rensselaer, Carman, Roosevelt, Cowdin, Kirkland, Bacon, Bliss, Schultz and Cromwell, after a vain effort to procure any authority or sanctikon from Governor Seymour, was authorized by the War Department to raise the Twentieth United States Regiment of colored troops, and the work proceeded so rapidly under the direction of Mr. Vincent Collyer, that, as we have already mentioned, in fourteen days the committee applied for authority to raise a second regiment, the Twenty-sixth United States colored troops, and this again was succeeded by a third.

Page 844

844 III-STORY OF TIIE The Twentieth Regiment, as before described, on the 5th of March, was reviewed in front of the Club House in Union Square, where it was presented with a banner prepared by the mothers, wives and sisters of the rnenibers of the Club, accompanied by an -addrless wriitten by the poet, Henry J. Tuckerman, and signled by the donors.* The regiment, after an address by Mr. Charles King, and a response by the commanding officer, Colonel Bartram, marched down Broadway escorted by the Club, and from that day, when in our streets, colored men were welcomed with an ovation instead of a massacre, it was clear that thenceforth in New York black men has rights which white men were bound to respect. On the morning of Easter Sunday, the 27th of March, the Twenty-sixth Regiment embarked for Annapolis, attended by a few ladies and gentlemen on board the steamer, where the colors prepared for them were pre* These names are worthy of record as indicating to future generations the part borne, in one of the most significant events of the war-for the action of New York in the case influenced the sentiment of the whole country-by the women who so prominently represented the national sentiment as well as the culture and refinement of the republic. Mrs. J. J. Astor, Mrs. J. W. Bigelow, Mrs. J. McKaye, G. W. Blunt, " M. 0. Roberts, " W. L. Felt, J. W. Beekman, H". K. Bogart, " F. Haskell, S. Wetmore, " E. C. IIall, " Isaac Ames, S. B. Chittenden, " J. Le Roy, L. F. Warner, G. Bliss, Jr., " J. Brown, A. G. Phelps, S. J. Bacon, " M. Clarkson, " N. Chandler, R. B. Minturn, " J. O. Stone, " H. Potter, Charles King, "J. G. King, Jr., " P. S.Van Renselaer, S. Mr. Bridgham, " H. Van Rensselaer. " Walter, W. E. Dodge, " J. A. King, Jr., H". Baldwin, R. Stebbins, " J. C. Cassegee, " H. G. Thomson, " S. B. Schieffelin, " J. L. Kennedy, " F. C. Pendexter, Miss King, " F. Prime, " H. C. Chapman, Mrs. J. B. Johnson, " Barnwell,' G. Bancroft, N. D. Smith, " Wheelwright, " M. K. Jessup, " T. M. Cheesman, E. Collins, ".C. B. Davis, H. A. Colt, " Bradish, ". H. Schieffelin, A. P. Mann, " Bruce, " C C. Dodge,

Page 845

CITY OF NEW YORK. 845 sented by Mr. John Jay, whose address was earnestly responded to by Colonel Silliman, who soon after fell in defence of the flag to which he touchingly declared the devotion of his soldiers and himself. These two regiments and the Thirty-first, which was next filled up by the Club, exhibited in their career during the war, combined with an admirable drill and discipline, a spirit of earnest patriotism and fearless bravery. A second Committee on Volunteering, consisting of Messrs. Bliss, Roosevelt, Handy, Hyatt, Hoyt, Swift, Schultz, Williams, Fogg, Murdock, Fellows, Fuller, Halstead, Satterlee, Churchill and Grinnell, was appointed at the request of General Hancock to recruit for the Second Corps. They raised some $230,000 and upwards of three thousand men, making the total of troops placed in the field by the Club within the year six thousand' men. Mrs. J. J. Phelps, Mrs. Tuckerman, Mrs. John Jay, cG. B. De Forest, " Shaw, " E. M. Young, "' Le G. B. Cannon Williams, " J. T. Schultz, W. A. Butler, " P. Richards, " J. E. Brenly, " U. A. Murdock, " R. Winthrop, " H. Chauncy, A. Dunlap, " Weeks, " R. M. Hunt, T. E. Howe, " Jaques, Jones, W. H. Lee, " A. Brooks, Miss J. Schieffelin. W. E. Dodge, Jr., " W. Felt, " Fish, David Hoadly, " J. W. Goddard, " Jay, " C. Luddington, " F. G. Shaw, " Anna Jay. " G. Lemist, " R. G. Shaw, " Young, " E. C. Cowdin, " G. W. Curtis, " Schultz. J. A. Roosevelt, " R. C. Lovell, " Russel, " J. Sampson, C. M. Kirkland, " J. M. King, R. B. Minturn, Jr., " B. De Forest, " Cochrane, Alfred Pell, Jr., " Boerum, Mrs. Vincent Colyer, " W. Hutchins, " Hamilton Fish, C. C. Hunt, " Geo. Opdyke, " Alfred Pell, C. Williams, " G. C. Ward, " Kennedy, " E. H. Chauncy, C. G. Judson, " J. Johnston, " E. W. Cruger, S. W. Roosevelt, " T. L. Beekman, "W. C. Bryant, E. D. Smith, " J. F. Gray, " F. B. Goodwin, S. Gandy, " J. Tuckerman, " Emily Boertum, R. L. Stuart, " F. A. Whittaker, Miss Norsworthy. " E. W. Stoughton, " J. H. Macy, " F. H. Macy,

Page 846

846 HISTORY OF THE Another was the " Protective War-Claim Association "and Employment Bureau for Discharged and Disabled "' Soldiers," under the direction of Messrs. Howard Potter, Winm. E. Dodge and Theo. Roosevelt. A happy thought happily executed in November, was that of providing a thanksgiving dinner for our soldiers and sailors. Gen. Grant afforded every assistance for the distribution of the gifts to the Army of the Shenandoah, to the Atlantic Squadron, to the Armies of the Potomac and the James, and to some fifteen forts and hospitals, remarking that "it was not the bit of turkey " that the soldiers would care for, but the thought that " they were kindly remembered at the North." In January, 1865, the before-mentioned Soldiers' Rest was established in New York for the comfort of soldiers passing through the city, under the care of Messrs. Dale, Hayes, Schultz, Lawrence, Bliss and Howe; and the same month the Club despatched a committee to Washington to urge the adoption of the Constitutional amendment abolishing slavery. The committee remained at the capital until that great work was accomplished, and in their report sketched the memorable scene in the House on the adoption of the amendment. After the murder of President Lincoln, the Club was represented at his funeral at Washington, and the committee the next day waited upon President Johnson, the secretaries of the departments and the chief justice, giving assurance that the Club on that momentous occasion renewed its engagements of loyalty and service towards the government and the country. In reply to an address made him by Mr. Jay, on behalf of the Club,

Page 847

CITY OF NEW YORK. 847 President Johnson, after thanking the Club for their encouragement as "especially appropriate," assured them that " the idea that justice should be observed " was one that had strongly impressed him," that " all "crimes were submerged in treason, and that we must "look to it in this light in the carrying out of stern, "inflexible justice." In July the Club took effective measures for the suitable care and reception of regiments returning from the war, and Gov. Fenton, in returning thanks to the Club on behalf of the State and of the soldiers, whose welfare it had largely promoted, said: " It is a source of grateful feeling and pride that the "wise and humane provisions of the State have been "encouraged and advanced by your body. An associ"ation which had its origin in the patriotic impulse " stimulated by the war and the necessity of systematized " effort, may properly receive the thanks of an apprecia"tive people, and be proud of a record which declares "it faithful in the beginning, hopeful, watchful and " unwearied during the period of greatest despondency " and gloom, and devoted, sympathizing and humane to " the brave defenders of our Union in the end." In the work of reconstruction the Club spoke and acted with the same distinctness and promptitude as it had done during the war. In June, 1865, with but one dissenting voice, it " in" voked the influence of the national authorities in the' establishing of a system of suffrage in the late rebel"lious States, which shall be equal and just to all with"out distinction of color," and soon afterwards it appointed a committee to co-operate with the "New York

Page 848

848 II I S T O RY OF THE "National Freedmen's Relief Association,7" in securing among the negroes the general diffusion of education. In March, 1865, it gave its approval to the action of Congress on the subject of reconstruction, in April it endorsed the passage of the Civil Rights Bill, and in September, 1866, the Club invited and entertained at New York the Convention of Southern Loyalists who had met at Philadelphia. In January, 1866, the main object of the Club, the preservation of the country, having been accomplished, it adopted a new article making it "the duty of "the Club to resist and expose corruption and promote "reform in our national, state and municipal affairs, and " to elevate the idea of American citizenship." The influence of the Club has already secured for New York a Paid Fire Department and a Board of Health, and it has spoken with great effect upon the subject of legislative corruption, rousing the attention of the State and the nation to the fatal consequences of permitting government to be converted by lawless politicians into a machine for plundering and oppressing the people. In pursuance of the latter object, a committee of eleven was appointed by it to suggest changes in the government of the city to the Constitutional Convention. Among the duties early assumed, and always gracefully performed by the Club, has been that of extending a cordial welcome to all entitled to such an honor. It thus received, during and since the war, LieutenantGeneral Grant and his most eminent commanders; Admiral Farragut, Dupont, Rogers, Winslow, after destroying the Kearsarge, and Cushing, after sinking the

Page 849

CITY OF NEW YORfK. 849 Albemarle; the governors of States; Fessenden, Sherman and others of the Senate; and Speaker Colfax' and prominent members of the House. Among the honors paid at the Club House to foreigners, the breakfast to Professor Goldwin Smith was perhaps the most, memorable, from the brilliancy of the circle then assembled. Some of the ablest of the statesmen and publicists of Europe are occasional correspondents of the Club, and among the portraits that adorn its walls are those of Cobden and Bright, Laboulaye and Gasparin. The artists of New York, than whom there was no more loyal class during the war, are prominently represented, and an Art Committee, composed of Messrs. Putnam, Kensett, Cropsey, Colyer, Butler, Stone and Holbrook, adorn the club room at the monthly meetings with works of art from the studios of the city, which are left open for inspection by the wives and daughters of the members. The Club has recently resolved, on the suggestion of Mr. Alexander T. Stewart, to raise half a million dollars for the erection of a new Club House, and the work is entrusted to a committee of which Mr. Stewart is the chairman. The presidents of the Club have been Robert B. Minturn, Jonathan Sturges, Charles H. Marshall and John Jay. Of these Messrs. Minturn and Marshall are deceased. It has been well said that the community, with pride and affection, recognizes in the Club "a great power "employed with generous and earnest zeal in the pro"motion of patriotism, humanity and justice.... Ever "foremost in duty, it has never broken ranks..... The C" lub has no long history to point back. to, but it has "lived long enough to see every principle and every54

Page 850

850 HISTORY OF THE "measure which it has vindicated honorably successful.'" The year 1865 opened brilliantly with the fall of Fort Fisher. Victories crowded upon each other; the capture of Columbia and Savannah, the brilliant raid of Sheridan, the successful advance of the Army of the Potomac, and, last of all, the fall of Richmond on the 3d of April, dazzled the public mind. A New Yorker, Lieutenant DIe Peyster, a member of one of the most distinguished of the Knickerbocker families, was the first to raise the National flag anew over the Confederate Capitol. The news of the fall of Richmond was received in New York with unbounded rejoicing. The whole city seemed intoxicated with delight. The streets were thronged with joyous crowds, flags were displayed everywhere, and the air rang with the booming of cannon and the chimes of bells in honor of the virtual termination of the great conflict. The surrender of Lee, on the 9th of April, left only a handful of insurgents in the field, who were subdued in the course of a few months. The interval between joy and mourning was short. On the morning of the 15th of April the whole community was paralyzed by the announcement that the President of the United States had been stricken down, the night before, by the bullet of an assassin, and that the secretary of state and his son had been attacked and well nigh murdered. As if by a spontaneous impulse, scarcely was the news received at half-past seven, that the President had breathed his last, when the whole city, from the most sumptuous edifices to the humblest tenements, appeared draped in mourning.

Page 851

CITY OF NEW YORK. 851 Business was entirely suspended, the stores were closed, and the streets were thronged with crowds bewailing the loved head of the nation, and breathing forth vengeance on his murderers. Never before was such a scene beheld in busy New York, thus suddenly transformed into a city of mourners. At twelve o'clock, an immense meeting assembled at the Custom House. Simeon Draper, the collector of the port, was chosen president, Moses Taylor and Moses H. Grinnell, vicepresidents, and Henry M. Taber and S. B. tChittenden, secretaries. The meeting was addressed by Generals Wetmore, Garfield and Butler, Ex-Governor King, Daniel S. Dickinson, Judge Pierrepont, and'several others, and a committee of thirteen citizens of New York was appointed to be sent to Washington to attend the funeral of the President, and to tender all needful aid and sympathy to the government. This committee consisted of Moses Taylor, Jonathan -Sturges, William E. Dodge, Hamilton Fish, Moses H. Grinnell, William M. Evarts, Charles H. Russell, Edwards Pierrepont, Samuel Sloan, John J. Astor, Jr., F. B. Cutting, R. M. Blatchford, and Charles H. Marshall. It was also recommended that all places of business and of public amusement should remain closed until after the funeral of the President. At one o'clock, a meeting was held at the Chamber of Commerce, at which Charles H. Marshall acted as chairman, and John Austin Stevens as secretary. The rooms of the Chamber were hung with mourning. Resolutions expressive of respect for the memory of Mr. Lincoln, and of condolence with his family, and that of Mr. Seward, were unanimously adopted, and

Page 852

852 EHISTORY OF THE the meeting joined with that at the Custom House in recommending the closing of all places of business and amusement until after the obsequies of the President. The Boards of Stock Brokers and Gold Brokers adjourned at once, without transacting any business. In Nassau street, in front of the Post Office, a large concourse of citizens was addressed by General Burnside. The Courts and Boards of Aldermen. Councilmen and Supervisors adjourned, after passing resolutions of condolence with the nation in its affliction. The chief of the police acted on the recommendation of the merchants, and issued an order directing that all places of amusement should remain closed until after the burial of the President, a course which had been previously resolved upon by the Association of New York Managers. The pervading thought of the city was grief and indignation at this base assassination; and it is just to say that this indignation seemed universal, and with scarcely an exception, was shared by those who had sympathized with the South during the struggle. The death of the martyred President was the general topic of discourse the next day in the Christianl churches, as it had been the day before in the Jewish synagogues. From that time until the remains of President Lincoln passed through New York on their way to their final resting place in Illinois, the city was engrossed in preparations to do honor to the illustrious dead. The 19th of April, a date memorable in the annals of America, was observed as a day of mourning by the whole nation. On that day, funeral services were performed'at the White House, and the body of

Page 853

CITY OF NEW YORIK. 853 Mr. Lincoln was removed to the Capitol, where it lay in state until the morning of the 21st, when the funeral train set out for Illinois by nearly the same route as that taken by Mr. Lincoln on his way to Washington in, 1861. His was a triumphal, though mournful return. The districts which had then been most, hostile, now received him with reverence; Baltimore, through which he had passed secretly by night, and which had justified this precaution by shooting down the Union soldiers a few weeks after, greeted the mournful procession with the deepest respect, as did all other places on the route. By night and day the funeral train passed through a crowd of mourners. Imposing as were the demonstrations everywhere else, they were surpassed by the City of New York. The City Hall had been prepared for the reception of the honored remains, which were escorted thither from the Cortlandt Street Ferry, upon their arrival on the 24th of April, by a sea of human beings; while minute guns were fired along the entire route, and the bells of all the churches tolled mournfully. The coffinr, was borne into the rotunda of the City Hall, amid the chanting'of eight hundred singers, and placed on the magnificent catafalque which had been prepared for it, where it remained buried beneath flowers until the afternoon of the next day. An immense procession of people, miles in length, had already formed, and during the whole twenty-four hours this stream of men, women and children slowly filed through the City Hall, to look for the last time on the face of the dead President. A large military guard kept constant watch over the remains, and at midnight

Page 854

854 1HISTORY OF THE the German musical societies performed a solemn chant in the rotunda of the City Hall. When the time arrived for departure, thousands who had waited in line for hours to pay their last respects to the dead, were obliged to turn away disappointed. On the afternoon of the 25th of April New York City took its final leave of President Lincoln. The remains were escorted to the railroad depot by a procession nearly five miles in length, composed of a military force of more than fifteen thousand men, together with numerous civic officers and societies. Last in the procession marched two thousand colored citizens. Along the whole line the streets were thronged with mourners. Every window and balcony was filled, and every house was shrouded in funereal drapery. Even the denizens of the poorest quarters of the city, who could scarce buy bread, eked out the means to provide shreds of crape, by which to express their sorrow; while the most tasteful arches, inscriptions and mourning devices lined the streets through which the funeral train passed. A large assemblage met in the afternoon in Union Square to listen to a funeral oration from the Hon. George Bancroft, and an eulogy from William Cullen Bryant. On the 3d of May, after a journey of more than seventeen hundred miles, the funeral party reached Springfield, Illinois, and on the next day the remains of President Lincoln were laid to rest in Oak Ridge Cemetery, near by. In the spring of 1865 an important change was effected in the municipal affairs by the substitution of a paid Fire Department for the volunteer Fire Department that had hitherto existed. On the 30th of March the

Page 855

CITY OF NEW YORK. 855

---

- -— ~ —-~Lower Arsenal.

Legislature passed an act providing for the creation of a board of four fire commissioners, to be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, who were to have control of the new Fire Department. Charles C. Pinckney, James W. Booth, Philip W. Engs and Martin B. Brown were appointed commissioners, and on the 2d of May, the paid Fire Department was organized. A radical change was at once effected in the prevailing system: steam fire-engines were everywhere adopted within the limits of the city proper in lieu of the old hand-engines, the telegraph facilities were improved, and many important ameliorations were made. The innovation at first called forth the most violent opposition from the members of the former organization, who protested that the act was

Page 856

856 HISTORY OF THE unconstitutional. The case was carried before the Court of Appeals, which affirmed the constitutionality of the law. Fears were entertained lest the antagonism of the volunteer firemen, some of whom at first assumed a position of open hostility, and refused to surrender the property of the Fire Department, might endanger the city in case of conflagration; the opposition, however, was peacefully subdued with no more agitation than might have been expected from so important a transformation. One of the most strikingly beautiful buildings erected in New York during this year was the National Academy of Design, on the corner of Twenty-third street and Fourth Avenue, a tasteful structure of graywacke and white marble, which is one of the architectural ornaments of the city. The first organized effort to establish an art institution in the city was that of the "New " York Academy of Fine Arts," in 1802, which was chartered in 1808, under the name of the Academy of Arts, with Robert R. Livingston as president, John Trumbull as vice-president, and De Witt Clinton as secretary, Trumbull being the only artist. The first exhibition was held in Greenwich street, near Morris, in a building.formerly used as a circus. In 1825 an association was formed by the artists of the city under the name of the.New York Drawing Association, which was afterwards organized under the name of the National Academy of'the Arts of Design, with S. F. B. Morse as the first president. The first public exhibition of the new academy took place in May, 1826, in the house on the south-west corner of Broadway and Reade street. The room in which the exhibition was held was in the second

Page 857

CITY OF NEW YORK. 857 story, and was lighted with gas, six burners in all for the whole exhibition, which consisted of one hundred and seventy pictures. From this small beginning grew the present Academy of Design. Perhaps the most noticeable fire of the year was that of Barnum's Museum, on the corner of Broadway and Ann street, which was burned on the 13th of July; an old landmark, which has since been replaced by the Herald building. A tragic event that occurred in the autumn excited great attention. On the 12th of November, the Hon. Preston King, who had superseded Simeon Draper a short time before in the post of collector of the port of New York, stole from his hotel early in the morning, purchased a bag of shot of twenty-five pounds in weight, suspended it around his neck, proceeded to the Hoboken ferry-boat, and sprang from the deck while crossing the river. The cares of the office had unseated his reason. A diligent search was instituted for his body, which was discovered some time after. Henry A. Smythe, an eminent New York banker, was appointed in his stead. In December John T. Hoffman, the democratic candidate, was elected mayor, and was inaugurated in office on the 1st of January, 1866. After the excitement of the last five stirring years, the chronicle of the opening era of peace seems uneventful. The victories of 1866 were bloodless ones. Chief among them was that attained over the fetters of space by the successful laying of the Atlantic Telegraph Cable, the crowning event, not only of the year, but also of the century; and this gigantic project originated

Page 858

858 HISTORY OF THE in New York City, and was due solely to the energy and perseverance of a New York merchant, without whose untiring zeal and devotion it is scarcely likely that our generation would have seen the continents linked together by an electric bridge. This fact will warrant us in devoting some space to a brief sketch of this miracle of the age, which may in some sort be regarded as belonging peculiarly to New York.* Whatever visions may have been entertained of a remote possibility that Europe and America might some day be telegraphically united, the first idea of practically effecting this communication belongs indisputably to Cyrus W. Field, a New York merchant, who, after retiring from business to enjoy a life of leisure, entered the arena again for the purpose of securing the triumph of this great scheme to which he devoted twelve years of unheard-of disappointment and fatigue, seeing his hopes dashed to the ground again and again, giving up all the comforts of home and crossing the ocean more than forty times in this anxious interval. Such per-severance is rare indeed, and deserves the highest meed of praise. In 1854 Mr. Field conceived the idea of spanning the ocean with the electric wire. Such an undertaking was too vast for the shoulders of a single individual,

• For the accompanying facts, we are indebted to the excellent History of the

Atlantic Telegraph, by Mr. Field's brother, Henry M. Field, D.D., the able editor of the New York Evangelist. Mr. Field's whole family is marked by unusual talent. His father was a distinguished clerygman of Stockbridge, Mass. Besides his brothers, David Dudley and Henry M., whom we have already mentioned, another brother, Stephen J., of California, is the youngest judge of the U. S. Supreme Court, and still another, Matthew, a skilful engineer, aided materially in the success of the cable.

Page 859

CITY OF NEW YORK. 859 The first interested was his next door neighbor, the philanthropist, Peter Cooper, a native of New York. Moses Taylor, a wealthy New York capitalist, was next enlisted, and through him, Marshall 0. Roberts; both of these gentlemen were natives of New York, and ranked among its most prominent citizens. Chandler White, another New York merchant, filled up the measure; and at six o'clock on the morning of the 8th of May, 1854, these five New York gentlemen met at the house of Mr. Field's brother, David Dudley Field, in Gramercy Park, and in half an hour organized a company and subscribed a million and a half of dollars phiantropst Pee ooea aie fNwok

Page 860

860 HISTORY OF THE with which to begin one of the most herculean tasks ever undertaken within the memory of man. The first thing to be done was to establish telegraphic communication from the mainland across the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Cape Ray, and thence to Cape St. John's, in Newfoundland, the most easterly point of the American continent. From this point the cable was to be laid along the bed of the ocean to the coast of Ireland. This part of the work had been begun a few years before by a company organized by Frederick N. Gisborne, but which, after constructing a few miles, became bankrupt, and was obliged to abandon the undertaking. After two years of indefatigable labor the first step was accomplished, and a submarine cable laid across the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and thence four hundred miles overland to St. John's. Thus far it had been purely an American, and, we may say, a New York enterprise, having been accomplished almost solely by Mr. Field and his associates, the original projectors of the scheme, with some slight co-operation from Professor Morse, Wilson G. Hunt, Robert W. Lowber and John W. Brett. Save the few shares held by the latter gentleman, the father of submarine telegraphy in Europe, not a dollar had been raised for the enterprise on the other side of the Atlantic. As the Atlantic Telegraph was an international undertaking, however, it was now fitting that Europe should bear her part in the burden. Mr. Field appealed to the British government for assistance, which was granted, and ships were placed at the service of the company. The American government rendered like assistance; and after much preliminary exploration and study, in

Page 861

CITY OF NEW YORK. 861 the summer of 1857 the first attempt was made, with the Niagara and the Susquehanna, the two finest ships in the American navy, and the Agamemnon and the Leopard on the part of the British government, to lay the great Atlantic Cable, which snapped when three hundred and thirty-five miles had been successfully laid, and sank to the bottom of the ocean. Nothing daunted, the persevering projector of the enterprise renewed the attempt the following year, and again the cable parted. This time public confidence, which had borne up under the first disappointment, gave way; men sneered at the folly of casting money into the sea in pursuit of such an utopian aim, and the directors of the new company that had been formed in England became disheartened and were disposed to abandon the undertaking. A last trial was however resolved on; and on the 17th of July, 1858, the cable expedition sailed for the last time, and landed the wire on the shore of Trinity Bay, August 5, 1858. The excitement which followed the success of this gigantic scheme was intense everywhere, especially in New York, whose commercial interests were so deeply involved in the enterprise. On the 16th of August the Queen of England transmitted a message of congratulation to the President of the United States, who returned.an answer. The next morning a hundred guns were fired in the Park at daybreak, in honor of the event, and the salute was repeated at noon. Flags were raised on all the public buildings, the bells were rung, and at night the city was brilliantly illuminated. The City Hall, indeed, was well nigh offered up as a holocaust on this occasion, for the cupola took fire from the lights

Page 862

862 HISTORY OF THE around it, and the building was saved with great difficulty. The 1st of September was set apart for a public ovation, by the municipal authorities, to Mr. Field and the officers of the expedition. The celebration surpassed everything of the kind ever witnessed in the city. A morning thanksgiving service was held at Trinity Church, at which two hundred clergy officiated. At noon Mr. Field and the officers of the ships landed at Castle Garden and were received with a national salute. A procession was formed, extending from the Battery to the Crystal Palace, where the mayor presented to Mr. Field the freedom of the city in a gold box, with the thanks of the community. At night the firemen paraded the streets in a torch-light procession to do honor to the hero who had achieved such a miracle, and whose fame was in every one's mouth. On that very day the voice of the cable was suddenly hushed. The revulsion that followed was excessive. The cable at once fell into contempt, and was publicly decried as a hoax or a stock speculation, many denying that any message had ever passed over it, though four hundred messages had been transmitted in the interval, and the papers of the day proved that events were published in the English journals forty-eight hours after their occurrence in America; a thing impossible without the intervention of the telegraph. To give a single example of this fact, unknown to many, Mr. Eddy, a well-known telegraph operator, died suddenly at Burlington, Vt., on Monday, August 23d, and his death was telegraphed to England and published in the London Times, August 25th. Mr. Field fell, in the public estimation, from the rank of a successful hero

Page 863

CITY OF NEW YORK. 863 to that of a visionary schemer and perhaps adventurer; his task was rendered tenfold more difficult by its momentary success, and for almost ten years he was doomed to struggle against the tide, stimulating the unwilling faith of his coadjutors, and raising the immense sums of money that were necessary to carry out his gigantic undertaking in the midst of an unheard-of season of financial depression and civil war. It is safe to say that not one man in a million would have persevered; but his iron will carried him successfully to the end, as did that of Fulton before him. In the interval of waiting, important improvements were effected in the manufacture of telegraphic machinery, and a mammoth ship, the Great Eastern, was built, whose vast capacity and smooth motion gave increased facilities for the successful laying of the cable. The company was revived, and on the 23d of July, 1865, the Great Eastern set sail, trailing in her wake the precious wire. So many precautions had been taken that failure seemed almost impossible. In spite of all this care a fault occurred when twelve hundred miles at sea, and in attempting to recover it, the cable snapped and went down. It was necessary to begin the work anew. The ship returned to England; three millions of dollars -were raised to prosecute the undertaking, a new cable was made, and on the 13th of July, 1866, the Great Eastern again sailed with the cable, and this time succeeded in carrying it safely across the Atlantic, after twelve years of almost superhuman effort. Nor was this all; the huge vessel retraced its course, and, with the aid of its powerful grappling machinery, succeeded

Page 864

864 HISTORY OF THE in fishing up from the bottom of the sea, two miles deep, the cable that had been lost the year before; and, having spliced it, established a second line of cornmunication between the Old and New Worlds. The final success of this enterprise was hailed with delight, and for the second time Mr. Field was regarded as the hero of the age. The Chamber of Commerce of New York gave a public banquet in honor of the Ocean Telegraph and its projectors, at the Metropolitan Hotel on the 15th of November, 1866, in which the most distinguished personages of the country participated, either in person or by letter, and the Thirtyninth Congress presented a gold medal to Mr. Field, with the thanks of the nation. An achievement so vast, accomplished in the face of such difficulties, and conferring such benefits on mankind, justifies the tribute of one of the greatest of Englishmen, John Bright, when, in a speech at a monster meeting at Leeds, addressing a hundred thousand of his countrymen, he said: "A friend of mine, Cyrus W. "Field of New York, is the Columbus of our time; for, " after not less than forty passages across the Atlantic " in pursuit of the great aim of his life, he has at length, " by his cable, moored the New World close alongside "of the Old." A great step in advance was taken in New York during the same year, by the organization of a Metropolitan Board of Health, consisting of four commissioners, appointed by the governor by and with the consent of the Senate, the health officer and the Police Board, which was invested with extensive powers, and charged with the task of abating nuisances and watching

Page 865

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 867 cver the public health of New York and Brooklyn. The act to create a Metropolitan Sanitary District and Board of Health therein, for the preservation of life and health and to prevent the spread of disease, passed the Legislature on the 26th of February, 1866; and James Crane, M.D., Willard Parker, M.D., Jackson S. Schultz and John 0. Stone, M.D., were appointed to constitute the said Board. This measure had been called forth by the dread of an impending visitation of the cholera, which had ravaged New York at different times, especially in 1832 and 1849, and which was raging violently in Europe. In the preceding November the steamship Atlanta, an emigrant vessel, had arrived at New York from Europe, having on board several passengers sick of Asiatic cholera. No hospital on land had been provided since the destruction of the Quarantine Buildings on Staten Island, and the sick were obliged to take refuge on a floating hulk in the bay, which had been used during the summer for the reception of yellow fever patients. In a few weeks the disease broke out at Ward's Island, where several deaths occurred. The severity of the weather checked its further progress; but the belief was general that it would break out with fresh violence in the spring. The Board of Health vigorously set to work to purify the city, the hygienic condition of which was deplorable. Under the energetic management of the Health Commissioners, the streets were swept, the tenement quarters disinfected, the fat and bone boiling establishments and slaughter-houses removed beyond the limits of the city, the markets cleaned, the practice of driving cattle through the streets during the day-time discontinued, and many sanitary measures effected.

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868 HISTORY OF THE In the spring the steamship England arrived at Halifax, with one hundred and sixty cases of cholera, exclusive of forty that had died on the voyage from Liverpool. Information was at the same time received that two vessels had stopped at Bermuda on their way to New York, and were quarantined there on suspicion of having cholera on board. The only quarantine hospital possessed by New York was a hulk that would accommodate about three hundred patients. In view of the danger, the Board of Health petitioned the governor for a grant of extraordinary powers to provide for the accommodation of the sick and the purification of the city. These powers were granted till the 15th of October. The Board made earnest efforts to establish a quarantine, but were thwarted on every hand; the inhabitants of Staten Island, Coney Island, Sandy Hook, and all other eligible spots in the vicinity of New York, strenuously opposed the establishment of a cholera hospital in their neighborhood; and though steps were taken to occupy Seguin's Point by force, nothing permanent was effected, and thus the matter remained. Meanwhile, the expected visitant arrived. On the 18th of April the steamer Virginia reached New York from Liverpool, with a number of cholera cases of the most malignant type on board. The sick were transferred to a hospital ship, and those in health to a steamer fitted up for their accommodation Twelve days after, on the 1st of May, the first case of cholera broke out in New York, in an old, ill-drained tenement-house on the corner of Third Avenue and Ninety-third street. The victim was a woman, who died in a few hours. The next day another case occurred at 115 Mulberry street,

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 869 five miles distant. From this time the disease slowly extended, until it reached its height in August. It was confined, however, almost wholly to the badly drained and insalubrious districts of the city, and to the public institutions on the islands round about. In Brooklyn it raged with great violence. The Board of Health kept vigilant watch over the pestilence, and succeeded in checking its ravages so far that the whole number of fatal cases in the city, including the shipping at the wharves and the vast floating population, was but four hundred and sixty; while the whole number of deaths from cholera, comprising the hospitals and the penal institutions on the islands, was twelve hundred and twelve. In the Western cities, whither it extended with fearful rapidity, the victims were numbered by thousands. During the continuance of the pestilence the barracks on the Battery, which had been used during and since the war as a depot for troops passing through the city, were converted into a hospital, together with the United States Transit Hospital immediately adjacent. The barracks in front of the Five Points House of Industry were also used as a depot for disinfectants. A hospital was established in Second Avenue, and a corps of medical men and nurses was organized to serve during the plague, which finally disappeared in October. A marked event in the dramatic world, during this year, was the visit of the celebrated Italian tragedienne, Adelaide Ristori, the former rival of Rachel, who arrived at New York in the autumn of 1866, and soon after made her debut with great success. After a brilliant tour throughout the whole country, Madame Ristori, or rather

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870 HISTORY OF THE the Marchese del Grillo, revisited the city in the following spring, and took her final departure thence for Europe on the 18th of May, 1867. The winter of 1866-1867 was marked by great severity. The East River was entirely frozen over, an event of rare occurrence, and in the space of a few hours hundreds of persons crossed from Brooklyn to New York on the ice. The interruption to ferry navigation was so great that the public was stimulated to undertake the long talked-of project of bridging the East River, and the Legislature granted permission to two companies to construct elevated bridges, one from the vicinity of Chatham Square, in New York, to Fulton street, in Brooklyn, and the other fiom the neighborhood of Yorkville to the opposite point. About the same time a novel undertaking was commenced in the form of an elevated bridge for pedestrians, known as the Loew Bridge, across the corner of Broadway and Fulton street, a passage which had become extremely perilous from the crowd of vehicles constantly accumulated at that point. During the same session, an act was passed by Congress authorizing the purchase, by the government, of the lower end of the City Hall Park, on which to erect a new Post-office. Various land-marks passed away in the spring of 1867. St. John's Park, which, comparatively a few years since, was the centre of wealth and fashion, was sold to the Hudson River Railroad Company, and transformed into a depot. This park had formed a portion of the " Queen's Farm," granted, to Trinity Church in 1705 by Lord Cornbury, and the title of which is still contested by the heirs of Aneke Jans, the widow of

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 871 I I ) On the 13th of Februzary, 1867, the old Society Library, on the corner of Broadwvay and Leonard street, was destroyed by fire. This edifice had been built in 1839 by the Iew York Society Library Association, which occupied it until 18^53. It was then sold to the publishers, D. Appleton & Co., who remodeled it, and used the ground-floor for their bookstored; the upper stories being occupied by numerous societies, editors and artists. In 1860 the publishing house of the Messrs. Appleton & Co. was removed to Broadway near Grand street, and the building was leased to the mercantile firm of S. B. Chittenden & Co., who were its occupants at the time of its destruction, and whose loss thereby amounted to nearly a million of dollars. The Grecian facade of the building remained for some time standing, almost unscathed

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872 HISTORY OF THE by the fire; the beautiful ruin is worthy of remembrance. In March Tammany Hall, on the corner of Frankfort and Chatham streets, was sold to make way for a newspaper establishment, the Tammany Society having purchased the site of the Medical College in Fourteenth street, which had fallen a prey to the conflagration which destroyed the Academy of Music on the 26th of May, 1865, in order to erect a new hall thereon. Tammany Hall stood on the Leisler estate, near, or on the spot, where the unfortunate Leisler was buried. It was erected in 1811, and had long been conspicuous in the political annals of the city. Another noticeable conflagration was that of the 23d of March, 1867, which swept away Winter Garden from the face of the earth, and seriously injured the adjoining Southern Hotel. This was a fatal spot, Tripler Hall, the Lafarge Hotel, and the Metropolitan Theatre, having been burned to the ground thereon in succession. The fire, however, only gave a fresh impetus to private enterprise, and scarcely was the building in ashes, when its successor was projected. To chronicle all the changes, however, that have occurred and are occurring, would far transcend the limits of our work. Far different, indeed, is the New York Island of the present day, with its forests of cities, its marble, iron and free-stone palaces, and its million of bustling inhabitants, from the grassy hills which met the eye of Hudson little more than two centuries and a half ago. Then the island belonged to Nature, now it has become the property of Art. The marshes are drained, the forests levelled, and the fair, broad farms

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 873 laid out into building lots and traversed with large iron pipes, conveying fire and water side by side through the earth. Scarce a vestige remains of the primitive Manhattan. Under the impetus given it by the Central Park, the city is fast rushing northward, and, in all probability, comparatively few years will pass before the whole island will be covered with a compact. mass of buildings. Nor have the suburbs failed to keep pace with the city. Indeed, the whole country within a radius of thirty miles may be considered as a part of New York, a sleeping place for its citizens. Across the East River lies Brooklyn, the third city in the Union, somewhat overshadowed by the greatness of her mammoth neighbor, with the thriving villages of Green Point, Hunter's Point, Ravenswood and Astoria stretching to the northward along the Sound shore; and on the west shore of of the Hudson are Jersey City, the Paulus Hook of the Dutch settlers, Hoboken, and the picturesque heights of Weehawken. The lines of the Hudson River, Harlem and New Haven Railroads, are studded with thrifty towns, populated by the New Yorkers, who have also monopolized Staten Island and spread far back on the Jersey shore. The islands in the East River are admirably adapted by their location to the penal institutions of which they are made the site. On Blackwell's Island, opposite Yorkville, are the Penitentiary, Lunatic Asylum, Alms Houses, Hospital and Workhouse. -Above this are Ward's Island, where the Emigrant Hospital is situated., and Randall's Island, the site of the Pauper Nursery and the House of Refuge. In New York Bay, south

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874 HISTORY OF TH E west of the Battery, are Ellis and Bedloe's Islands, both strongly fortified for the protection of the harbor. At little to the south-east of the Battery is Governor's Island, the site of Fort Columbus and Castle William, and below this, in the heart of the Bay, is the beautiful Staten Island, the villa of the merchant princes of New York, commanding the Narrows by Forts Tompkins and Richmond, with numerous batteries. The opposite shore of the Narrows is protected by Fort Hamilton on Long Island and Fort Lafayette on Hendrick's Reef, about two hundred yards from the shore. On a mole, connected by a bridge with the Battery, is Castle Garden, the fortress of olden-times, now used as the depot of the Commissioners of Emigration. The Sound entrance is defended by Fort Schuyler and other works. Numerous ferries connect New York Island with the neighboring shores, and it is probable that ere long the broad rivers on both sides will be spanned with bridges. At Harlem River it is connected with the main land by the Harlem Turnpike and Harlem Railroad Bridges, McComb's Bridge and the High Bridge of the Croton Aqueduct, while Spuytenduyvel Creek, the northern boundary of the island, is crossed by the well-known Kingsbridge, first built of wood, by order of the Corporation, as early as 1691. At the Dry Dock, on the north-east shore of the island, and also on the opposite shore, are the extensive ship-yards of the city; and at the United States Navy Yard, in the Wallabout, is the Naval Dry Dock, the largest in the world. The public buildings of the city are numerous, and are mostly in keeping with its wealth and importance.

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 87,YR Sub-Treasury. In the Park is the New Court House, the City Hall and various minor buildings, devoted to municipal purposes; close by, in Centre street, is the City Prison, or " Tombs.'" a gloomy structure in the centre of the most squalid portion of the city. In Wall, at the head of Broad street, on the site of the old City Hall and Custom House, erected in the beginning of the century. is the Sub-Treasury of New York, an edifice of Grecian architecture, built of -Massachusetts marble, at the cost of nearly a million of dol

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876 HISTORY OF THE lars. Adjoining this, in the building formerly occupied by the old Bank of the United States, is the Assay Office. On the corner of Wall and William streets, is the Custom House, a magnificent edifice of blue Quincy granite, built originally for the Merchants' Exchange, at the cost of over a million of dollars. The old Postoffice in Nassau street is doomed, and measures are being taken to give the city one worthy of the name. The libraries of the city are numerous and worthy of notice. The chief free public Library is the Astor, in Lafayette Place, between Fourth street and Astor Place, which was erected by means of a bequest of $400,000 made to it iin 1848, by John Jacob Astor. The building was first opened to the public in 1854, with a collection of eighty thousand volumes, under the superintendence of Dr. Joseph G. Cogswell. It has since been doubled in size and the collection increased to over one hundred thousand dollars, by the liberality of William B. Astor, the son of the founder. The' oldest library in the city is the Society Library in University Place, between Eleventh and Twelfth streets; the history of this we have already sketched. In a tasteful stone edifice on the corner of Second Avenue and Eleventh street, is the Historical Society, Library, founded in 1804. Here is found a choice collection of historical works, chiefly pertaining to American history, a rare assemblage of coins and relics, the Abbot collection of Egyptian curiosities, the Nineveh marbles, and many other valuable objects. In the Clinton Hall building, once the Astor Place Opera House, is the library and reading-room of the Mercantile Library Associaltion, which was organized in 1836,

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 877 An09:39, 8 November 2019 (PST),, Custom House.

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CITY OF NEW YORK. 879 with seven hundred volumes, for the purpose of supplying the merchants' clerks with facilities for reading and study, and which now possesses over seventy-five thousand volumes. A free reading-room has also been established in the Cooper Union, together with a picture gallery. Other libraries, too numerous to specify, and containing many thousands of volumes, are attached to the various professional and educational institutions of the city. Our task is ended. Statistical lists we do not intend to give, nor shall we trespass upon the limits of that modern institution, the directory, by further mapping out the city, with its massive banking houses, its magnificent churches, and its marble-fronted palaces, all changing from hour to hour with such kaleidscopic rapidity that the picture of to-day would scarcely be recognized to-morrow. It suffices to say that in palatial splendor, in gorgeous magnificence, and in lavish display of inexhaustible wealth, New York may well be regarded as bearing off the palm from all other cities in the Union. Yet were this all, did her claims to her proud title of the Empire City rest merely upon the power of riches, were she but the Golden City, the Venice of the Western Continent, then indeed we might tremble for her future, sure that the seeds of decay were lurking in her heart. But that she has played a far different part in the history of her country, her annals oive sufficient proof. The first to practice that religious fiecedom which the Eastern colonists emigrated from the Old World to secure for themselves only to deny to others, and to throw open her doors to the poor and oppressed of her sister settlements; the first to

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880 HISTORY OF THE vindicate the freedom of the press; the first to enter a practical protest against the arbitrary Stamp Act by dooming herself to commercial ruin; the first to shed her blood on the battle-fields of the Revolution, and the chief in furnishing the sinews of war without which the late gigantic conflict could never have been conducted to a successful termination, New York has not falsified in maturer years the promises of her youth. Not only has she given an impetus to gigantic schemes of internal improvement that challenge the admiration of the whole world-the Ocean Telegraph, the Steamboat, the Erie Canal, the Croton Aqueduct, and the magnificent Central Park; not only does she, by her open-handed liberality, attract to herself men of science, enterprise. and broad and earnest thought, ingenious mechanics, far-seeing merchants, talented artists, and brilliant literary men, but she has fostered within her own bosom statesmen, philosophers, inventors, and authors, who may compete advantageously with any in the world. We have simply endeavored to chronicle the progress of the city, to select and briefly make mention of the most important facts from the mass of rich material which lies temptingly about us, looking longingly, meanwhlile, at the accessory incidents which would so charliingly fill up the picture and relieve the dullness of mere details, yet forced to desist by the conviction that the task would swell the volume beyond the compass of an entire library. What we could do, we have done; and if any of the facts which we have thus collected and woven together shall suggest to the future historian the desire to rescue the story of the past career of our city from the neglect with which it has hitherto been too

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CITY OGi NEW YORK. 881 often treated, or shall inspire her citizens with love and pride of their native or adopted city, and urge them to perpetuate the memory of a glorious past by a still more glorious future, and to make their chosen home the Empire City in truth, not only of wealth, but of science, of learning, of art, of all that can elevate and beautify humanity, we shall feel that we have not labored in vain. The future destiny of New York rests with the present generation; their verdict must decide whether she will patiently bear the name of the Golden City, by some so tauntingly bestowed upon her, or vindicate herself not only by past proof but by present action. That it is in her power, through her immense resources, her boundless wealth, her buoyant elasticity, her composite population, the vast array of talent which lies at her disposal, and most of all, by the breadth, cosmopolitanism and geniality of the character of her people, to mould herself into what she will-to become the Athens of America, the centre of culture and of art —must be evident to all. Her fate is in her own hands; whether her future fame is to rest on marble palaces or erudite universities-on well-filled warehouses or wealth of brain, she alone can decide. Let her but choose the latter position let her but expend her wealth, regardless of outside display, in fostering talent, in encouraging art, in attracting to herself by liberal patronage the intellectual power of the whole country, in endowing universities, and in developing the mental resources of her own citizens, not by a lavish expenditure of money alone, but by an earnest appreciation of talent, and the time is not far distant when she will be cordially acknowledged, both by friends and foes, as the EMPIRE CITY, not only of the U.NION bult al,so of the WORLD! 56

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INDEX. Academy of Music, erection of, 726. Beekman, Wilhelm, one of the first schepens, Academy of Design, 856, 857. 136. Adriatic, launch of, 759. Beekman, Gerardus, administers affairs after Adriaensen Maryn, one of the Council of Twelve the removal of Ingoldsby, 286; memrber of Men, 107. At Corlaer's Hook, 112. the council of Hunter, 288. Alexander, James, arrival of, 293; counsel for Beekman's Swamp, leased to Rip Van Dam, 28S2. Van Darn, 304, 331; in the Zenger trial, 333; Beekman House, head-quarters of Howe, 502. struck from the list of attorneys, 334; re- 620, 621. stored to the bar, 346; trustee of the Socie- Belcher, Thomas, earliest patentee of lands at ty Library, 384. Bro(oklyn, 85. Allerton, Isaac, one of the Council of Eight Bell, Isaac, sen., reminiscences of, 355, 556. Men, 118. Belvidere, the, in the beginning of the nineAlsopI, John, delegate to the Continental Con- teenth century, 621. gress, 477. Bentyn, Jaques, one of the Council of Twelve Ambuscade, the, arrival of, 606; engagement Men, 107. of the Boston with, 607. Berrien, John, wounded at the Liberty I'ole. Andrie, Major, at New. York, 561; arrest and 432. execution of, 562. Block, Adriaen, arrives at Mi'llhalttan. 39; buildlS A.nthony, Allard, one of the first schepens, 136; the Restless, 40; explorations andl rettlrn o, sheriff, 157. 40. Apthorpe House, narrow escape of Washington Blommaert, Samuel, first patroon of Swaanenfrom, 504, 621. dael, 57. Argall, supposed visit to Manhattan of, 41; grant Bogardus. Domine Everardus, arrival at Manof the province by James II. to, 47. - hattan of, 63; controversy with Van Twviiler, Arnold, treason of, 551, 562; at New York, 542, 66, 67; with Van Dincklagen, 77, 78; mar543; death of, 563. riage with Aneke Jalns ofi 76; opposes the Arsenal, State, erected, 780. massacre of the Indians, 111: return to HolArticles of Confederation, 586, 587. land, shipwrseck andi death o; 182. Association, Central Relief, organized, 799. Bout, Jan Evertsen. one of tl-e Council of Eight Astor Place Opera House, erection of, 726. Men, 118; of Nine'levn, 13',3. Astor Place Opera House riot, 749, 752. Bowling Green, annual fair held on, 96, 200); Atlantic Telegraph Cable, history of, 857, 864. treats with the Indians conclide(l on, 122; leasedl by the corp)oration, 322. Bradford, Williamn, first printer in the city, 250, Backerus, Domine Johannes, minister at New 311. Amsterdam, 120; return to HIolland of, 134. Bressar, Hlenry, 92. Bailey, Gen. Theodorus, postmaster of New Bridgse, Loew, 8S0. York city in the beginning of the nineteenth Bridges of New TorIk Island, S74. century, 651. Blrockholst, Anthony, affaiirs adminiistered( by, Bancker, Flores, one of the Sons of Liberty, 412. during the absence of Andros. 21)3. Barentsen, expedition of, 30. Brooklyn. consolidation of Williamsburg and Battles of Bushwick with, 755, 756. the Liberty Pole, 429-436. Broome, Samuel, one of the Sons of Liberty, 445, Golden Hill, 448-453. Brugges, John. Alderman, 157. Long Island, 495-498. Bunker Mansion House, the, residence of WashHarlem Plains, 505, 506. ington during the secondl session of Congress, Fort Washington, 507, 509. 623. Bauman, Sebastian, first postmaster of New Burdell., Dr., murdex of, 1778, 779. York city after the Rlevolution, 65. Burns' Coffee hIouse, (lemolition of, 782. Baxter, George, first English secretary of the Burr, Aaron, in the retrelt of Silliman's l3iigale, province, 101. 504; in the affair of the Jaty treaty, 610; duei Bayard, Nicholas, secretary of the province, with Hamilton, 669, 670. 158; mayor, 211; member of the council in Burgher right granted to the citizens, 145, 146. 1689, 220; in the affair of Leisler, 220-234; in Bushvick founded, 150. the administration of Nanfan, 267. Butler, Gen., in New York, 836. Bayard, William, New York delegate to, Colonial Congress, 412. Bayard's Mount-See I1ll. 1 Cabot, Sebastian, explorations of, 29.

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884 IN DE X. Cadwallader, Col., at Fort Washington, 507-509. Clinton, Sir Henry, in the battle of Long Island, Carleton, Sir Guy, in command at New York, 495-498; commander-in-chief at New York, 566. 552; fortifies the city, 554; southern expediCastle Garden, transformed into an emigrant tion of, 555; sails to the relief of Cornwallis, dp65t, 758. 566; superseded by Sir Guy Carleton, 566. Cathedral, Roman Catholic, in Fifth Avenue, Clinton, George, defence of McDougall by, 461; erected, 781. defence of Sears by, 462; first governor of the Central Park, history of, 759-769. State, 544, 614. Champe, John, attempt to carry off Arnold from Clinton, DeWitt-See Ifayors. the city made by, 562, 563. Club, Union League, organized, 808, 809; HisCharters, granted to the tory of, 889-850, New Netherland Company by the States Gen- Colden, Cadwallader-See Governors. eral in 1614, 42. Collect, Kolek, Fresh Water Pond, the primitExpiration of, in 1618, 46. ive condition of, 30, 322, 323; proposed imGorges and his associates by James L, 47. provement of, 519, 520; filled up, 580. West India Company in 1621, by the States Colleges — General, 409. King's, founded, 373, 397, 398; in the RevoluPatroonships, of, in 1629, 55, 56. tion, 472, 473; transformed into Columbia, Privileges of, 82, 83. 627, 628; removed, 778. Breuckelen, 135. Colored Troops, raising of, 833. New Amsterdam, 186. Commerce, Chamber of, Peace Meeting at, 789; Nicolls, 137. Meeting of Merchants at, April 19, 1861, 794; New Orange, 168. Patriotic action of, 805; Death of the PresiNew York, 171. dent, 851. Liberties of, 207, 208. Commission — Dongan, 2138. Christian, 816. Montgomerie,- Freedmen's, 816. Amended, of 1830, 732. Sanitary, 814. Amended, of 1849, 749. Union, 816. Amended, of 1853, 750. Committee of Amended, of 1857, 772. Safety, 1689, 222, 228. Chelsea House, the, 619. Correspondence, appointed by the Sons of Cholera in New York, 733-735, 868, 869. Liberty, 417. 424, 425. Christiansen Hendrick, arrival at Manhattan of, Fifty-one, 474. 39; Fort Nassau built by, 41; Death of, 42. One Huncdred, 481-483. Churches- Safety, appointed by the Provincial Congress, Reformed Dutch-first organization of, 53; 510. 511. first minister of, 53, 54; primitive manners Union Defence, 796. and customs of, 632-635; first church in Commons, the primitive condition of, 322; AlmsManhattan, 65; Church of St. Nicholas, house erected on, 347; in the Revolution, 42997, 99, 358; South Dutch in Garden street, 492; new Alms-house built on, 580; in the 241, 242, 257, 742; Middle Dutch in Nassau beginning of the nineteenth century, 624. street, 315, 316, 513, 637; North Dutch in CompaniesWilliam street, 637, 639; churches in the United New Netherland, organization of, 42; beginning of the nineteenth century, 638- treaty with the Indians, 45; dissolution of, 643. 46; West India, organization of, 49; coloniLutheran-organization of, in Stuyvesant's zation of the province by, 50-56; Burgher administration, 142; first minister of, 159; government established at New Amsterdam church in Broadway built by the Palatines, by, 186; further municipal privileges grant159, 287; churches in the beginning of the ed, 139, 149; Staten Island purchased by, nineteenth century, 644. 149. Episcopal-Established by Fletcher in 1696, Congress — 251; first clergyman of, 251; Trinity Church First Colonial, at New York, 412, 418. erected, 251, 257; King's Farm granted by Second Colonial, at Philadelphia, 478, 479. Queen Anne to, 275; estate of Aneke Jans Provincial, at New York, 479-486. purchased by, 76, 275; cemetery donated to, Constitution275, 848, 645; Eglise da- SaintS-Esprit, built First, of the State of New York, framed at by the Huguenots, 281, 282, 308, 309, 369, Kingston, 544. 513, 514; St. George's Chapel in Beekman Federal opposition to, in the city of New York, street, 374; churches in the beginning of the 590; federal procession in the city, 589; nineteenth century, 643, 644. adoption of, 591. Presbyterian-Wall street church erected, Coney Island, discovery of, 32. 301, rebuilt, 873; in the Revolution 513; Cooper, Myles, president of King's College, 397, Brick Church in Beekman street erected, 473. 463; in the Revolution, 513, 519, 649; Cooper, Peter, Cooper Institute founded by, 859. churchesin the beginning of the nineteenth Corcoran, General, capture of, 803; release of, century, 448-650. 805, 806. Baptist-Gold street church, 650; Oliver Corlaer, Jacob, 74. street church, 651. Corlaer's Hook, massacre at, 111, 112; in 1731, Methodist-organization of. John street chapel 324. erected, 399; in the beginning of the nine- Cornelissen, expedition of, 30. teenth century, 652, 653. Crummashie Hill-See Hills. Friends-In the beginning of the nineteenth'Crystal Palace, 781. century, 654. Cunningham, William, at the Liberty Pole, 457; Jews' Synagogue in Mill street, 815, 653. Provost Marshal of the Revolution, 525580; Moravian-Chapel in Fulton street, 374, 654. at the evacuation of the city, 570. Catholic-In the beginning of the nineteenth Custom House, death of the President at, 851; century, 655. removal of, 876. Clarke, Andrew, first English schoolmaster in New York, 274, Clinton, Admiral George —See Governors. Damen, Jan Jansen, one of the Council of

Page 885

INDEX. 885 Twelve Men, 111; one of the Council of Eight of "burgiher rights" instituted by, 145, 146; Men; expelled by his colleagues, 118; one of persecution of the Quakers by, 149; invasion the Council' of Nine Men, 133. of the city by the English; resistance of the De Lancey, -te phen, first public clock of the governor; surrender of New Amsterdam, city presented by, 31)0; dispute with Burnet 151-154; future career of; death aid burial; of, 808, 309. tomb of, 154; Stuyvesant pear tree, 1503-155. De Lancey, James-See Governors. Dix, John A., Major-General of New York, 801. De Lancey, Oliver, house of, burnt at Bloom- Doctors' Mob, 583-586. inldale, 542, 543. Doughty, Thomas, founder of Mespath, 119,1260. De Vries, David Pietersen, Patroon of Swaanen- Draft in New York, 820. dael, 57, 67-70; founds Vriesendael, 84; in Drissius, Domine, assistant to Megapolensis, 136. the Indian war, 107-120. I)uer, William, 547-550. Depit, State Soldiers', 817. Dudley, Joseph, member of Council in 1689, 240, Deriner,'Thomas, visits Manhattan and claims 247. it as his discovery, 46, 47. Direksen, Barent, one of the Council of Eight Men, 118. East India Company. Dutch, incorporation of, Dircksen, Cornelis, first ferrymaster of New 30; contract with Iludson of, 31. Amsterdam, 91, 92. Eddy, Thomas, 710, 716. Directors- Eelkins, Jacob, agent at Fort Nassau, 42; superMey, Cornelissen Jacobsen, in 1623, by West cargo of an English trading vessel; contest India Company, 50, 51; returns to Itol- with Vaan Twiller, 67-70. land, 51. Election, Presidential, of 1S64, in New York, 8836, Verhulst, William, in 1624, 51; recall of, 51. 837. Minuit, Peter, in 1626, appointed Director- Ellsw-orth, Colonel, death of, 801, 802. General, 51, 52; arrival of, 52; purchase of the Island of Manhattan by, 52; correspondence with Governor Bradford, of, 53, 54; Fair, Sanitary, 834. recall of, and return to Europe, 60; arrest Ferguson, John, mayor. 703. by the English authorities and subsequent Ferries. first lease of, 139; ferry to lHarlem prorelease, 61, 62; visit to Sweden of, 80, 81; posed by Stuyvesant, 148; mortgage of ferry returns to America and founds Port Chris- lease by the corporation, 258; lease of 1699; tina, SI, 82; death and burial of, 87. ferrv rates and regulations, 262, 263; lease of Van Twiller, Wouter, arrival of, in 1633, 63; 1717, 284, 285; new ferrv established to Brookcharacter of, 63; public improvements of, lyn, 301; first ferry to Staten Island, 384; ferry 65; dispute with Bogardus of, 66, 67; affair established to Paulus iTook, 38)8; fer'ries in the of the "William," 67-71; I)e Vries and, 70; beginning of the nineteenth century, 6.59; protest aginst the English on the Connecti- historv of the Long Island ferries. (683, 687. cut River, 72; expulsion of' the English from Fire of i776, 540. 541' of 1778, 552, of 1835, 741, Fort Nassau by, 72, 73; expedition despatch- 742; of 1845, 748. ed against Wethersfield and Saybrook by, Fire 1)epartmnent, Paid, organized, 854. 73; purchase of New Amei sfoordt and Gov- Flatbulsh fo)uided, 137. ernor's Island by, 75-77; discontent of the Flishilg, first settled, 126. people; recall of, 77. Forts;Kieft, Wilhelm, arrival of, 79; antecedents First redoubt built on the Island of Manhatand character of, 79; laws and ordinances tan, 39. established by, 79, 80; excise laws insti- Nassau, 41, 72, 73. tuted by, 80; protest against the Swedes at Amsterdam, 53, 65; captured and christened Fort Christina, of S1, 82: purchase of King's Fort.James. 154; recaptuled by the Dutch and Queen's Counties for the Company by, and called Fort Wilhelm Henidrick, 166; 84, 85; expedition despatched against the surrendered to the il'nlish and transformed English on Long Island by, 85, 86; expul- again into Fort Jaies, 170). sion of the English fr'om the Delaware by, Good llope, 71. 88; public improvements of, 96-99' Ireu- Christina., S1. lations respecting seawvant issued by, 101; Casimirh, 142. tribute on the Indians levied by. 103; ex- Fortifieletions of the city in 1776 493. pedition against the Raritans despatchel by, Fortifications of 1812-1814. 701, 702. 105; public Assembly summoned by, 106; Franklin, Lady, visit of'. TS3. massacre of Indians at Pavonia and Corlaer's Fra.mncesl Tavern, the head-quarters of WashHook sanctioned by, 111; war against the ingtorn, 573, 621, 622. natives carried on by, 111-117; treaity of Freneau's Poem on the Prison-ship, 536-538. peace, 117; recommencement of hostilities Ftllton, hlobert. buildin of the Clermont by, 681, and continlance of the war, 118-122; treaty 682; in the Er ie C anal, 717. with the Indians concluded on the Bowling Green by, 122; new excise levied by, 123; recall of, 125: despotism of, 126, 127; dis- Gage, General, commamidant at New York, 425. pute between Bogardus and, 127, 128; returln Gus Comptanliesto Europe, shipwreck anl death of, 132. New York, 723. Stuyvesant, Petrus, appointed by the Coin- Manhatt'an. 724. pany, 125; his history and character, 127- George Ill., statue of, oi the Boawling Green, 129; public improvements of, 129, 18t); new 431, 432. excise levied by, 130; banishment of Kuyter Genet, Citizen, arrival of, 607; marriage at the and Melyn by, 131, 132; Assembly of Nine Walton House, 6)S; policy andi subsequent Men summonmed by, 132, 133; boundaries recall of, 608. between New York and New England set- Great Eastern, first arrival at New York, 783. tiled by, 135; contest between the pieople Gcnernorsand, 138; Landttag held at New Amsterdam Nicolls, Colonel Richard, appointed by the by order of, 141; intoler':lnce toward the Lu- Duke of York, in 160;4. 151); arrival and intherans of, 142; Svwedes expelled from Fort v-asion of NewV Ainsterdam by, 151-153; conChristina by, 143; second Inldian war (luring ql'lest of the )fort, 1.34; I)rclaimnel governor, the administration of, 143-145; the system 156; forim of' irunicilpal goverlinli(It chunged

Page 886

886 I NDEX. by, 157; taxes levied by, 158; tolerance taches himself to the Leislerian party, 265; toward the Lutherans, 158, 159; city forti- imprisons Bayard and Hutchins, 26i7, 26; fled by, 160; recall of, 161; death of, 162. superseded by Cornbury, 268. Lovelace, Colonel Francis, in 1668; arrival of, Cornbury, Lord, arrival of, 269; instructions 161; despotic conduct of, 161, 162; public of Queen Anne to, 269, 270; joins the antimeeting for merchants instituted; races Leislerian party, 272. city schools during approved; first mail between New York the administ ration of, 273; at Jamaica, 274, and Boston established by, 162; fort in- 275; eflorts to establish episcopacy of, 275, trusted to Captain John Manning by, 164; 276; peculation of, 276; fortities tile city, invasion of the city by the Dutch fleet; 277, 278; despotism of, 278, 279; recall atri cowardice of Manning; capture of the town, subsequent arrest aind imlnpisonmlent of, 279; 164-166; return to Europe of, 166; public piogress of the city durinig the administrareprimand and confiscation of estates of, 168. tion of, 279-285. Colve, Captain Anthony, arrival of, 163; inva- Lovelace, Lord, arrival of, 285; assembly consion andl capture of the city by, 164, 165; vened by, 2S5; sudden death of, 286. assumes command of the province, 168; Ingoldsby. Maljor lRichard, arrival of, 232; concity fortified by, 168; martial rule of, 169; test with Leisler, 283, 234; assumes direccontempt of witchcraft of, 169, 170; sur- tion of affairs upon the death of Lovelace, render of the fort by, 170. 286; removal o1; 286. Andros, Sir Edmund, takes command of the Hunter, Robert, arrival of, in 1710, 286; hiscity, 170; English form of municipal gov- tory of; 286, 287; joins the anti-Leislerian ernment restored by, 171; character and party, 288; council of, 288; expedition policy of, 195; regulations and ordinances against Canada dispatched by, 2S9; failure established by, 197-200; bolting monopoly of the expedition, 290; contest with the asgranted to the city by, 201, 202; admiralty sembly, 291; court of chancery established court established, 202; slave laws of, 204, by, 292; popular concessions ofi 293; de205; return to England of, 205; return to parture for kEnland and subsequent career, New York, and subsequent recall, 206; 293, 294; progress of the city during the adappointed royal governor of New England ministration of, 294-302. and New York 207; sent a. prisoner to Burnet, William, arrival of, in 1720, 302; charEngland by his subjects of Boston, 219. acter and antecedents of, 8(3; marriage Dongan, Colonel Thomas, arrival of, 207; first of; fiiendship with Morris, 8083; council of, English assembly summoned by, 207; mu- 805; Indian affairs durina the administrarlicipal regulations of, 209, 210, 212, 213; tion cf, 305; policy of; abolition of the monopoly for packing flour and baking circuitous traffic by, 306; contest with the bread for exportation granted to the city merchants, 307, 808; trading post at Osweby, 210; charter granted by, in 1686, 213, go erected by, 807; congress of governors at Canadian policy of, 211, 216; home affairs, Albany, 308; dispute wiith atephcn De 217; recall of, 21-7. Lancey of, 30S, 309; contest with the assemNicholson, Sir Francis, assumes command as bly, 309, 310; transferred to iMassachusetts., lieutenant-governor. 217; superseded by 310; progress of the city during the adminLeisler, 223; flight to En-land, 224; in- istration of, 310-312. trigues at the English court, 281, 232. Montgomerie, John, appointment of, 310; arLeisler, Jacob, antecedents of 221, 222; cho- rival and instructions ol; 312; policy of the sen leader -of the people, 222; appointed new governor, 312; Montgomerie charter commander-in-chief by the Committee of granted by, 312-315; progress of the city Safety, 224; fortifies the city; despatches a (luring the administration of, 328; death of, memorial to Williamrn and Mary, 224, 225; 328. despatches Milborne to Albany, 227; assumes Cosby, Col. William, arrival of, 328; charactitle of lieutenant-governor, 228; is acknow- ter and antecedents of, 315-3829; council of, ledged by the Albanians; despatches an ex- 330; contest with Rip Van DLtm, 330, 3831; pedition against Canada, 231; superseded removal of Morris from the chief justiceship by Sloughter, 232; blockaded by Ingoldsby, by, 8331; conduct in the Zenieri trial. 333233,234; letter to Sloughter and subsequent 343; names of Smith and Alexander struck surrender of the fort, 284, 235; arrest and from the roll of attorneys by, 334; contest imprisonment of, 235; trial and condemna- with the assembly, 34; rapacity of; Rip tion, 235, 236; execution of, 236, 337; dis- Van Dam suspendlled by, 345; death of, 345: interred and reburied in the South I)utch pro'ress of atlairs during tlme admlinistrationl Church in Garden street, 271. of, 847-3o3. Sloughter, Col. Henry. appointed governor, Clarke, George, assumes the direction of 232; arrival of, 233; Leisler and adherents affairs, 345; contest with Rip Van Dam, arrested by, 235; death -varrant of Leisler 345, 346; commissioned as lieutenant- govand Milborne signed by, 237; municipal ordli- ernor, 346; dissolves the assembly, and renances during the administration of, 241, stores Smith and Alexander to the bar, 346: 242; death of, 245. negro plot during the administration of; Fletcher, Benjamin, in 1692, arrival of, 246; 355-369; superseded by Clintol. 369. character and policy of, 247; Episcopal Clinton, Admiral George, arrival of, 370; allichurch established in the province by, 251; ance with De Lancey; subsequent rupture, Indian policy, 252; suspected connivance of and alliance with Colden, 3870; dissension piratical depredations, 253; recall of, 254; with the assembly, 370, 375, 876; affair of progress of the city during the administra- the "Greyhound," 375, 376; resignation of, tioal of, 257-260. 376. Bellamont, Lord, in 1695, appointment of, 254; Osborne, Sir Danvers, arrival of, 876; instrucstock company for the suppression of piracy tions of, 376, 379; popular demonstrations, organized; the Adventure galley fitted out 347; forebodings of the council, 879; suiby, 254; failure of the enterprise; popular cide of the governor, 347; previous history, liscontent, 255-258; arrival of, 260; policy 38s. of, 261; visit to Bostomn. 263; dispute with De Lancey, James, previous ca"eer, 330, 335, the merchants, 264; dl'eith of, 264. 370, 873; assumes direction of affsiirs as Nanfan, John, lieutenant-governor, arrival of lieultenant-governor on the death of Sir 260; assumes direction of affairs, 265; at- Danlers Osborne, 380; policy of, 381, 882;

Page 887

INDEX. 887 at Albany, 8832; Society Library founded Harlem, first settted, 148. under the auspices of, 38S4; progress of the Harper Brothers' Printing and Publishing Escity during the administration of 384-886: tablishment burned, 753, 754. superseded by Sir Charles Hardy, 886; chief HTart, Peter nails the flag over Sumter, 790, 791. justice, 387; at the head of affairs, 3S8; Health, Board of, organized, 866, 867; suppresFrench war during the administration of, sion of cholera by, 86S, 869. 386, 392; death of, 392. Heemskerck, expedition of, 30. Ilardy, Sir' Charles, lnaival of; incapacity for Ileemstede, first settled, 120; Indian massacre office, 3S6; resignation and departure from at. 121. the province, 387. IIeermans, Augustine, one of the Council of Nine Cadwallader Colden, assumes command as Men, 133. lieutenant-governco, 898; previous career Ilillsof, 304, 805. 30, 870, 371, 38.76; attempt at Bavard's Mount, afterward Bunker Hill, 25, impressment dur'ing the a(dninistration of, 324, 503. 393, 394; (death of Geor)re I. and'proclama- Crummashie, 824, tion of George III., 394; the'ttre opened Incleuberg. 324. in Beeklan street under the auspices of, Murray, 504, 619. 395; superseded by Alonckton, 895; again Potter's, 324. in command, 397, 400; state of affairs in the Zantberg. 2,5, 324. colonies in 1763, 401-40S; passage of the Hoffman, Josiah Ogden, recorder, 689, 708. Stamp Act, 409; daring memorial of the Hlolnes, George, settles at Turtle Bay, 85. assembly to the Ministry, 40S; reception llospitalsof the Stamp Act in the city, 400, 410; non- New York, founded, 463, 625, 783. importation agreement of the New York Bellevue, 624. merchants, 414, 415; arrival of the stamnps; Woman's, 779. Colden undertakes the office of distributor; Hotel Barning, 837. is burnt in effigy on the Bowling Green, 418, Hos e, Gen., arrival at Staten Island of, 498: in 419; delivers the stamps to the mayor, 422, the battle of Long Island, 49'35-498; at Kip's 423; superseded by Moore, 425; again in n Bay, 502; in the battle of IIarlemrn Plains, 505, command. 442; emission of bills of credit by 506; in command at New York, 511, 543; recall the assembly, 443; tax on tea, 446; non-im- of, 552. portation agreement rescinded,460; Colden Hudson, Henry, first expeditions of, 31; discovsuperseded in the government by Lord Dun- ery of Manhattan by, 33; ascends the river, more. 460; assumnes the government in the 34; encounter with the Indians at Fort Washabsence of'lryon, 467; arrival of the tea ington, 36; return to Europe, 37; death of, ships; tea plarty in New York Harbor, 38. 469-473; second Colonial Congress; the lTudson River, various names of, 34, 35. American Association, 478. ~rtHuhes, Hugh. one of the Sons of Liberty, 412. Monckton, Gen. Robert, appointment, popu- Huvck, Jan,' Krankbesoecker" at New Amsterlarity of, 395; reception by the assembly, dam. 396; departure for Martinique and return of, 397; nmunicipal ordinances, 397, 398; returns to England, 400, Incleuberg-See trills. Moore, Sir Henry. conciliatory disposition of; Independence, Declaration of, reception in New reception by the Sons of Liberty, 426, 427; York of, 492. repeal of the Stamp Act, 429; Limited Sup- Indian War, first, 111-122; second, 144, 145. ply Bill passed by the assembly, 4387; con- Institutions, benevolent, in the beginning of the test with the assembly; disfranchisement nineteenth century, 628-630. of the province, 438, 489; assembly dis- Irving. Washington, birthplace of, 835. solved by, 441; new assembly convened, lsland.s441; death of, 442. Barent's or Barn, Great, now Ward's, purDunmore, Lord, arrival of, 460; complaisance chased by Van Twiller, 76, 77; site of Emiof the assembly; trial of McDougal, 461- grant Hospital, 873. 463; transfer of Dunmore to Virginia, 461. Barent's or Barn, Little, now Randall's, site Tryon, William, appointed governor, 461; re- of the hIouse of Refuge, 878. fusal of, to receive the income voted by the Bedloe's, first quarantine established at, 355; assembly, 462; removal of Sears from office, Fortifications of, 874, 462; New York Hospital founded under the Blackwell's, purchased by Van Twiller, 76, auspices of, 463, 464; burning of the Govern- 77; public buildings of, 873. ment House, 464; the tea ships; spirited Nutten, no. Governor's, purchased by Van action of the Sons of Liberty, 467, 46S; de- Twiller, 76; fortifications of, 493, 874. parlture for En-land, 467; return, 486: bom- Oyster, now Ellis. fortifications of, 874. bardment of the toxwn by the Asia, 488; Staten. grant of land to Cornelis Melyn, 85; flight from the city of, 449. purchased by the Company; first settlement Greene, General, 494, 495, 508, 564. of the HIuuguenots, 142; Howe at, 493; in the Revolution, 555, 556; fortifications of, 874. Hale, Nathan, secret expediton of, 601; arrest and execution of, 502. Hall, Tammany, removal of, 872. Jacobson, Marcus, sold into slavery by order of Hall, Thomas, settles at Turtle Bay, 85; one of Lovelace, 163. the Council of Nine Men, 133. James, Major, house destroyed by the Sons oi Hamilton, Andrew, defence of, in the Zenger Liberty, 420. trial, 335-343. Jansen, Roelef, land granted by Van Twiller to, Hamilton, Alexander, debuct of, in the great 75, 76. meeting in the fields, 477; in the affair of the Jans, or Jansen, Aneke, widow of Roelef; marAsia, 488; political career of, 588-605; in the riage with Bogardus of, 76; sale of estate to affair of the Jay treaty, 610; death of, 669, 670. the Colonial government, and subsequent lease Hamilton, Lieut., death of, 781. to Trinity Church, 76, 275. Hanford, Levi, reminiscences of, 515-521. Jansen, Hendrick, one of the Council of Twelve Hardenburg, Arnoldus, 126,133. ~ Men, 107.

Page 888

888 IND EX. Jansen. Michael. one of the Council of Nine Men, Mercantile, in 1886, 876. 878. 183. Society, in 1754, 819, 820, 8S4, 655, 876. Japanese 1 mbass-, visit to New York, 782, 783. Lincoln, President, election of, 784, 78(5; first Jay, Angustus. carly IIugnenot resident, 200. call for men by, 791; death of, 850; obsequies Jay, John, in the Committee of Fifty-one, 474; in New Y ork, 850-854. delegate to the Continental Congreess, 477; Lispenard, Leonard, delegate to first Colonial chairman of the Conlmittee of Safety, 510; Congress, 412, 477. Chief Justice, 545; Peace Commissioner. 567; LispI nard's Ieadlows, 22, 325. in the Doctors' MIob, 585; governor of New Livingston, Robert, first proprietor of Livingston York, 509; treaty of, 509-511. Manor, 236, 256, 265. Jay, Peter A., recorder, 704. Livingston William, 830, 409. Johnson, l:ev. Sainmuel, first president of King's Livingston, Philip, leader of the Presbyterian College, 373, 397, 621. party. 373; delegate to first Colonial Congress, 412, 477, 547. Livingston. Robert R.. delegate to first Colonial Kennedy House, head-quarters of Lee, Putnam Colngress, 412; one of the framers of the Declaand Washington, 490, 622. ration of Independence, 492; chancellor, 545; Kennedy, John A., seizure of Confederate arms in the Erie Canal, 712, 720. by, 789. 790..Livingston, Matulrin, recorder, 6S7. Kidd, William, history of, 251; in command of Loockermans, Govert, 92; one of the Council of Adventure galley, 254; piracy of; 255; arrest Nine Men. 133. and execution of, 256. Low, Isaac, 441, 474. Kip, Hendrick Hendricksen, first city lot granted Lupold, Ulrich, schont fiscal, 77, 79. to, 95; one of the Council of Nine Men, 188. King, Charles, president of Columbia College, 784. Maaga-w, Colonel, in command at Fort Washing King's Farm granted to Trinity Church, 275, 347. ton, 507-509; prisoner at New York, 512. King, Preston, death of, 857. Manhattan, the island of, in its primlitive state. Knox, General, in command at New York, 568- 21, 24, 28; natives of, 25-28; causes which ledc,571. to the discovsery of, 28, 38; lirst settlement of, Knowlton, Colonel. in the battle of Harlem 39; purlchase by the Dutch from the Indiansl Plains, 505; delath of, 506. of, 52; Fort Ainsterdlamr erected on, 57; first Knyphausen, General, in the battle of Long ship bulilt at, 59. Island, 495; at Fort Washington, 508; at New Manhatta.n Waterxoriks, 745, 746. York, 511. Manning, Captalin John, left in command of the I(olck-See Collect. city. 1tl:; sirrender of the fort to the 1D)ltch Kossuth. Louis, arrival at New York of, 751. by, 166i; coiurt tartial of, for cowaralice, 166, Krigier, Martin, one of the first burgomasters, 167. 96, 133, 136. Mamaroneck, the property of Caleb Heathcote, Krol, Sebastian Jansen, "Krank besoecker" at 299. New Aimsterdam, 53. Alayor.s — Knytef' Jochein Pietersen, arrival of, 83; one of Willett, Thomas, first mayor of the city in Council of Twelve Men, 107; one of Council 1665, 1667, 157; in the affair of Leisler, 235. of Eight Men, 118; dispute with Kieft; exiled DelLavall, Thomas, 1666, 1671, 1678, 157, 171, fromn the province, 130, 131; shipwreck, 132; 172,173 appointed sechont by the Company, 140; mur- Steenvwyck, Cornelius, 1668-1671, 1681-16S83, der of, 141.. 172. Nicoll, Matthias, 1672. 172. Lauwrence, John, 1673, 157; 1691, 172, 173, 235, Laborie, Rev. James, first pastor of the French 286. church in Pine street, 2S1. Dcrvall, Willian, 1675. 173. Laight, Edward, one of the Sons of Liberty, 412. 1)e Aeyer; Nicholas, in 1676, 198. Lafayette, Gen., arrival of, 507; departure fiom n an Cortlandt, Stephanus, 1677,1686,1687, 200, New York, 514; subsequent visit of, 714. 201; in the affair of Leisler, 220, 226, 229, 284, Lamb, John, one of the Sons of Liberty, 412, 2.S5. 241. 417; arrested by the atssembly, 445. 480: in Romubouts. Francois. 1679. 28)1. the affair of the Asia, 488; in the federal riot, Dyre, William, in 1680. 2)5, 206. 590, 591. Minveille. Gabriel, in 1684, 210. 211: in the Lampo, Jan, first schout fiscal of the province, affair of Leisler, 2-35. 52, 59. Balvld, Nicholas, in 16S., 158. 211; in the La Montagne, Johannes, member of the Council affair of Leisler. 220-224, 226, 228, 229; in of Kieft, 79, 111, 120, 121, 136. the administratioll of Nanfan, 284, 267. Landttag of delegates from the five lutch towns Delmnoy, Pieter. first mmayor elected by the assembled at New Amsterdam. 141. pIeople, 1689, 1669), 222, 225; contest with Lee, Gen. Charles, in command at New York, Van Cortlandt. 226. 228. 490; arrested and imprisoned in the City Itall, De Ps ster, Abraham. 1f691-! 693. 241. 305. 543. Lodowick. Charles, 1 i94. 1695, 223, 250. Leitch, Major. in the battle of HIarlem Plains. Merritt, William, 1695-169, 260. 505; death of, 506. De Peyster, Johannes, 1698, 1699. 260, 266, 267. Lewis, Francis, one of the Sons of Liberty, 412, Provoost, David, 1699. 1700. 262, 266. 477, 547, 50. De Riemer, Isaac, 1700, 1701. Lewis, Morgan, governor of the State of New Noell, Thomas, 1701, 1702; appointed, 265; York, 687, 701. contest between the Leislerians and antiLiberty Pole, erected on the Commons, 429; cut Leislerians during the administrmation of down by the British soldiers, erected and again 265-267. cut down, 432-485; new Liberty Pole erected French, Philip, 1702. 1703, 268, 280. by the Sons of Liberty, 454, 455. Peartree, William. 1708-17!)7. 281. Libraries- Wilson, Ebenezer. 1707-171). 7 2,:i). Astor, 876. Van Cortlandt, Jaciobus, 1710, 1711, 17 9, 1720, Cooper Union. 878. 294. Historical Society, in 1804, 876. Heathcote, Caleb, 1711-1714, 247, 29S, 299, 305.

Page 889

INDEX. 889 Johnston, John, 1714-1719, 300, 305. ford for the suppression of the rebellion, 789; Walters, Robert, 1720-1725, 305, 311. first departure for the seat of war, 798-801; in Jansen, Johannes, 1725, 1726, 311. 1863, 819. Lurting, Robert, 1726-1735, 311, 347. Minetta Brook, 25, 324. Richard, Paul, 1735-1739, 347. Molenaar, Abram, one of the council of Twelve Cruger, John. 1739-1744, 353. Men, 107. Bayard, Stephen, 1744-1747, 370, 371. Montagne, Abraham, 443, 447, 455, 462. Holland, Edward, 1747-1757, 373. Montgomery, Gen. Richard, interment of, in St. Cruger, John, jr., 1757-1766, 391; dispute with Paul's Churchyard, 710; tomb of, 711, 712. Lord Loudon, 391, 392; delegate to first Morgan, William, abduction and supposed murColonial Congress, 412; stamps received der of; anti-Masonic excitement, 731, 732. from Colden by, 421, 422, 441. Morris, Lewis, antecedents of, 288, 2S9; in the Hicks, Whitehead, 1766-1776, 437, 438, 454. councils of Hunter, 288, 292; chief-justice, 293, Mathews, David, mayor during the Revolu- 303, 306, 329; removed from office by Cosby, tion, 552. 331; espouses the cause of Van Dam, 345; Duane, James. first mayor after the Revolu- governor of New Jersey, 346. tion, 1784-1789, 474, 479, 574, 604. Morris, Gouverneur, 485, 547, 550, 691, 719. Varick, Richard, 1789-1801, 604, 610. Morrisania purchased by Lewis Morris, 288. Livingston, Edward, 1801-1803, 614, 662, 668. Morris' House, Col. Roger, head-quarters of Clinton, De Witt, 1803-1807, 1808-1810, 1811- Washington, 506, 621. 1815, appointed, 668; removed from the Museum, Barnum's, burned, 857. mayoralty; reappointed and again removed, 687; restored to office, 688; elected governor, 704; in the Erie Canal, 716-721; death Negro plot of 1712, 291, 292; of 1741, 355-369. of, 722. New Netherland erected into a province, 51; Willett, Marinus, 1807-1808, appointed mayor, conquest of, by the English, 153; recapture by 687; previous career of, 412, 480, 484, 486, the Dutch, 164; ceded to the English govern603; ambassador to the Creeks, 696. ment in exchange for Surinam, 166. Radcliff, Jacob, 1810, 1811, 1815-1818, ap- Newspaperspointed, 689; reappointed, 703, 704. Constitutional Courant, issued in 1765, 409, Colden, Cadwallader D., 1818-1821, appointed 410. to the mayoralty, 704; removed, 705. Greenleaf's Patriotic Register, 589, 590. Allen, Stephen, 1821-1823, appointed, 705; Independent Reflector, organ of the Presbytesuperseded, 706. rian party in 1754, 383. Paulding, William, 1823-1825, 1826-1829, 705, New York Gazette, first paper in the city, 709, 715, 730, 732. published by William Bradford, 250, 311, Bowne, Walter, 1829-1833, 732-733. 332, 334, 383. Lee, Gideon, 1833-1834, 733. New York Gazette or Weekly Post Boy, 883, Lawrence, Cornelius W., 1834-1837, 743, 744. 413, 444, 543. Clark, Aaron, 1837-1839, 744. New York Weekly Journal, issued by John Varian, Isaac L., 1839-1841, 744, 745. Peter Zenger, 232; burnt by the hangman,

• Morris, Robert H., 1841-1844, 745. 283; discontinuance of, 383.

Harper, James, 1844, 1845, 748. Rivington's Gazette, destroyed by the Liberty Havemeyer, Williamn F., 1845, 1846,1848, 1849, Boys, 489; transformed into the Royal Ga748, 749. zette, 543.

• Mickle, A. H., 1846, 1847, 748. Weekly Mercury, published by Hugh Gaine,

Brady, William V., 1847, 184S, 749. 383, 543. Woodhull, Caleb S., 1849-1851, 749-751. Journalism in the city in the beginning of the Kingsland, Ambrose C., 1851-1853, 751. nineteenth century, 656; from 1825 to 1841, Westervelt, Jacob A., 1853-1855, 751, 754. 734-741; in 1859, 789. Wood, Fernando, 1855-1858, 755; 1860-1862, Newtown founded, 137. 782. Notelman, Conrad, schout fiscal, 52, 59, 65, 72. Tiemann, Daniel F., 1858-1860, 780. Opdyke, George, 1862-1864, 803. Gunther, C. Godfrey, 1864-1866, 834, O'Brien, Colonel, murder of, 827. Hoffman, John T., 1866-1868, 857. Opera-House Riot, Astor Place, 749-752.

• McDougall, Alexander, one of the Sons of Lib- Oswald, Francis, one of the Sons of Liberty, 412,

erty, 412; arrest and imprisonment of, 445, 487. 446; one of the Committee of Fifty-one, 474; colonel of New York regiment, 486.

• McEvers, James, stamp distributor at New York, Packets, first line of European, established, 709,

407, 417. 710. McGillivray. Alexander, visit of, with Creek Palatines, immigration of, 287; migration to deputation, 603, 604. Pennsylvania and Livingston's Manor, 288.

• Megapolensis, Domine, clergyman at New Am- Paulus Hook, purchase of, 57.

sterdam, 134. Pauw, Michael, patroon of Pavonia, 57.

• Melyn, Cornelis, arrival of, 83; grantee of Staten Pavonia, first erected into a patroonship, 57;

Island, 85; one of Council of Eight Men, 118; purchased by the company, 78; Indian massadispute with Kieft; exiled from the colony, cre at, 111, 112. 130, 131; shipwreck of, 132. Philipse, Frederick, member of council in 1689,

• Mespath, destruction of, 119; Indian massacre 220.

at, 121. Philipse, Adolphus, judge of Supreme Court, Michaelius, Rev. Jonas, supposed first clergy- 330, 331; in the Zenger trial, 335. man at New Amsterdam. 63, 64. Planck, Abraham, one of the council of Twelve Milborne, J acob, despatched by Leisler to Al- Men, 107. bany, 227; return to New York, 228; second Pintard, John, reminiscences of, 513, 514, 526. expedition to Albany, 230, 231; arrest and 530, 710, 719. imprisonment of, 235; trial and execution of, Pitt, William, statue of, 431. 286-238; disin terred and buried in the Garden Polhemus, Domine Johannes, installed at Mid street church, 271. wout, 142. Militia, New York City, tendered by Gen. Sand- Police, Metropolitan, instituted, 772.

Page 890

890 INDEX. Police Riot, 773, 774, 776. First night watch established. 259. Potter's Field, 616, 617. Freedom of the city in Cornbury's adcinis Prisons of the Revolution. 512-531. tration; street cleaning; public pound, 279, Prison Ships of the Revolution, 531-540. 281. Public Buildings- Water street extended; Broadway paved; Government House and public buildings ordinances of 1707, 283. erected by Van Twiller, 65; stone tavern, Market opened at the upper end of Broad in 1642, at Coenties Slip, by Kieft, 79; street, 296, 397. converted into a Stadt Huys, 136. First purchase of furniture for the use of the First Market-house built at the Bowling Common Council, 297, 298. Green, 147. Public clock put up on the City Hall, 800. City Hall built in Wall street; Stadt Huys First ropewalk built in Broadway, 301. sold at auction, 258. New ferry established, 301. Alms-House erected on the Commons, 800, Jews' burial ground established near Chatham 347. Square, 315. First Merchants' Exchange, at the foot of Powder Magazine built on the island in the Broad street, in 1752, 374. Collect, 315. King's College, at the foot of Park Place, 373; Greenwich and Washington streets comColumbia College, 627, 628. menced; new ships built, 319. New York Hospital, founded in 1773, 463, 464, Line of stages established between New York 625, 626. and Philadelphia, 319. Bridewell, in the Revolution, 522, 523, 580, First public library established in the city, 581, 623. 319, 320. New Jail, in the Revolution, 523-530, 581, Markets of 1735, 321. 623, 624. The "Strand" sold at public auction, 322. Federal Hall in Wall street fitted up for Con- Pearl street laid out and regulated, 322. gress, 591. City divided into seven wards, 325. Government IHouse erected on the site of the Fire engines first introduced, 325; fire departold fiort; afterward the Custom House, 596, ment organized, 326. 597, 655. Alms House and House of Correction built on Alms HIouse on the Commons, in 1796, 581. the Commons; Cortlandt street opened, 3847. State Prison at Greenwich, 623. First stone of the new battery laid on the Bellevue Establishment, 627. Whitehall rocks, 348. Post-office, 655. Water street named and extended, 348. Tontine Coffee House, 630. Rector street opened, 349. Arsenal, 660. Quarantine established at Bedloe's Island, 355. City Hall built in the Park, 667, 668. Market-house built in Broadway, opposite Merchants' Exchange built in Wall street, 729; Liberty street, 353. burning of, 742. John, 1)ey, Beekman and Thames streets Public buildings of 1859, 775-783. paved and regulated, 374. Public improvements and municipal ordi- First Merchants' Exchange built at the foot saices- of Broad street, 374. Foet staked out; horse-mill built, 53. King's College proposed, 373. Fort rebuilt; graveyard laid out; windmills Walton House built, 384. Luilt, 65. Ferry established between New York and Civil and criminal court established; excise Staten Island, 384. laws established by Kieft, 80. Peck Slip opened and paved, 384. Two annual fairs instituted in 1641, 96i Fulton street opened and regulated, 394. City wall built along the line of Wall street,. Theatre opened in Beekman street, 895. 123. Public lamps and lamp-posts for the first time Fire wardens appointed; weights and meas- erected, 397. ures regulated, 134. Sandy Hook lighthouse lighted for the first Fortifications erecte(l in Wull street, 137. time.'398. Burgher rights established in the city, 145, 146. Ferries established between New York and Fire-buckets, hooks and ladders imported, Paulus Hook, and Staten Island and Bergen, and a rattle watch organized; thatched 398. roofs and wooden chimneys abolished, and New York IIospital commenced, 463. improved property subjected to taxation, Canal constructed in Canal street, 578, 579. 146. Collect filled up, 580. Latin school opened, 147. First sidewalks laid in the city, 581, 582. Road opened to Harlem, 148. Broadway graded below Canal street, 582. Public meeting for merchants in 1669, in Broad Streets numbered, 582. street, instituted; monthly mail established Manhattan Water-works constructed, 663, 667. between New York and Boston, 162. Public Schools established in the city, 674Ordinances of Andros, 197-200. 677. Broad street improved, 199. Introduction of Steam Navigation, 678-683. Slaughter houses removed fiom the city, 200. Steam ferry-boats first used on the rivers, Public wells built in the city, 134, 201. 686, 687. City divided into six wards, 209, 210. New York island surveyed and laid out, 691, Per-7der magazine established at the Smit's 692. Vly, 212. Fortification of the harbor, 697-701. Water street projected; Wall street laid out, European packet lines established, 709, 710. 213, 214. First Savings Bank opened in the city, 710. City fortified by Leisler, 226. Introduction of gas into the city, 723, 724. Water street extended; Pine and Cedarstreets Marble first used as a building material, 726, laid out, 241. 727. Maiden Lane regunlated, 25S. Penny press first established, 734-738. Streets cleaned at public expense, and for the Introduction of the Croton water into the first time lighted, 258, 259. city, 745-748. First English school established, in the city, Crystal Palace opened in 1853, 751. 273, 27.4. Gentral Park purchased and laid out, 759-770.

Page 891

IN DE X. 891 Putnarm. Gen. Israel, in command at New York, 429, 430; battles about the Liberty Pole, 429490; in the battle of Lon. Island. 4)95-498; 436; handbills denouncing the Assembly isevacuation of the city by, 503,504, SOS. sued by, 444; arrest of John Lamb, 445; Liberty Pole cut down by the soldiers; indignation meeting of the Sons of Liberty, 447; Quackenbos. Isaac. in the battle of Golden Hill, battle of Golden lill, 448-453; Liberty Pole 448-450. erected by, 454,455; IIampden Hall purchased Quarantine, Staten Island. burned, 780. by, 455, 456; Nathan Rogers, 458; spirited action in respect to the landing of tea, 467, 468; arrival of the tea ships; tea-party in New Rachel in New York, 758, 759. York hlarbor, 469-473; leave taking of the Randall, Thomas, 477. captains by the Sons of Liberty, 472, 473; Rapelie, George Jansen de, arrival of, 50; family correspondence with the Sons of Liberty in of, S4; one of the Council of Twelve Men, 107. Boston; the Committee of Fifty-one; renewal Rasiires, Isaac de, first koopman of the province, of the non-importation agreement proposed, 52; letter to Governor Bradford of, 53, 54. 473, 474; great meeting in the fields, 476. 477; Rawlins, Colonel, at Fort Washington, 507, 508; boards for the Boston Barracks seized by, prisoner at New York, 512. 480; reception of the news of the battle of Regiment, Seventh, march to Washington, 793-. Lexington by, 481-483; seizure of the stores 794. at Tturtle Bay by, 4S3; the Broad street affair, Rensselaer, William Van, first patroon of Rens- 484-486; removal of the cannon from the selaerswick, 57. Battery; bombardment of the town by the lensselaerswick, erected into a patroonship, 57. Asia, 488; Nivington's Gazette destroyed by, Ridgewood Water Works, construction of, 771. 489; Declaration of Independence in New Riot, Great New York, 820-833. York; statue of George III. demolished by Ristori. visit of, 869, 870. the Liberty Boys, 492; after the occupation Riker, Richard, recorder, 698, 703, 704. of the city by the British, 510, 511; at the fire Ritzma, Domine, of the Collegiate Church, 532. of 1776, 541; burning of Oliver De Lancey's Ritzma, Adolph, colonel of New York regiment, house at Bloomingdale by, 542, 543. 487. Sproat, David, British commissary, 533-540. Robertson, General, military commandant of the Steuben, Baron, arrival of, 507; public reception city, 505, 533. by the civic authorities of, 575; in the DocRlobinson, Thomas, one of the Sons of Liberty, tors' Mob, 586. 410, 417. Stilling, Lord, Long Island granted by Plymouth Robinson, Beverly, 421. Comlany to, 85, 86. Rou, Rev. Louis, of the Frenen Church in Pine Stirling, Lord William Alexander, in the battle street, 309. of Long Island, 494-498; expedition against Staten Island of, 556. Streets of New Amsterdam in 1664, 188-190. Sandy Hook, discovery of, 32. Strickland's Plain, battle of, 122. Saybrook founded, 73. Sub-Treasury, 875. Schuyler, Peter, 224, 265, 294, 305. Sugar-house in Liberty street, erection of, 316. Scott, John Morin, one of the Sons of Liberty, 317; in the Revolution, 514-516, 521. 411; in the Broad street affair, 48S, Sugar-house, Rhinelander's, in the Revolution, Seal first granted to the city, 139, 140; first Eng- 521. lish seal, 162; seal of 1686. 213, 214. Sullivan, General, in the battle of Long Island, Sears, Isaac, one of the Sons of Liberty, 410, 494-498. 417; wounded at the Liberty Pole, 432, 435; Swaanendael, claimed as a patroonship, 57: in the battle of Golden Hill, 448-450; removal massacre at, 58, 59; purchased by the Com from office of, 462, 477; delegate fiom the city pany, 72. to the first Provincial Congress, 479; arrest Swamp, the, 323. and subsequent release of, 480; enters the army, 487; office of Nivington's Gazette destroyed by, 489. Tabernacle, Broadway, history of, 779-780. Selyns, Domine Henry, installed at Breuckelen, Telegraph, first Magnetic, from New York, 748. 171. Tombs, 783. Shoemaker's Land, the, 323. Tolmpkins, Daniel D., 761, 702, 715. Skinner, Abraham, American Commissary, 539. Treaty of Tawasentha, 44, 45. Smnits, Claes, murder of, 106. Smith, William, 293, 305; in the Zenger trial, 331, 333; struck from the list of attorneys by Underhill, John, settles in New Netherland, 83; Cosby, 334; restored to the bar, 373, 376, 409. in the Indian war, 118-121; revolts against the Smith, Michael, in the battle of Golden Hill, 451. Dutch government, 137. Smith, Goldwin, reception of, 838. Union Square Meeting, April 20, 1861, 795, 796. Societies, benevolent, in the beginning of the Utrecht, New, founded by Jaques Cortelyou, 150. nineteenth century, 628-630; in 1859, 784; religious, in the beginning of the nineteenth century, 631. Van Cortlandt, Oloffe Stevenson, alderman, 157. Society, Loyal Publication, history of, 809-818. Van Couwenhoven, 92, 133, 136. Sons of Liberty, organization of, 409;. leaders of, Van Dam, Rip, member of Council of Hunter, 410; patriotic handbills of, 413; Committee 288, 293; of Burnet, 805; administers affairs of Correspondence chosen by, 417; Colden after the death of Montgomerie, 328; contest burnt in effigy on the Commons by, 418-420; with Cosby, 330, 331; contest with Clarke, 345. stamps delivered by Colden to, 422, 423; Vandercliffs Orchard, 823, 824. stamp distributor for Maryland seized by, Vandergrist, Paulus, one of the first schepens, 426; stamps on board the Minerva seized and 136. burnt by, 427, 428; first stamped paper seen Van Dincklagen, Lubbertus, schout fiscal of the in the city, 428; Lord Grenville, Lord Colville province; dispute with Van Twiller, 72; susand General Murray burnt in effigy on the tained by the States General, 77, 78; ViceCommons, 428, 429; repeal of the Stamp Act; Director under Stuyvesant, 125, Liberty Pole erected on the Commons by, Van Dyck, Hendrick, in the Indian war, 109.

Page 892

892 INDEX. Van Fees, Anthony, earliest conveyance of pro- mrashington, Gen., in command at New York, perty in the city made to, 95, 491; at the Battle of Long Island, 495-495; Van Gheel, Maximilian, one of the first schepens, retreats from Long Island, 498-500; evacuates 136. -the city, 501; in the battle of HIarlem Plains, Van Hatten, Arent, one of the first burgomas- 505, 506; at lorrisania, 506; evacuates the ters, 136. island, 501; conspiracy against, baffled by tihe Van Ness House, the, 618, 619. New York delegation, c49, 550; enters the eity Van Remund, Jan, koopman, 52, 68, 65. on the 25th of -November, 1783, 568; at Van Ruyven, Cornelius, alderman, 157. Fraunces' Tavern, 572, 573; inaugurated first Van Schelluyne. Dirck, first lawyer of New President of the United States in the City Amsterdam, 1834. Hall in Wall street, 594, 595; life in New Van Tienhoven, Cornelius, koopman, 64, 79; in York, 596-600. the Indian war, 104, 105; schout, 136. Washington, ITnion Square statue, 770. Van Vaurk, James, 145. Wiley, William, one of the Sons of Liberty, 412, Van Wyek, Pierre C., recorder, 687-689. 417, 487, Van Zandt, Jacobus, 445. Williams, Erasmus, one of the Sons of Liberty, Verrazani, Jean, discovery of Manhattanby, 28; 445. narrative of, 28, 29. Winter Garden burned, 872. Vesey, Rev. William, first clergyman of Trinity Wistar, Caspar, one of the Sons of Liberty, 445. Church, 251, 282. Wolfert's Marsh, 25, 324. Woodhull, Gen. Nathaniel, death of, 498. Wool, Gen., in command at New York, 799. Wadsworth, James A., Major-General, of New Worth Monument, erection of, 770. York, 801. Wales, Prince of, visit to New York, 783-784. Wallabout, the, settled, 50, 51. Zantberg-See Hills. Walloons, arrival of, 50. Zenger, John Peter, birth and history of, 332; Walton House, the, erected, 885, 386. New York Weekly Journal published by, Wampum, description of, 99, 100; ordinance 332; arrest and imprisonment of, 883; "the respecting, 100, 101. Zenger trial," 335-348.

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