Chevaux de frise.

but his life was spared on condition that he should pilot Wayne on his expedition over the same rugged hills to attack Stony Point. Mr. Garrison remembered the famous Irish woman called Captain Molly, the wife of a cannonier, who worked a field-piece at the battle of Monmouth, on the death of her husband. She generally dressed in the petticoats of her sex, with an artilleryman's coat over. She was in Fort Clinton, aron with her husband, when it

forts, Beverly and his father, who was wagon-master at Fort Montgomery, were ordered to take a large iron cannon to the outworks on the neck of the promontory. While thus engaged, they were made prisoners; but Beverly, being a boy, was allowed his liberty. He told me that he was standing on the ramparts of Fort Montgomery on the morning when Arnold passed by, in his barge, fleeing to the Vulture, and that he recognized the general, as well as Larvey, his coxswain. He also informed me that a Tory, named Brom Springster, piloted the enemy over the Dunderberg to the forts. Brom afterward became a prisoner to the patriots, Americans retreated from the fort, as the enemy scaled the ramparts, her husband dropped his match and fled. Molly caught it up, touched off the piece, and then scampered off. It was the last gun fired by the Americans in the fort. Mrs. Rose (just mentioned) remembers her as Dirty Kate, living between Fort Montgomery and Buttermilk Falls, at the close of the war, where she died a horrible death from the effects of a syphilitic disease. I shall have occasion to refer to this bold camp-follower, whom Washington honored with a lieutenant's commission for her bravery on the field of Monmouth, nearly nine months afterward, when reviewing the events of that battle.

Bell Garson

was attacked. When the

Here, by the clear spring which bubbles up near the cottage of the old patriot, and in the shadow of Bear Mountain, behind which the sun is declining, let us glance at the Revolutionary history of this region.

Forts Clinton and Montgomery were included in the Highland fortifications ordered to be constructed in 1775-6. These, like Fort Constitution, were commenced by Bernard Romans, assisted by skillful French engineers, and were finally completed under the superintendence of Captain Thomas Machin. Fort Montgomery was of sufficient size to accommodate eight hundred men; Fort Clinton was only about half as large. They were built of stones and earth, and were completed in the spring of 1776. Pursuant to a recommendation of Romans, made the previous autumn, preparations were made to place obstructions in the river from the mouth of Poplopen's, or Peploap's Kill, to Anthony's Nose, opposite. These obstructions, which were not completed until the autumn of 1777, just before the forts were attacked, consisted of chevaux de frise, a boom, and an iron chain.' The latter, eighteen

hundred feet

in length, was buoyed up by

It was believed

heavy spars, connected by iron links, and also by large rafts of timber. that these obstructions, covered by the guns of the fort, and accompanied by several armed vessels, would be sufficient to effectually prevent the enemy from ascending the river. The result, however, was otherwise.

1 Generals Knox and Greene visited Fort Montgomery in the spring of 1777, in company with Generals Wayne, M'Dougal, and Clinton. They made a joint report to Washington, in which they recommended the completion of the obstructions substantially as they were afterward done. The boom and the chevaux de frise so obstructed the current of the river (here very strong), that the water was raised two or three feet above them, and pressed upon them heavily. Twice the chain was parted by this pressure: first, a swivel, which came from Ticonderoga, was broken; and the second time a clevis, which was made at Poughkeepsie, gave way.

Condition of the British Forces. Putnam's intended Expedition. Sir Henry Clinton's Stratagem. Landing of British Troops.

When Burgoyne found himself environed with difficulties at Saratoga, and perceived the rapid augmentation of the American army under Gates, he dispatched messengers to Sir Henry Clinton, then commanding at New York in the absence of General Howe,' urging him to make a diversion in his favor, and join him, if possible, with a force sufficient to scatter the half-disciplined provincials. Clinton was eager to comply; but a re-enforcement of troops from Europe, expected for several weeks, was still delayed. This force, amounting to almost two thousand men, under General Robertson, arrived at the beginning of Oc- 1777. tober. Having sailed in Dutch bottoms, they were three months on the voyage. The first battle of Stillwater had now been fought, and the second was nigh at hand. Putnam was in the Highlands, with fifteen hundred men; his head-quarters were at Peekskill. Washington had drawn upon Putnam, toward the close of September, for twenty-five hundred troops, to aid in defending Philadelphia and the works on the Delaware, then menaced by the enemy. Their places were supplied by militia of New York and Connecticut; but, apprehending no hostile movement up the Hudson, Putnam had discharged about one thousand of them, leaving his effective force only fifteen hundred strong. Forts Clinton and Montgomery, commanded by the brothers James and George Clinton, were feebly garrisoned; in both fortresses there were not more than six hundred men, chiefly militia from Dutchess and Ulster. There was a fortification near Peekskill, called Fort Independence, which was also feebly garrisoned; in fact, the Highland posts were almost defenseless against a respectable demonstration on the part of the enemy.

2

1777.

On the arrival of re-enforcements, Sir Henry Clinton prepared for an expedition up the Hudson, partly for the purpose of destroying American stores at Peekskill, but chiefly to make a diversion in favor of Burgoyne. On Saturday evening, the 4th of October, he proceeded up the river in flat boats and transports, with about five thousand men, and landed at Tarrytown, nearly thirty miles from New York. This was a feint to deceive General Putnam into the belief that Peekskill was his destination. To strengthen this belief, and to divert Putnam's attention from the Highland forts, Clinton proceeded on Sunday, with three thousand troops, to Verplanck's Point, eight miles below Peekskill, where he debarked. General Putnam fell back, on his approach, to the high ground in the rear of Peekskill, and sent a messenger to Governor Clinton, desiring him to send to his aid as many troops as he could spare from the forts. The militia in the vicinity rallied around Putnam, and he had about two thousand men, on the afternoon of the 5th, to dispute the progress of the enemy up the Hudson, either by land or water. Sir Henry Clinton perceived that his stratagem was successful, and the next morning, under cover of a fog, he passed two thousand of his troops over to Stony Point, whence they made their way among the tangled defiles and lofty crags of the Dunderberg to Forts Clinton and Montgomery, twelve miles distant. The transports were anchored near Stony Point, and the corps of Loyalists, under Colonels Bayard and Fanning, remained at Verplanck's Point. A detach. ment was left near Stony Point, to guard the pass and preserve a communication with the fleet. Three frigates, the Tartar, Preston, and Mercury, proceeded up the river to a position between what is now known as Caldwell's Landing and Fort Independence, and within cannon-shot of the latter.

Governor Clinton received advices on Sunday night of the arrival of the enemy's ships and transports at Tarrytown, and, on Monday morning, a scouting party of one hundred

1

General Howe was on an expedition southward, and, with the British fleet, was coasting near the Capes of the Delaware and Virginia, preparatory to an effort to take possession of Philadelphia.

When this requisition was made, Putnam was preparing a plan for attacking the enemy at four different points: Staten Island, Long Island, Paulus's Hook, and New York. He relied upon the militia of Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, to accomplish his designs. Fortunately, Washington made his requisition in time to prevent what must have proved a disastrous expedition.

* Colonel Luddington was posted at Tarrytown with about five hundred militia. Clinton sent a flag with a peremptory summons for them to surrender themselves prisoners of war. While parleying with the flag, the enemy endeavored to surround the militia, which Luddington perceiving, he ordered a retreat. British then returned to their shipping.

The

This view is from Peekskill landing, looking up the river. On the left is the Dunderberg, or Thunder Mountain, over which the troops marched to Forts Clinton and Montgomery. The dark spot on the brink

re-enforcement to defend the forts.

The messenger, whose name was Waterbury, treacherously delayed his journey, and the next day deserted to the enemy. In the mean while, Putnam, astonished at hearing nothing further from the enemy, rode to reconnoiter, and did not return to his head-quarters, near Continental Village, until after the firing was heard on the other side of the river. Colonel Humphreys, who was alone at head-quarters when the firing began, urged Colonel Wyllys, the senior officer in camp, to send all the men not on duty to Fort Montgomery.' He immediately complied, but it was too late. It was twilight before they reached the river, and the enemy had then accomplished their purpose. The British army, piloted by a Tory, traversed the Dunderberg in a single column, and at its northern base separated into two divisions. One division, under Lieutenant-colonel Campbell, consisting of nine hundred men, was destined for the attack on Fort Montgomery; the other, under the immediate command of Sir Henry Clinton, and consisting of an equal number, was to storm Fort Clinton. There was a large body of Hessians in each division. Governor Clinton, on hearing of the attack upon his scouts near Doodletown, sent out a detachment of more than one hundred men, under Colonels Bruyn and M-Claghrey, with a brass field-piece and sixty men, to an advantageous post on the road to Orange furnace. As the enemy approached, another detachment of one hundred men was sent to the same point, but they were pressed back by the bayonets of a superior force, and retreated to a twelvepounder in the rear, leaving their guns (which they spiked) in possession of the assailants. With the second cannon they did great execution, until it bursted, when they retreated to Fort Montgomery, followed by Emerick's corps of chasseurs, a corps of Loyalists and New York volunteers, and the fifty-second and fifty-seventh British regiments, under Campbell. The pursued kept up a galling fire with small-arms while on their retreat, and slew many of the enemy.

Sir Henry Clinton, in the mean while, made his way toward Fort Clinton with much difficulty, for upon a narrow pass between the Sinnipink Lake at the foot of Bear Mountain and the high river bank was a strong abatis.3 This was overcome after much hard fighting, and at about four o'clock both forts were invested by the enemy. Sir Henry Clinton sent a flag, with a summons for both garrisons to surrender prisoners of war within five minutes, or they would all be put to the sword. Lieutenant-colonel Livingston was sent by Governor Clinton to receive the flag, and to inform the enemy that the Americans were determined to defend the forts to the last extremity. The action was immediately renewed

of the river, upon the extreme left, shows the place of the coffer-dam made by the deluded seekers after Captain Kidd's treasure. At the water's edge, on the right, is seen the grading of the Hudson River railroad, in course of construction when the sketch was made. The dark mountain on the right is Anthony's Nose. Intermediately, and projecting far into the river, is a high, sandy bluff, on which stood Fort Independence. Further on is Beveridge's Island; and in the extreme distance, behind the flag-staff, is seen Bear Mountain. Between the point of Fort Independence and the rock cutting of the rail-road is the mouth of the Peek's Kill, or Peek's Creek. The Plan of the attack here given is copied from the narrative of Stedman, a British officer, and appears to be mainly correct. The reader may correct the slight errors by the text. See Humphreys's Life of Putnam. This detachment seems to have been mistaken by Stedman for the whole army under Putnam, for on his map, at the top, he says, "General Putnam with 2000 men endeavoring to cross the river."

1

In connection with a notice of Colonel M'Claghrey, who was made a prisoner at the capture of the fort, Mr. Eager, in his History of Orange County, makes a slight error. He says he was taken to New York, and confined in the Hospital. In the room above him, he affirms, was Colonel Ethan Allen, who had been a prisoner in the hands of the British since the autumn of 1775. The floor between them was full of wide cracks, through one of which M'Claghrey, who had heard of the capture of Burgoyne, passed a scrap of paper to Allen, on which he had written the information. Allen immediately went to his window, and called out to some British officers passing in the street, "Burgoyne has marched to Boston to the tune of Yankee Doodle." "For this and other offenses, we believe," says Mr. Eager, "Allen was sent to England in chains." Quite the contrary. He was sent to England in irons two years before, and had returned to New York, where he was admitted to his parole. In January, 1777, he was ordered to reside on Long Island; and in August following he was sent to the provost jail, where he remained until exchanged in May, 1778.

3 These abatis were placed on the margin of the outlet of Lake Sinipink, near its center, the place from which the view on page 163 was sketched.

Attack on Forts Clinton and Montgomery.

Flight of the Americans.

Destruction of Vessels and the Chevaux de frise.

with great vigor on both sides. The British vessels under Commodore (afterward Admiral) Hotham approached within cannon shot of the forts, and opened a desultory fire upon them, and on some American vessels lying above the chevaux de frise.' At the same time, Count Grabowski, a brave Pole, and Lord Rawdon, led the grenadiers to the charge on Fort Montgomery, The battle continued until twilight, when the superior number of the assailants obliged the patriots at both forts to give way, and attempt a scattered retreat or escape. It was a cloudy evening, and the darkness came on suddenly. This favored the Americans in their flight, and a large proportion of those who escaped the slaughter of the battle made their way to the neighboring mountains in safety. The brothers who commanded the forts escaped. General James Clinton was severely wounded in the thigh by a bayonet, but escaped to the mountains, and reached his residence in Orange county, sixteen miles distant, the next day, where he was joined by his brother George, and about two hundred of the survivors of the battle. Lieutenant-colonels Livingston, Bruyn, and Claghery, and Majors Hamilton and Logan, were made prisoners. The loss of the Americans in killed, wounded, and prisoners, was about three hundred; that of the British about one hundred and forty in killed and wounded, among whom were Colonel Campbell and Count Grabowski."

October 7, 1777.

Above the boom the Americans had two frigates, two galleys, and an armed sloop. On the fall of the forts, the crews of these vessels spread their sails, and, slipping their cables, attempted to escape up the river, but the wind was adverse, and they were obliged to abandon them. They set them on fire when they left, to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy. "The flames suddenly broke forth, and, as every sail was set, the vessels soon became magnificent pyramids of fire. The reflection on the steep face of the opposite mountain, and the long train of ruddy light which shone upon the water for a prodigious distance, had a wonderful effect; while the ear was awfully filled with the continued echoes from the rocky shores, as the flames gradually reached the loaded cannons. The whole was sublimely terminated by the explosions, which left all again in darkness."'s Early in the morning, the obstructions in the river, which had cost the Americans a quarter of a million of dollars, Continental money, were destroyed by the British fleet. Fort Constitution, opposite West Point, was abandoned, and the enemy had a clear passage up the Hudson. Vaughan and Wallace sailed up the river upon marauding expedition, and, as we have before noticed, burned Kingston, or Esopus. It was deemed too late to assist Burgoyne by a junction with him, for on that very day the second battle of Stillwater, so disastrous to that commander, was fought; ten days afterward he and his whole army were captives. Yet the fall of the Highland forts was a seri

John

Naughan

I. S. Wallace

their

ous blow to the Americans, for quite a large quantity of ordnance and ammunition was collected there.*

1 An account in the Annual Register for 1778 says that the British galleys approached so near the forts that the men could touch the walls with their oars! Both forts were upon a precipice more than one hundred feet above the water, rather beyond the reach of oars of ordinary length.

2 Count Grabowski fell at the foot of the ramparts of Fort Montgomery, pierced by three bullets. He gave his sword to a grenadier, with a request that he would convey it to Lord Rawdon, with the assurance of the owner that he died as a brave soldier ought to.—Stedman, i., 362. A pile of stones still marks the burial-place of the count.

3 Stedman, i., 364.

The Americans lost 67 cannons in the forts, and over 30 in the vessels, making a total of more than 100 pieces. Also, 54 casks, 11 half barrels, and 12,236 pounds of loose powder, exclusive of what was in the vessels. There were also 1852 cannon cartridges, and 57,396 for muskets. Also, 9530 round cannon shot, 886 double-headed, 2483 grape and case, and 36 cwt. of langridge; 1279 pounds of musket balls, 116 pounds of buck shot, and 5400 flints. In addition to these were stores of various kinds, such as guncarriages, port-fires, tools, &c., in great plenty.