THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS The STONE 1 VJ" ^ffl Bff Scene of the Battle of hong Island, Stirling's Headquarters, Cornwallis^ s Redoubt^ Occupied by Washington. Colonial Residence of Dutch Architecture. Built by Nicholas Vecnte^ 1699 ORFl TIONS WHAT WE GrI'^lTLY WISH HAD BEEN PROVIDED FOR US, FOR THERE ARE MANY NOW AMONG US WHO WOULD LOOK UPON A CRUDE SKETCH OF A CENTURY OR INDEED ANY PICTURE OF ATED, RATHER IeM OF MODERN W I i; T E R P u b .1 i s h e r s a n d K I. N E R New York „, i 9 9 i mni ii tiit i itiiimniB ffltimfltimsttflttflHtii' w i HUEBim mim i iwan niiiwDitai ff^^ptHil H H i vi^saotv /. H o i« < ly:- a. The STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS Scene of the Battle of Long Island, Stirling's Headquarters, Cornwallis's Redoubt , Occupied by Washington. Colonial Residence of Dutch Architecture, Built by Nicholas Vechte, 1699 By GEORGIA ERASER WITTER and KINTNER Publishers, New York, 1909 COPYRIGHT, 1909 BY Witter and Kintner ©CI.A2529C9 CONTENTS PAGE Prefatory Note 13 CHAPTER ONE First Settlement at Gowanus 23 CHAPTER TWO The Stone House in 1699 35 CHAPTER THREE Military Works on Long Island 53 CHAPTER FOUR American Troops on Long Island 67 CHAPTER FIVE The Stone House as a Redoubt 75 CHAPTER SIX The Battle of Long Island 95 CHAPTER SEVEN The Retreat from Long Island 109 CHAPTER EIGHT The British on Long Island 117 CHAPTER NINE After the Revolution 123 CHAPTER TEN Present Scene of the Battle 137 Notes, 1699-1909 153 '* CONSTANTLY PURSUING THAT ARRANT THIEF^ OBLIVION, AS HE STEALS INTO INFINITE DARKNESS WITH THE PRICELESS HISTORIES OF OUR LAND, THE ANTIQUARY HASTENS TO SNATCH SOME OF THE FLEETING MEMORIALS FROM HIS HANDS "—FIELD. ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS The House and Battlefield Frontispiece PAGE Colonial Silver 19 Copper Tea Kettle 20 Colonial Dressing Case 21 Prints of the Stone House 39 Map of Old Gowanus 46 Portrait of Lord Stirling 57 Military Map of 1776 72 Colonial Money 91 Letter of Washington to Stirling 92 Memorial Tablet iii The Old Willow Tree 129 Trunk of Old Willow Tree 131 Map of Gowanus — Present Time 143 Lithograph of Stone House 149 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn 151 TO MY NEPHEW ALEXANDER EASTON ERASER PREFATORY NOTE DURING a recent sojourn at my old home in Rjhode Island, I renewed acquaintance with a painting which had been familiar to me on the walls of my uncle's home during my childhood. My uncle, Thomas Easton, was of that fam- ily of Eastons from which Easton's Beach, at Newport, was named, and to which belonged Nicholas Easton, twice president of Rhode Island under the Parliamentary Patent of 1643 — his second term immediately preceding that of Roger Williams — and governor under the Royal Charter; also John Easton, governor under the same charter from 1690 to 1695. The picture had been in my uncle's posses- sion forty-one years, and he had received it from his uncle, George Andrews, of Brook- lyn, in whose possession it had been twenty- one years, and to whose order it was painted. When I returned to New York, I set about an investigation of the scene represented— that of a steeply-gabled house with the figures, 1699, attached to one end. The house is situ- 13 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS ated at the foot of some rising, wooded land to the right of the foreground; to the left is a lane, with enclosing wall and fence, leading to a road which passes the farther side of the house. Beyond the road there stretches mead- ows with a stream or ditch running to a creek. Still farther, to the right, is a road with clus- tered trees and two houses. In the extreme distance is a town or city. In a general way I had learned of the local- ity represented from the title — "The Washing- ton House on Long Island." This, however, called up merely vague memories of the great general's campaign. In order to inform my- self more particularly, I began a search which took me to libraries, both public and private, to historical museums, to genealogical soci- eties, to calls on "old residents," and to col- lectors of Americana. Interest that I had thought to satisfy with a visit or two to a local library and a trip to the site of the scene depicted, carried me farther and farther, and deeper and deeper, into geographical and historical lore. I be- came a peruser of old documents in faded handwriting, of records of towns, churches, and colleges. The historians did not satisfy me, so I went to the historians' sources, and in 14 PREFATORY NOTE so doing became possessed of that fever for research, that delight in a "find," which prob- ably only the historian and the explorer know. With but a single scene as my theme, a single locality, I naturally concentrated where others had diffused, and was thus en- abled to compare and weigh certain points to the more definite interpretation of them. Also, while the painting soon became secondary to my historic search, its presentment of a scene since vanished, and never elsewhere pictured fully, gave clues inaccessible to others. In short, by the light of this limned presentment, facts of history were brightened, and others added: these reach from the present day back to the Revolution, back to the Dutch Patents, back to the Royal grant of the Indian island of Matowack — Long Island — to the Earl of Stirling, under whom it became the Isle of Stirling; back to Hugh de Eraser from whom my own grandfather, Hugh Eraser, was di- rectly descended — Lord of Lovat and Kynnell, and who, as the historian, William Eraser, states, and as is also shown in the "Register of Royal Letters," was cousin and patron to Peter de Stirling away back in 1410. Of Long Island and the Stirlings there is much to tell, but in this history I have selected 15 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS only that which bears directly upon the story of the Stone House, also known as the Wash- ington House, at Gowanus, and the region about it — the scene of the Battle of Long Island in the Revolutionary War. The many authorities consulted have given vivid accounts of the different episodes of this battle, but, as one of their number states, it is difficult to gain from these a clear understand- ing of the entire action. This, in a simple way, I have endeavored to do, at the same time that I have dwelt at length upon the engagement of General Stirling with the British at the Stone House, and over the area depicted in the frontispiece to this volume. In this I have been much asisted, as previously stated, by the new light thrown upon the topography of the region by the picture itself. Personal search, extending over a year in time, resulted in information regarding the last days of the house and the region of the battlefield which has never heretofore been presented in print. Of my indebtedness, how- ever, to the "Memoirs of the Long Island His- torical Society," to Henry M. Stiles's "His- tory of Brooklyn," to John Fiske's "American Ravolution," and to those early historians, like Furman, and later, Thompson, it would be i6 PREFATORY NOTE impossible adequately to speak. To the many tracts of Colonial history, of original manu- scripts, and historical prints, in the Lenox Library, I am particularly indebted. Georgia Eraser. New York, September i, 1909. 17 C/1 ;z w < O fe > o J o u w o > r 5 :? COPPER TEA KETTLE WITH CHARCOAL BURNER, USED BY THE FAMILY OF JAQUES CORTELYOU WHILE IN THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS. NOW IN THE POSSESSION OF HIS GRANDDAUGHTER, MRS. MERWIN RUSHMORE. COLONIAL DRESSING TABLE OF MAHOGANY USED BY THE FAMILY OF JAQUES CORTELYOU WHILE IN THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS. NOW IN THE POSSESSION OF HIS GRANDDAUGHTER, MRS. MERWIN RUSHMORE. CHA PTER ONE LONG ISLAND FIRST SETTLEMENT AT GOWANUS THE first settlement by white people within the boundaries of the present city of Brooklyn was made in 1636, just twenty-seven years after Henry Hudson dropped anchor from the Halve Maen in what is now New York Bay. In the year 1636, "William Bennet and Jacques Bentyn purchased from the Indians a tract of 930 acres of land at Gowanus, upon which, at some time previous to the Indian War of 1643-45, a dwelling house was erected." This was the beginning of the vil- lage of Gowanus, near Gowanus Bay; and the same name was given to the region border- ing Gowanus Creek, afterward the canal, and extending easterly to the wooded hills. The name, Gowanus, is an Indian one, and was said to be the place where an Indian, called Gowane, planted his corn. The second settlement within the present city limits took place in the year following that at Gowanus — 1637 — and, oddly enough, 23 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS in a section similar in character, a low tract bordered by hills and pierced by bay and in- let, and lying to the north, as Gowanus lay to the south, of the peninsula of Brooklyn Heights. This northern tract was known as the Wallabout — originally Wahleboct — the name being given to the bay and adjacent lands as in the case of Gowanus. The settlers at the Wallabout were known as Walloons, or for- eigners, comprising, as they did, those who, while coming directly from Holland, were not of Dutch blood, but mostly political or re- ligious refugees to that land of toleration from France, England, Germany, and other coun- tries. The first settler at the Wallabout, and the second within the present limits of Brooklyn, was Joris Jansen de Rapelie, or Rapelje, him- self a "foreigner" of French descent. He is described as an "emigrant" of 1623, who first settled at Fort Orange (Albany), and in 1626 removed to New Amsterdam, on Manhattan Island. According to this, Rapelie arrived in the New World but fourteen years after Henry Hudson reached its shores, and lived in New York eleven years before removing to Long Island. At this time there was decided demarca- 24 FIRST SETTLEMENT AT GOWANUS tion between those of pure Dutch strain and those who came with the Dutch in the same ships but who were not of the same blood. This is shown by the segregation, for a considerable period, of the Walloons — not only at the Wallabout but down through Gowanus, where were already the settlers pre- viously named, William Bennet and Jacques Bentyn, the first English, the second French, in origin. We may credit, then, the first settlement of Brooklyn to "foreign blood" though to Dutch enterprise. The later incoming of pure Dutch to this region, and the subsequent forming of villages, led to an amalgamation which, go- ing steadily on for a century and more, was practically complete at the time of the Revo- lutionary War. In this particular it must be remembered that Dutch records gave Dutch spelling to much that was not entitled to it, and rigorous search would probably bring to light the fact that many so-called early Dutch were not Dutch at all in origin. The first point known as Brooklyn, named after Breuckelen in Holland, was on a direct line between the Wallabout and Gowanus. This was on the declivity southeast of the pres- ent City Hall, about where Hoyt Street joins 25 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS Fulton Street to-day. It will be seen that these earliest settlers sought the low lands, not only, probably, because the heights meant exposure to the Indians, but because the hills were wooded and would have to be cleared. Also, the broad meadow lands must have appealed to these people so late from Holland's green stretches. During the first half-century, progression w^as made from thatched huts and stockades to timber, brick and, in a few cases, stone dwell- ings. The last, however, were so scarce as to have been particularly designated as such in the localities thus favored. As to minor necessities, ships from Europe added blue china, some silver, and a great deal of pewter to the table- ware originally brought by the settlers. Houses were amply supplied with linen, and some cotton was raised and spun by the wo- men. It is curious to note that foreign coun- tries were supplying the American colonists with goods of similar character to that which, respectively, they furnish to-day. In the cargo of the sloop Mary, wrecked on the eastern point of Long Island in 1702, and having aboard goods from the French settle- ments in Canada for the Dutch of New Amsterdam, there is found — besides wines, 26 FIRST SETTLEMENT AT GOWANUS brandies, and furs — goods listed by the mate as follows: "i bolt of Holland Duck, i piece of Broad Canvas. i8 pieces and 2 remnants of several sorts of stuff. 7 pieces of colored dimity. 8 pieces of striped Kentings. 4 Remnants of Al- ligars. 3 remnants of Dyed Calico. 4 Printed Calico Carpets. 2 Bundles of Beads. 9 Pieces of Printed Lining or Calico, and a remnant of Light Colored Cloth 14 yards. 2 pieces of stuff and 2 remnants, i Piece of Light Col- ored Flannel." If this was a sample of the cargoes of "goods" brought to the colonists of the period, together with what was spun and woven by themselves, we can imagine that the four- posters were well valanced, and the belles of the day well "done up" in the figured muslins referred to as calico. Home-made rugs and mirrors were in the "best rooms" of ordinary homes, and there were also some books and pictures, the first mainly Bibles and Psalms. According to Val- entine, "the walls of the principal rooms in all classes of dwellings were adorned by en- gravings, colored and plain, fifteen to twenty in number, in narrow black frames." The extensive trade with the East Indies, 27 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS and the East generally, by Holland at this period, brought much of the Orient to the Dutch settlements in America. In prominent households, teakwood furniture, delicate China, and rare Eastern silks were added to the mahogany, pewter, and silver of those of more moderate standing. Men and women of the wealthiest class dressed elegantly — the men in broadcloth, with satin and linen ac- cessories; and the women in silks, linens and velvets. Gold and silver ornaments were plentiful, and diamonds were not unknown. According to Stiles, many persons of ample means came out from Holland, and these had homes and apparel equal in many cases to what they had been accustomed in the Old world. Each prominent settler possessed at least two slaves, valued at from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty dollars each. In the year 1660, there were thirty-one families in the entire region of the Wallabout, Breuckelen, and Gowanus; and the church at Breuckelen, which presided over this united section, numbered twenty-seven members. These, however, increased rapidly thereafter. Of this section of Western Long Island, a most intimate account is given in the "Journal 28 FIRST SETTLEMENT AT GOWANUS of a Voyage to New York in 1679-80," by Jasper Dankers and Peter Sluyter, emissaries from a religious sect called Labadists, who visited America with the object of selecting a suitable home for the sect. They write how, crossing the ferry from Manhattan to Long Island, they continued "up the hill, along open roads, and a little wood, through the first vil- lage, called Breuckelen, which has a small and ugly church standing in the middle of the road." This was the first church building in Brooklyn, built in 1666. They turned to the right after leaving Breuckelen, arriving at Gowanus, where they were well entertained with whatever their hosts happened to have on hand, milk, cider, and fruit being particularly mentioned. They speak of the peach trees, "all laden with fruit to breaking down." And continuing, "We came to a place surrounded with such trees from which so many had fallen off that the ground could not be discerned, and you could not put your foot down without trampling them; and notwithstanding such large quan- tities had fallen off, the trees still were as full as they could bear." They visited the house of Simon de Hart, a French Walloon, who lived in Gowanus on a 29 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS part of the original Bennet and Bentyn pur- chase. The house stood at what is now Twen- ty-eighth Street. Here they found great hospi- talit)^, together with a wood-fire of oak and hickory. After describing this fire, they con- tinue : "There had been already thrown upon it, to be roasted, a pailfuU of Gouanes oysters, which are the best in the country. . . . They are large and full, some of them not less than a foot long, and they grow sometimes ten, twelve, and sixteen together, and are then like a piece of rock. Others are young and small. . . . They pickle the oysters in small casks, and send them to Barbadoes and the other islands. We had for supper a roasted haunch of venison, which he (De Hart) had bought of the Indians . . . and which weighed twenty pounds. The meat was exceedingly tender and good, and also quite fat. . . . We were also served with wild turkey and a wild goose. . . . We saw here, lying in a heap, a whole hill of watermelons, which were as large as pumpkins." Later they write of Gowanus : "There is, toward the sea, a large piece of low, flat land which is overflown at every tide, like the schorr (marsh) with us, miry and muddy at the bottom, and which produces 30 FIRST SETTLEMENT AT GOWANUS a species of hard salt grass, or reed grass. Such a place they call valey, and mow it for hay, which cattle would rather eat than fresh hay or grass. . . . There is also a tract which is somewhat large, of a kind of heath, on which sheep could graze. . . . This meadow, like all others, is well provided with creeks, which are navigable and very serviceable for fisheries. There is here a grist mill driven by the water which they dam up in the creek; and it is hereabouts they go mostly to shoot snipe and wild geese. In the middle of this meadow there is a grove into which we went, and within which there was a good vale cleared ofif and planted." The meadow here described was that di- rectly at the Stone House of this history — not erected till twenty years later — as the old- est mill in Gowanus was at the historic mill- ponds just beyond, in the frontispiece hidden by the house itself. The heath where "sheep could graze," the "grove," and the "dam in the creek," proclaim that the area described was the region of the Vechte farm, the subject of the succeeding chapter. The inhabitants of Gowanus, having the ad- vantage of the creek, went to New York by their own boats, rather than overland and to 31 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS the ferry. When back in New York, the travelers speak of arriving at their house and finding "Simon of Gouanes who had brought a load of wood." They went thereafter many times to Gouanes, and other points on Long Island. They were particular friends of Gerritt, Simon de Hart's brother-in-law, who took them in his boat on many of their trips around New York Bay. Later, while in Mary- land, they referred again to Gowanus oysters: "After supper we eat some Maryland oysters which he — their host — had brought up with him. We found them good, but Gowanus oysters at New York are better." Of the bay at the Wallabout, which they visited, and where they conversed with Caro- lyna, wife of the settler Joris Jansen Rapelje — herself a French Walloon — they write: "This is a bay tolerably wide where the water rises and falls much, and at low tide is very shallow." 32 CHAPTER TWO NICHOLAS VECHTE THE STONE HOUSE IN 1699 STARTING with the first farms of Go- wanus and the Wallabout, land was taken rapidly along the entire stretch connect- ing the two points. These farms began at the creeks or bays, and stretched up through the meadows to the wooded hills, at the borders of which the homesteads were built. As time advanced, the evacuation of the nearby woods by the Indians, and the pressure for more land by the colonists, led to the accession of the wooded patch in line with each previous boundary, so that later patents in this vicinity included clear rights from the waters of bay or creek to the crest of the backing hills. At the present day at Gowanus, this would mean from the canal to the heights of Greenwood or Prospect Park, including in the last-named what is now Park Slope. In this manner each farm had its waterway, its meadow, its garden at the wood's edge, and its timber. One of the above-described favored stretches began at what is now the Gowanus Canal be- 35 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS tween First and Sixth Streets, stretched back to the present Fifth Avenue, over what is prac- tically level ground, then began the steep ascent of the present Park Slope — traversed transversely by Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Avenues — to Prospect Park, at the point now crowned by the Litchfield Man- sion, to-day park property. This area, indicated in the accompanying diagram, was known during the latter part of the Seventeenth Century as the Vechte farm; and in the year 1699 Nicholas Vechte erected at the edge of his wooded slope the Stone House of this history. How long Nicholas Vechte owned the farm previous to the erection of the house, or whether any simpler edifice preceded it, is a matter merely for conjecture. What is known is this: It was the only stone house in Go- wanus at the time of its erection, and for a long time thereafter; it was built so staunchly as to withstand siege in one of the hottest engage- ments of the Revolutionary War, its walls be- ing several feet thick; and it remained in existence till the last decade of the Nineteenth Century, even then Gatling guns being neces- sary, it is said, to force apart the stones of its walls. 36 THE STONE HOUSE IN 1699 And not only staunchly but finely was it built, a splendid mansion for its day and place — two stories and a half in height, the gable adorned with brass figures of the date of erection, 1699. Most dwellings of this period were but a story and a half in height, with a door and two windows on the main side. The fact that the Stone House at Gowanus was of sufficient length to have a door in the middle with windows on either side, as well as its unusual height, probably gave it the appella- tion, used by historian Thompson and others, of "double house." The time of the building of the Stone House was one rife with momentous afifairs of state in the New York Colonies; in the year 1691 the first permanent "Assembly of representa- tives of the people" was established — the first real step in freedom of government for these colonies. Trouble with the Indians had then well abated, and piracy — with which the American and West Indian coasts had been affected — came to an end about this time. In fact, it was in the same year as the building of the Stone House at Gowanus, 1699, that the famous Captain Kidd — who had been sent three years previously from England to sup- press piracy, and who had himself become the 37 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS worst pirate of all — landed near Easthampton, Long Island, and there buried some of his often referred to treasure. Incidentally, it may be stated that the treasure there buried was re- covered. Back of the Stone House ascended the wooded hill ; trees edged the roadway, a stone wall and a fence enclosed the garden, and the meadow stretched before to the creek. To the left could be seen the waters of Gowanus Bay, widening to the distant Bay of New York. Across the creek, the land rose to hills, extend- ing northeasterly as far as the eye could see, grassy and in places tree-topped — the penin- sula of Brooklyn Heights. Before the house, across the road, there bubbled a spring of clear water. This spring, no doubt, determined the location of the home- stead. It was the source of a stream which found its way across the meadow to the creek. Written originally, Claes Arentse Van Vechten, or by himself Klaes Arents Vecht, Nicholas Vechte "with his wife Lammetie, three children, and a boy (colored slave) emi- grated from Norch, or Nora, a community in the province of Drenthe, Holland, in the ship Bonticoe (Spotted Cow), arrived in New Netherlands, in April, 1660, settled, as near as 38 1 111. (uilll;l.^^n .\iA.\.Mox lUH.si'. THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWAXUS, AS PICTURED IN THE VALENTINE MANUAL OF 1858. REPRODUCED BY PERMIS- SION OF THE LENOX LIBRARY. THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS — FRONTISPIECE TO THE "history of BROOKLYN." BY HENRY R. STILES. REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION OF THE LENOX LIBRARY. THE STONE HOUSE IN 1699 can be ascertained, in the Eighth ward of Brooklyn, on the farm extending from First to Fifth Streets, and erected in 1699 the old stone house known as the Vechte mansion." The above is taken from the history of the Bergen family (which intermarried with the Vechtes) by Teunis G. Bergen, who goes on to say: "It is possible that he — Claes or Nicholas Vechte — may have resided at one period on Staten Island, for he obtained, September 29, 1677, from Governor Andros, a patent for 120 acres of upland and 12 acres of meadow along the Kil Von KuU on said island, which prem- ises he conveyed January 17, 1689, to his son, Gerrett Claesen, as per record of deeds in office of secretary of state. New York." Regarding the above, it is practically cer- tain that the builder of the Stone House at Gowanus lived for a considerable period at Staten Island on this same patent on the Kil Von Kull, after his arrival in the New World; as this would adequately explain the fact that he and his son Hendrich had been twenty- seven years in the New World at the time of their signing the oath of allegiance to the new governor, Dongan, on Long Island in 1687, although no mention had been previously 41 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS made of either father or son in this region. So influential a family would undoubtedly have been noted in Long Island annals had they resided there; so it is probable that the date, 1687, very nearly coincides with the re- moval of the family from Staten Island and the Kil Von KuU to western Long Island — two regions not at all dissimilar in character. Also, it was close to this period, in 1689, that Claes conveyed the Staten Island property to his son, Gerritt, as previously noted. Gerritje, the daughter of the Staten Island Gerritt, and consequently granddaughter of Nicholas (or Claes) Vechte, married Fred- erick Jacobsen Bergen. About the same time, another of the Bergens married the daughter of Simon De Hart at Gowanus, that De Hart whom the Labadist travelers so frequently visited, and whose house is described in the first chapter of this book. Owing to this mar- riage, the De Hart House became subse- quently the Bergen House, long famous in history. Also, by these marriages, became linked the De Hart and Vechte families, whose homesteads at Gowanus — the former at the cove, the latter at the creek — remained till modern times as the two oldest houses of the region about. 42 THE STONE HOUSE IN 1699 Owing to the varying spelling of names at this period, confusion of personality is fre- quent. For instance, not only was the family name of the builder of the Stone House con- stantly varied, but the first as well; also, the middle name was frequently used as the final one. Thus, Gerritt, son of Claes Vechte, was referred to, even in legal documents, as Gerritt Claessen, when his entire name was Gerritt Claesen Vechte, or Van Vechten. Also, in legal matters the wife used her maiden name only, as indeed she did in many others. Consequently, as a widow, Gerritje Bergen would sign herself as Gerritje Vechte; also, sometimes as Gerritje Claessen, from her father's middle name. Tracing relationship thus becomes something of a puzzle to stu- dents of the time; and were the names as set down to be alone relied upon, the search might prove, in certain cases, almost futile^ Hendrich Vechte, also written Hendrich Claessen Vechte, went with his father to Long Island. In 1690, he was elected a commis- sioner of Brooklyn, and was "re-elected each successive year until 1699." I^ ^^ possible that his failure of re-election in this year — the date of the completion of the Stone House — was 43 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS due to the family's removal from Brooklyn to Gowanus, then two distinct communities. As time goes on, however, the name ap- pears in Long Island records. In 1701, Hen- drich is named as a justice of the peace. About this time Sarah Van Vechten married Teunis Rapelje, grandson of that Joris Jansen Rapelje, who first settled the Wallabout, and whose daughter was proclaimed the first white child born on American soil north of Virginia. The grandmother of this Teunis, and wife of the settler Joris Jansen Rapelje, was the famous Catelyna.Trico, who talked with the Labadist travelers, and who, like the vivacious Parisian she was before her arrival in the New World, left to posterity the oft-quoted account of her experiences in the ship New Netherland, reaching these shores in March, 1623, with "thirty Walloon families" ; as well as her subsequent journey- ing to Albany, then Fort Orange, the return to New Amsterdam, and the final settling on Long Island. She was long the social arbiter of this section, and her grandson's marriage to Sarah Van Vechten probably brought her fre- quently to the Stone House at Gowanus. The church in Brueckelen, described by the Labadists, which presided as well over the 44 THE STONE HOUSE IN 1699 spiritual welfare of Gowanus and the Walla- bout, and which the Vechtes attended together with the Rapeljes, the Brouers, and others of now well-known names of the neighbor- hood, was the scene of as lively controversies as often stir the peace of present-day religious organizations. In a quarrel between factions of the church as to whether the minister, a Mr. Freeman, should be allowed to preach on a certain Sunday, it is stated by Furman, in his "Notes Relating to the Town of Brooklyn on Long Island," that "Hendrich Vechte, Esq., a justice of the peace, was presented at the King's county sessions. May the 14th, 1710, for coming into the Brooklyn Church on Sunday, August 10, 1709, with his pen and ink in his hand, taking of people's names, and taking up one particular man's hatt, and in disturbance of the minister and people in the service of God." In commenting on this. Historian Thomp- son writes : "Vechte's plea was that in obedience to an order of the Governor, he did go into the church as alleged, to take notice of the persons that were guilty of the forcible entry made into the church, that by Abram B rower, and others, by breaking of said Church door with 45 B D E F G H I J K L M Stone House of Gowanus, owned by the Vechtes in 1699 and 1776. The Lower Mill, built by Abram Brower in 1701. Owned by Nehemiah Denton during the Revolutionary War, and then called Denton's Mill. The Upper or Gowanus Mill — Oldest Mill in Brooklyn, called Freeke's Mill during the Revolutionary War. Branch of Gowanus Creek extending into Vechte Farm. At the present day an arm of Gowanus Canal. Upper, or Freeke's Mill-Pond. Lower Mill-Pond. Called Denton's Mill-Pond during the War. Private canal of Nicholas Vechte, connecting Brower's Pond with his own creek. Porte Road, running from Gowanus Heights across mill-ponds. Flatbush Road, running from Flatbush, over Wooded Heights, to Brooklyn. Gowanus Creek, now the Gowanus Canal. Brook on the Vechte Farm, rising from spring beside the Stone House and emptying into arm of the Gowanus Creek. Gowanus Creek widening to Gowanus Bay. Island where many soldiers were buried. THE STONE HOUSE IN 1699 force and arms, forcibly entering into said Church, notwithstanding the forewarning of Mr. Freeman, the minister, and his people to the contrary." The court discharged Vechte, declaring that he acted but in the performance of his dut}^ as laid down by the Governor. But it is to be noted that Mr. Hendrich Vechte was a mem- ber of the court which discharged him. This particular quarrel in the church was the occasion of disputes leading almost to fisti- cuffs, and, as one complainant has it, "all over these Dutch ministers." In the "History of Kings County" by Henry R. Stiles, there is set forth an incident which at once brings the humanness of Nicholas Vechte close to the readers of the Twentieth Century, and brings close also the two old neighbors, Vechte and Abram Brouer. The narrative runs: "Denton's pond (so-called by the historian because of its ownership by Nehemiah Denton at the time of the Revolution) was the subject of a curious contract about 1709 between its original proprietors, Abram and Nicholas Brouer, and Nicholas Vechte, the builder and occupant of the old 1699, or Cortelyou, house. To the strong predilection of his race for 47 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS canals and dikes and water communications, old Vechte added the traits of eccentricity and independence. His house stood on a bank a few feet above the salt meadows, at a distance of a hundred yards from the navigable waters of the creek. To secure access to them, from his kitchen door, Vechte dug a narrow canal to the creek, but the ebb-tide often left his boat firmly sunk in the mud when he wished to reach the city market with the produce of his farm. He, therefore, contracted with the Brouers to supply him with water from their pond; and a channel was dug, in furtherance of his scheme, to a water-gate, through which his canal was to be flooded. The old Dutch farmer was acustomed to seat himself in his loaded boat, while it was resting in the mud of the empty channel, and hoist his paddle as a signal to his negro servant to raise the gate. The flood soon floated his boat, and bore him out to the creek, exulting with great glee over his neighbors whose stranded boats must await the next flood. The contract for this privilege, as well as another, by which Vechte leased the right to plant the ponds with oysters," are still in existence. (Notes.) From the early part of the Eighteenth Cen- tury, little mention is made in histories of the 48 THE STONE HOUSE IN 1699 locality of either the Van Vechten family or its neighbors; due to the fact that records were lost with the occupation of the Brit- ish during the Revolution. Of such as re- mained, it is stated that in 175 1, Nicholas Vechte of Gowanus, grandson of the first Nicholas, is facilitating approach to his prop- erty from the sea. The narrative runs : "In August, 1 75 1, Isaac Sebring, in consid- eration of 117 pounds, conveyed to Nicholas Vechte, Jerry Brouer, and others, all Gowanus residents, the fee of a strip of meadow, begin- ning at the east side of a little island where John Van Dyke's mill-dam is bounded upon, running from thence northerly into the river, and twelve feet and a half wide." He was also to make a ditch along this strip, according to Stiles in his "History of the City of Brook- lyn," at least six feet deep, "and to allow the grantees the use of a footpath, two feet and a half wide, to dragg, or haul up their canoes or boats. March 16, 1774, the Colonial Assem- bly of the state passed an act empowering the people of Gowanus to widen the canal, keep it in order, and tax those who used it." The canal was a short cut by water to New York for Gowanus residents. It ran from the creek to what is now Atlantic Basin, and was 49 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS used up to modem times. From first to last, the love of canals, as well as the name Nicholas remained in the family, Nicholas Vechte, great-grandson of the builder of the Stone House, still owning the property at the time of the Revolutionary War. ^a.: e^^t-^:,.^./^ FACSIMILE OF THE SIGNATURE OF JAQUES CORTELYOU^ FROM THE "HISTORY OF THE BERGEN FAMILY," BY TEUNIS BERGEN. 50 CHAPTER THREE LORD STIRLIN G MILITARY WORKS ON LONG ISLAND BROOKLYN, by the year 1776, was possessed of some four thousand in- habitants. Writers have referred to it at that time as a prosperous agricultural com- munity. It had undergone difficulties in the way of titles to lands under alternating Dutch and English rules, and had come through some serious affairs with the Indians ; hence, at this time, it was about ready to settle down to the enjoyment of comforts achieved in the new home. These settlers were possessed of good lands ; they had schools and churches; no doubt many of them considered the altercation with Eng- land but another of those upheavals of govern- ment which had at times deprived them of their land titles and made security of prop- erty uncertain. However this may be, there is no doubt that many viewed with intense con- cern the arrival, on the i8th of February, 1776, of four hundred troops under General Charles Lee. 53 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS Disliking these intruders upon their peace, many adhered to this sentiment both actively and passively throughout the war. And the feeling increased with the spread of the first military operations from the peninsula of Brooklyn Heights — overlooking New York Bay on the west — to that series of easterly heights from which could be viewed the vast plain stretching to the southern shore of Long Island. Prospect Range was the name given to the eastern series of hills, whose posi- tion is very well indicated on the popular maps of Brooklyn by the green-tinted area of the Cemetery of the Evergreens, Eastern Park- way, Prospect Park, and Greenwood Ceme- tery. Military operations were thus brought directly into that fine belt of farms which be- gan in the salt meadows of Gowanus and stretched back through the woods to the crest of Prospect Range. Officers were stationed in the farm houses, and the soldiers pitched tents about, while agricultural pursuits gen- erally were given over to the activities of de- fense, even the women dropping their weav- ing to wait upon the army which had so pre- cipitately overwhelmed western Long Island. General Lee it was who first offered outside assistance to New York, and who 54 MILITARY WORKS ON LONG ISLAND subsequently, on February 3rd, arrived there from Connecticut with twelve thousand men. Lord Stirling, at the time, was military com- mandant at New York, and he had while there "performed a very gallant act," accord- ing to historian Heading: "Although the Asia man-of-war, a British ship, lay in the harbor, he one night fitted out a pilot boat and some smaller boats, and taking his men with nothing but muskets, put to sea and captured an English transport laden with stores, etc., for the enemy at Boston." Less than two weeks after his arrival on Long Island, General Lee started south to Charlestown; and on March 6th Lord Stirling crossed to Long Island and took command of the projected works there. That he skilfully and assiduously pursued the task of fortifica- tion is everywhere admitted — an almost in- credible amount of work having been accom- plished in the following months. That it was not entirely completed is not surprising when time, and the extent of the defenses, are con- sidered. On Brooklyn Heights a chain of forts was established. These began with Fort Putnam on the north, and extended to Red Hook, the southernmost point of the peninsula. The 55 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS first of these to be mounted with guns was Fort Stirling, situated at Coenties Slip, or at what is now Columbia, Orange and Clark Streets, which in the frontispiece to this vol- ume would be directly back of the City Hall spire, and overlooking the East River. In- trenchments and redoubts marked the lines be- tween the forts. To the east, on Prospect Range, no forts as such were attempted; but earthworks, re- doubts, and barricades were general, and a regular picket line extended from what is now Eastern Parkway to Greenwood. The line was especially strong at Gowanus — the nearest point in the eastern range to the lines at Brooklyn, and the most direct in approach from the southern, or ocean, shore of Long Island. The Americans in Brooklyn had British in- vasion from both land and water to consider; and there was the added uncertainty as to whether New York or Brooklyn would be first attacked. For this reason, the work of fortification in both places was little less than stupendous, time considered, extending in its entirety for fifteen miles — from the heights of Gowanus on Long Island, to those of Harlem on Manhattan. In Brooklyn half the male 56 PORTRAIT OF LORD STIRLING, FROM THE PAINTING BY BENJAMIN WEST, IN THE POSSESSION OF DR. ROBERT WATTS. THE OFFICERS GIVE LORD STIRLING THE CHARACTER OF AS BRAVE A MAN AS EVER LIVED." FIELD. MILITARY WORKS ON LONG ISLAND population were drafted for the work of de- fense, and they were obliged to furnish, beside picks, hoes, shovels, and axes, wood and brush for the barricades. While Prospect Range was prepared for outpost or picket duty only, the tremendous importance of these heights as a natural bar- rier between the southern shore of the island and the lines at Brooklyn was fully appreci- ated by all concerned. For this reason, no doubt, General Lord Stirling, among the brav- est and most resourceful of the American com- manders, was here placed in charge on the 29th of June — when the British fleet, and the army under Howe, anchored off Sandy Hook. With his arrival off the coast, Lord Howe immediately began overtures for peace. Find- ing, however, that the only condition which would be entertained by the colonists was abso- lute independence, he proceeded to land a large force at Staten Island — in all about nine thousand men. Here he was joined by a num- ber of loyalists, particularly from Long Island. Further negotiations with Washington were then attempted, backed by advices from Eng- land, who at that particular moment was in no mood for war with the American Colonies, having her hands full with troublesome foes 59 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS on the Continent. But again the negotiations failing, Howe proceeded to land his entire force, and on the 22nd of August an immense British army took camp at Gravesend — stretching thence for several miles toward Jamaica Bay. In the "Memoirs of the Long Island His- torical Society" there is given a vivid descrip- tion of this period: "For five days the white tents of the enemy covered the plain beneath the hills, almost as far as the eye could distinguish their form. Five miles to the south they stretched, in an unbroken line. . . . The roll of the enemy's drums, the rattle of arms and accoutrements in the daily parade, and the shout of command, rose faintly to the ear from the wide plain; and the sight and sound combined to exhibit to the sadly thin and feeble lines of the Amer- ican army on the hills, what a vast armament, what gigantic forces, could in a single hour be hurled upon them." In Brooklyn, General Greene had command within the lines. He was a most capable offi- cer, and had made himself acquainted with all the details of arms and locality. Washington was now obliged to give particular attention to Brooklyn, although the British ships in 60 MILITARY WORKS ON LONG ISLAND command of Admiral Howe, brother of the General, lay menacingly in the bay, and might at any moment attack New York. New York, at this time, was about its pres- ent width at Wall Street. North and south, it reached from Chatham Street to the Bat- tery; and beyond, "Bowery Lane" ran through a bower of orchards and gardens. Fortresses were all along the water front, at the northern end of Manhattan Island, and across on the Jersey shore. Many of the streets were barri- caded, and a line of redoubts ran from river to river on Canal Street. The army was about evenly divided between Brooklyn and New York. While New York, situated on the mainland, would prove un- doubtedly the ultimate place of attack, yet it had been pointed out that the Heights of Brooklyn overlooked New York as Bunker Hill and Dorchester Heights overlooked Boston. Washington's headquarters at this moment were on Manhattan, but his time was spent about equally between New York and Brook- lyn. Carefully and anxiously he visited every point of the fortifications. On the 23d of Au- gust, Howe issued a proclamation to the loyal- ists of Long Island, promising protection to 61 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS such as would relinquish American arms and join the King's forces. On the day following, Washington addressed the soldiers in Brook- lyn. His address ran in part: "The enemy have now landed on Long Island, and the hour is fast approaching in which the honor and success of this army, and the safety of our bleeding country, will depend. Remember, officers and soldiers, that you are freemen, fighting for the blessings of liberty, and slavery will be your portion, if you do not acquit yourselves like men. Remember how your courage and spirit have been de- spised and traduced by your cruel invaders, though they have found by dear experience at Boston, Charlestown, and other places, what a few brave men, contending in their own land, and in the best of causes can do against hire- lings and mercenaries. . . . Those who are distinguished for their gallantry and good con- duct may depend on being honorably noticed and suitably rewarded; and if this army will but emulate and imitate their brave country- men in other parts of America, he (the com- mander) has no doubt they will, by glorious victory, save their country, and acquire to themselves immortal honor." But while thus rallying his troops, there 62 MILITARY WORKS ON LONG ISLAND can be little doubt of Washington's anxiety. Again and again he visited the Brooklyn lines. On the 26th, General Greene, being prostrated by a fever which affected about one-quarter of the troops in Brooklyn, was superseded by General Putnam. As this officer was more or less unacquainted with the locality, the change did not add security to the situation. On the same day, Washington visited all the outposts. According to Lossing, "on the 26th, he (Wash- ington) again visited the lines. . . . All that day he was occupied in visiting the redoubts and guard posts, and reconnoitering the enemy, until he made himself well acquainted with the relative position of the belligerent forces." It is said that what he then observed "gave him great anxiety." The idea of certain historians that Wash- ington never went without the lines at Brook- lyn cannot be upheld, one excellent authority notwithstanding; it is not easy to believe that a commander like Washington would not have been an eye-witness to the enemy's position at this critical moment, and him- self have viewed the works of defense nearest the British lines. In fact, from the Heights of Brooklyn, it would have been impossible to have viewed the British 63 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS encampment, or to have taken cogniz- ance of the successive moves of the enemy after landing. The real point of vantage in this respect was that occupied by the forces (large map) on the slopes of Gowanus, and here to the Stone House, the most important in the neighborhood, as early history has it, Wash- ington must have come. Indeed, at this par- ticular moment, it was probably only the threatening attitude of the British ships in the harbor which called Washington to Man- hattan at all. On the evening of the 26th he was reported as "very anxious," and unable to sleep, feeling sure that with the morning the Republican arms would be attacked by both land and sea. Yet he finally composed him- self with the now famous, oft-quoted reflec- tion : "The same Providence that rules to-day will rule to-morrow." Thus giving himself into the hands of Divine guidance, he fell asleep, only to wake in the morning, as he had expected, to the "deep thunder of distant cannon." 64 CHAPTE R FOUR GENERAL HOWE AMERI CAN TROOPS ON LONG ISLAND TROOPS from Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and New England had been poured into Brooklyn. As previously suggested, many of these were raw recruits — at the same time, the "very flower of the Amer- ican army" was at Gowanus with Stirling. One of Stirling's regiments was made up of young men from the most prominent families of Maryland. According to a Hessian account, they were " very tall, fine men. The same writer declares that Stirling's was the only American regiment on Long Island which was regularly uniformed and armed. The men wore a red and blue uniform, and carried very fine English muskets and bayonets." Four roads led from the south shore of Long Island to Brooklyn. Two of these were more or less natural passes in the hills, one by way of Flatbush directly through what is now Prospect Park, and the other a little north by the town of Bedford. The third made a detour toward Jamaica, skirting the 67 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS hills to the east at what is now the cemetery of the Evergreens; while the fourth and, strategically, the most important, turned the western foot of the hills by the bay shore, and swung around through Gowanus. This was called the Shore Road, as it followed the shore of New York Bay from the Narrows, at which point the British army and navy were in direct communication with each other. (Large map.) Because the Shore Road was the most direct route from the British camp to the Brooklyn lines, the region of its approach was most thoroughly fortified, and placed in command of Stirling. The adjoining pass through the hills was given to General Sullivan. The ex- treme east was unprotected except by guard- posts. The reason for this was probably two- fold: first, there were not enough troops to garrison the entire range; second, it was still uncertain at what point — whether at Man- hattan or Brooklyn, whether by land or water, or both — the first move would be made, and Washington relied on Stirling to give warn- ing of the enemy's line of action. When this could be ascertained, American troops were to be massed at the point of intended attack— which was probably the best that the Commander-in-Chief could do, with fifteen 68 AMERICAN TROOPS ON LONG ISLAND miles of fortified front imperfectly garrisoned, and one-third of the army in Brooklyn help- less with fever. Points of locality were soon well known to Howe. He was possessed of numerous spies, and was assisted by such loyalists of the dis- trict as had joined the British at Staten Island, and also after the landing at Gravesend. He was able, therefore, when the time came, to find his way by native guides through lanes and woodpaths — keeping to the four main lines of approach previously indicated, yet really avoiding the barricaded roads, and the redoubts and earthworks thrown up around the passes. Previous to the 27th, the British had shown some intention of making their way gradually, various skirmishes having occurred on the 25th and 26th. On the evening of the 26th, however, while the British lay so close to the American outposts that the pickets on the hills could sometimes hear calls and drum beats, fires were burning in the enemy's camp and there was no sign that anything out of the ordinary was contemplated. But when night had descended so that nothing was visible but the campfires which he purposely left burn- ing, Howe noiselessly began to form his 69 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS troops in marching order. By midnight all preparations were complete, and the start to- ward Brooklyn made. The troops were in four divisions. The nearest, or Shore route to Gowanus, was given to General Grant with his Highland regi- ments. The next in point of geography, the Flatbush Road, crossing Prospect Range, was entrusted to the Hessians under General de Heister. The third, by way of Bedford, was in the hands of General Cornwallis; while the remainder of the army, conducted by Howe in person, and with Generals Clinton and Percy, followed the farthest or eastern road by Jamaica and the present Cemetery of the Evergreens. It was the British intention to have Grant and de Heister engage Stirling and Sullivan respectively; while the other generals with one-half the army were to swing to the north- east, and, later, joining their compatriots in action, complete a circle which would enclose all the American troops without the Brook- lyn lines. According to the understanding. Grant would — by right of nearest way — en- gage the enemy first. But he had orders to be chary, to hold back until an agreed signal from the other divisions should inform him 70 AMERICAN TROOPS ON LONG ISLAND that they had been successful in turning the Americans' left. Grant's route from the Narrows along the Shore Road to that point between the foot of Gowanus Bay, or Cove, and the beginning of the wooded heights — called then the Heights of Gowanus, now Greenwood — where he was in- tercepted by Lord Stirling, is plainly shown on the accompanying British Military Map, and lettered MM. The opposing forces of the Americans at this point are also plainly shown but not lettered. Lord Stirling's position dur- ing his address to his men at the junction of the Porte and Gowanus — or Shore — Road be- side the Stone House on the Vechte farm, and just opposite the mill-pond, is well indicated. 71 CHAPTE R FIVE ISLE OF STIRLING THE STONE HOUSE AS A REDOUBT IT is a singular coincidence tliat in the battle which ensued, General Stirling, its principal figure, was fighting on territory to which at one time he had personally laid claim. Born William Alexander in New York, 1726, just half a century previous to this en- gagement, he had visited England in order to establish his right to the title and estates of the Scotch Earls of Stirling. These estates included property both in Europe and America; and, strange as it may appear, the whole of Long Island was included in the American portion. This island — called Matowack by the Indians — was part of a grant, which included Nova Scotia and Nantucket, made to William Alex- ander, First Earl of Stirling, by James the First of England. The English monarch had been a particular friend of Stirling when the former was James the Sixth of Scotland. Stirling was possessed of certain qualities which James lacked but aspired to. On the other hand, Stirling aspired to place and 73 o H W H H < W o o w 3g 00 = 00 t) ta p^ < H^ \^ O H o B O iz; w n p< O u s 5 2 O En t< O § ft, a. § O -J O S En b) £ h Co a c^ ^ -^ -S ** I ^ .5 ^ « « •■., ^ kC <^ o B-* ^ »^ "13 8 o bfl ■ft. g ^ "*« <3 8 V. O ^:5-cQ 8 ^ o ti "^ 8 <3 OQ -«. -^ ►1 « t^ -ft. >*' lU ^«» kj ^ CJ) • s ^ s o o o ^^ a .« .S 8 .S »i o . 5U c« 8 o •** a « -8 8 O -8 ^ ^ S 10 -r* ^ ^ ^ "8 ^4 <^ IS "^ i § -^ -^ •:« 5 Qj o w 5; .*; 8 ^ a vO 8 8 ^ ^ «sfl -j^ ;j 8 • ^ ►tJ "^ 8 8.*: ■v» ^^ ^ ■<«» 8 .fcX) 05 05 O o ft; &S ,8 <;i >8 -8 *• hi .5 ft! 2 ON O '„ ^ «>-'■ 1^ .wi^mMn^^i',^ .i^^s^ ^, «►/<' ,%* •t^ THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS power, not being satisfied with the literary gifts which undoubtedly were his. As a say- ing of the time had it, James was born a king and aspired to be a poet, while Stirling was born a poet and aspired to kingship. However this may have been, it was William Alexander, First Earl of Stirling, who did so much to- ward the translation of the Psalms. He was a poet of undoubted talent, and was as well a friend of poets — particularly of Drummond of Hawthornden — but also became possessed of a wide range of interests, which included for a time the New World, as well as all that was going on in state politics and finances in England. He was the dispenser of the Baronetcies of Nova Scotia, himself the Pre- mier Baronet, as well as Viscount of Canada — favors of James I, and Charles L When granted to Stirling by the Council of New England at London at the re- quest of the monarch, the island of Matowack was given the name of the Isle of Stirling; and the Earl immediately placed his agent there, and collected quit-rents from the set- tlers. This ownership and agency, together with the collecting of rents, continued through the lifetimes of the Second and Third Earls of Stirling; the Fourth Earl, however, sold his 76 THE STONE HOUSE AS A REDOUBT rights in the island to the Duke of York, at the same time that the Duke was given pos- session of New Amsterdam, changing the name to New York. The price was to be three hundred pounds per year. This, however, was never paid, and it was on the basis of this non-payment that William Alexander of New Jersey, when claiming the lapsed title of the Earls of Stirling, as well as their estates, included in this his right to Long Island. His claim was based on descent from the uncle of the First Earl. This claim was not allowed by the Crown, but his countrymen thought he was justly en- titled to its benefits, and henceforth he was known among them as Lord Stirling. On the eventful 27th of August, 1776, when at three o'clock in the morning Stirling set forth from his quarters, the Vechte farm at Gowanus, to face the British foe, it would not be a matter for surprise had thoughts of his denied inheritance mingled with the loftier ones of patriotism. In any case, one of the most heroic battles of the Revolutionary War was fought that day, and on soil once an Im- perial gift to the American general's kinsman. Stirling's gallantry in the face of what he must have known to be overwhelming odds 77 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS was evidenced in the words he spoke after forming the men for battle; he referred to a speech which, while in England, he had heard delivered on the floor of the House of Lords by this same General Grant against whom they were proceeding to march. In this speech Grant had averred that, given five thousand men, he could drive all disafifected Americans clear across the continent. Stirling, referring to this speech, said to his men: "He may have his five thousand men with him now; we are not so many, but I think we are enough to prevent his advancing further over the continent than this mill-pond." According to Field, the tide-mills of Brook- lyn "formed one of the most striking and char- acteristic features of the scenery. The slug- gish streams where the lazy tide crept in its sinuous course among the reeds, were dammed at convenient points, and when the ebb had lowered the surface below the flume suffi- ciently, the clatter of the simple machinery announced that the run of six hours had com- menced." Speaking of these mills, Teunis Bergen writes: "The one known as Freeke's Mill, or the old Gowanus Mill, was probably the old- est. Its mill-pond was formed by damming 78 THE STONE HOUSE AS A REDOUBT off the head of Gowanus Kil. In 1661 this mill was held conjointly by Isaac de Forest and Adam Brouer, the latter purchasing the interest of the former." As in the days of the Indians, when Gowane planted his corn in the fields round about, the grain still grew abundantly in Gowanus, and was ground in the mills called respectively Freeke's and Denton's at the time of the Revo- lution, or "Upper" and "Lower" by the sol- diers. Denton's mill, however, was built by Abram and Nicholas Brouer, sons of Adam Brouer. The pond was formed by damming a branch of the Gowanus Kil, which ran at the foot of the farms of Nicholas Vechte and that of the Brouers. The Porte Road, which ran across the creek between the two ponds, was exactly on the line between the Vechte and the Brouer farms. The proprietors of these mills were said to have been loyally true to the American cause. The old Gowanus road, which was "estab- lished in 1704, left the Flatbush turnpike just above the toll-gate, and ran south in the gen- eral direction of Fifth Avenue, until it reached the vicinity of the present Fifth Street, where it deflected southwesterly towards the present junction of Middle Street and Third Avenue, 79 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS thence following the line of that avenue along the shore. "Branching ofif westerly from the Gowanus road . . . was the road leading to Denton's and Freeke's Mills. On the roads were the houses of Nehemiah Denton and John C. Freeke (time of the Revolution). These men had been merchants; were rich; and among the first in Brooklyn to use coaches or barouches." These names have caused much confusion in Revolutionary history, resulting in the impression that the action took place over a much wider area than was the case. In point of fact, except for the morning engagement with Grant at Greenwood, practically the en- tire area of the battle between Stirling and the British was encompassed within the space pic- tured in the frontispiece to this volume. The only bridged way over the creek and salt meadows was at these mills, and when the upper or "yellow mill" was set on fire by the British, the Americans had to take chances with the lower mill, or swim the current of the creek. As for Stirling's words to his soldiers — words of pride and heroism — they might have been realized had Sullivan been able to hold 80 THE STONE HOUSE AS A REDOUBT De Heister and the Hessians at bay on the Flatbush Road. On Stirling's side, everything pointed to victory till the rout of Sullivan left the way open for Cornv^allis, and, later, those that had come by the route still farther to the east. As it was, Stirling advanced from his position on the Gowanus slope opposite the mill-ponds, beside the Stone House, and went as far as the foot of what is now Greenwood, before encountering Grant. The British, at word of Stirling's coming, had entrenched themselves in the woods. It was as yet not near daylight, and for a time both generals satisfied themselves with sending out companies of forty or fifty men at a time. Indeed, it is said that Stirling was surprised at the British general's apparent timidity. This was explained later when, at dawn, Grant re- ceived a signal from the British right telling him that De Heister had met Sullivan and been victorious. Then ensued the real battle — as Fiske says, the first real battle of the Revolutionary War — beginning with Stirling and Grant at Greenwood, and ending with Stirling and Cornwallis at the Stone House at Gowanus. For several hours the battle raged between Grant and Stirling, and Stirling was holding 8i THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS his own handsomely, when word arrived that the British were advancing upon his rear, and that Sullivan had fallen before De Heister, and was now a prisoner of the Hessians. Stir- ling was not slow in perceiving his danger. Leaving several regiments to continue the en- gagement with Grant, he turned back along the road he had that morning traversed. He met Cornwallis at the Stone House; the British general had taken possession of Stir- ling's quarters, and was using the house as a redoubt. The Americans outside the Brooklyn lines were now in possession of but a small segment of that circle of conquest planned by the Brit- ish. This consisted of the open Gowanus meadows threaded by the creek, and with crossings only at the mill-ponds. It was un- doubtedly a beautiful sight on that summer day — the water, the waving grass, and the velvety slopes of the opposing western heights where were ensconsed what remained of the American arms on Long Island; — yet a ter- rible place in which to be trapped for battle, as the sea rose at high tide and found its way through the tall meadow grass, which, con- cealing it, made a deceptive path of retreat. At this moment, however, Stirling had no 82 THE STONE HOUSE AS A REDOUBT intention of retreating. He had succeeded with Grant, he had left brave men to continue that engagement, and with Maryland, Dela- ware, and Pennsylvania troops, he believed that he could cope with Cornwallis, conse- quently he went at the task with his usual determination and bravery. Three times, it is said, he charged the Stone House where Cornwallis was entrenched, and where the British commander had placed guns, both within the house pointing through the win- dows, and without at the corners. And with each charge the British fell back. It seemed for a time as though victory were to perch on the Americans' banners, and for a time it did: Cornwallis was dis- lodged from the house, and his guns taken. Indeed, the sturdy little fort — and sturdy it was with its thick, impenetrable walls — was the only point of real victory in the entire battle of Long Island. But just as this was accomplished, word came of reinforcements for Cornwallis. The whole right wing of the British had made successfully the long detour of the Jamaica Road, had found prac- tically no resistance to the north-east, and was now — with Howe himself in charge, as well as Generals Percy and Clinton — sweeping 83 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS around to form that circle of conquest which Grant, Cornwallis and De Heister combined had been as yet unable to complete. Stirling now saw that victory of arms was impossible, yet he would not surrender. Again his eyes must have swept that open segment of charming but treacherous meadow land which lay between him and safety on Brooklyn Heights. To the north, by the mill-ponds, he beheld a scene that must have momentarily sickened his heart: the British, in the last stage of conquering march, had set fire to the "yel- low" or upper mill, leaving open only the causeway by the lower, or Denton's mill. But even this was soon in flames. It was then a question of surrender or sacri- fice — indeed of martyrdom — and Stirling chose the latter. In order to save the bulk of his forces, he called to him six companies of Smallwood's Maryland regiment of riflemen, and with these, now himself using the Stone House as a redoubt, he charged home upon the "astonished" Britishers, who had ex- pected immediate surrender. Again and again the little host faced the rain of English bullets, sustaining the charge nobly, and hold- ing their own until the last of the men had found safety across the meadows. 84 THE STONE HOUSE AS A REDOUBT Thus the bulk of Stirling's army arrived safely within the lines at Brooklyn. It is authoritatively stated that of the thousands who engaged in battle, but four hundred on each side were killed; and of the one thousand Americans who were taken prisoners, prac- tically all were from Sullivan's command. In- deed, General Stirling and his brave four hundred Marylanders so successfully engaged the whole of the British forces at the Stone House, that those who safely retreated carried with them within the lines the Maryland colors, and several prisoners whom they took on the way. On the military map of the fateful year 1776, made by the British, and here illustrated, the line of American works on the Heights of Brooklyn is plainly set forth. The exact posi- tion of the nearest stronghold — Fort Box — to the Stone House, and the American soldiers' re- treat therefrom under cover of the New York regiments brought over by Washington on the one side, and the Maryland regiments under Stirling at the Stone House on the other, is plainly indicated by the line drawn between Fort Box and the Gowanus road at the Vechte farm. The final course of the struggle at the narrowest space between the American lines 85 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS on Brooklyn Heights and the redoubt at Gowanus, may be traced clearly; also the posi- tion of the main redoubts on the heights of Gowanus overlooking the plain and encamp- ment of the British previous to the 27th, as well as the various lines of advance, and points of engagement. The centering of final action around the Stone House has never been fully explained in cause. This house was really equipped as a fort by the Americans ; its walls were pierced for loopholes, and the main story reinforced to a thickness of six feet. From the house there ran a subterranean passage to the neighbor- hood of the crossing at the creek. It is un- certain whether this passage was built by Nicholas Vechte as a means of escape in event of attack by the Indians in the early days, or whether it was constructed by American soldiers after the house was selected for pur- poses of defense. In any case, the holding of this fortified position would add security to the American soldiers because of the underground passage. This explains Cornwallis's eagerness to capture the house in the beginning, and the terrific fight put up by Stirling to regain it. It was, probably, with captured American guns that Cornwallis held the house when 96 THE STONE HOUSE AS A REDOUBT Stirling — turning back from Greenwood and Grant — marched to its possession. The fury — thus explained — of the Americans' attack drove "the astonished Britishers" from their position, as elsewhere noted ; and they held it till the very last, when the whole British army on the island was bearing down upon it. That some of the Americans escaped by means of the underground way, is probably certain while Stirling held the place; and possibly before, at Cornwallis's first attack upon it and previous to Stirling's final arrival upon the scene. While the structure as a whole was too strong to fall before the English guns, it must have been riddled and injured in many places. Indeed, signs of the restoration of parts are shown plainly in the frontispiece ; and it is the opinion of the writer that the facade was orig- inally "stepped," according to the most elegant architectural fashion of the time, and that these points were so much injured in the battle that they were subsequently "filled in" to a regular roof-line. This assumption is based upon double facts. First, the angle-lines of masonry bordering fancifully both facades indicate that these rows of apparently decora- tive angles are of different material from THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS that of the rest of the edifice; second, the facade, front and rear, extends beyond — or over-rides — the roof, which would hardly be the case were it not clearly a projection for ornamental purposes. No sketch of the house antedates the Revolutionary War, so the de- ductions drawn are solely those from the prem- ises set forth above, but which seem sufficiently strong. This mansion equalled any in the Dutch colonies of this period, if it did not sur- pass such, in elegance of architecture. And in this connection it may be pointed out that the best that could be had at the time would un- doubtedly have been secured by such an inno- vator and successful monopolist of privileges as Nicholas Vechte proved himself to have been in the account of his special canal, and the outwitting of his neighbors in the private flood-gate. 88 COLOXIAL MOXEY ISSUED BY NEW JERSEY, HOME OF LORD STIRLING, IN 1776, ABOUT THREE MONTHS PREVIOUS TO THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. THE TOBACCO LEAF IS EMBLEMATIC OF THE ONE-TIME USE OF THE PLANT AS ,A MEDIUM OF EXCHANGE IN AMERICA. IT IS NOTICEABLE THAT THE PENALTY FOR COUNTERFEITING WAS DEATH. > K Z OS H OS H a. w w CHAPTER SIX MARYLAND TROOPS THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND MANY historians have given vivid accounts of the Battle of Long Island. These accounts often speak of the Stone House "as partly of brick and partly of stone." This is a curious error, which, however, may be explained by the fact that the house which at present bears a tablet in memory of this engagement is of brick; in itself, this is now an old house, built long before the demolishment of the Stone House; so that the confusion of the actual sites, later noted, has caused confusion regard- ing the material of which the historic house was built. It was of stone, and that only until after the war when a wooden addition was built at the rear. Even as early as 1824, the Stone House was renowned for its antiquity; Furman, in his "Notes Relating to the Town of Brooklyn on Long Island," says: "Among the most ancient remains are two houses, one owned by the family of Cortelyou, built in 1699." He does not state that this is the oldest 95 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS house, but it was, undoubtedly, one of the three oldest standing at that time. And writ- ing in 1834, historian Thompson says: " The oldest building supposed to be now standing in the town is situated at Gowanus, in the southern part of the city, owned, for several generations, by the Cortelyou family, which was doubtless a very fine and substantial edifice at the period of its erection, in 1699. It is a double house, built of stone, and was occupied by the Commander-in-Chief of the American army in 1776, a short time anterior to the battle of Long Island." It is to be noted that neither historian calls this the Cortelyou House, merely stating that it was then occupied by a family of that name; but from these early statements, certain his- torians who came later fell into the error of naming it the Cortelyou House. In the frontispiece, the hill shown in the distance to the left of the house, known as Bergen Hill, was occupied by Fort Box, named after Major Daniel Box, General Greene's "Brigade- Major" — this position is now commemorated by Carroll Park; also by Fort Greene, which was but three hundred yards from Fort Box. Fort Putnam (in the war of 1812 the name was changed to Fort 96 THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND Greene) was, in the picture, at about that point in the distance framed by the edge of the trees at the right. This mounted five guns. Corkscrew Fort, or Cobble Hill, was close to where the City Hall appears. During the Revolutionary War an almost continuous par- apet ran from Fort Putnam to Fort Box — the entire pictured distance of the frontispiece; and from this parapet thousands watched the conflict at the foot of the opposing easterly heights between General Stirling and the com- bined power of the British army on Long Island. On the morning of the 27th of August, Gen- eral Washington had hurried to Brooklyn Heights "two well-drilled Pennsylvania and Massachusetts regiments." Later, others from New York were added. "Along the space of ground that intervened between the line of entrenchments and the East River, several detachments, from the army in New York, were hastening to defend the passage of the creek, and to effect a diver- sion in favor of the broken troops, by threat- ening an attack. Washington had early in the day exerted himself to the utmost in bring- ing over troops from New York to reinforce Sullivan and Stirling; and now that their 97 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS forces were utterly crushed, he still strove to cover the retreat of the fugitives, and to strengthen his lines." Fort Box w^as immediately to the west of the mill-ponds, and commanded the Porte Road v^hich ran dov^n from Prospect Heights between them. At this point Washington was stationed during the battle between Stirling and the British at the Stone House. Field says: "Washington visited the defences at this point (mill-ponds) during the day (27th) and while giving orders to the Colonel in com- mand, a man who seemed to be a citizen of the Island, was observed to have become inextric- ably fastened in the mud of the pond, while fleeing from the enemy. Some of the soldiers were desirous of going to his aid, but Wash- ington ordered them back, saying that their effort would be unavailing, for they would be unable to extricate themselves and would thus unavoidably be made prisoners of the enemy." The two mills were on either side of the same (Porte) road, at some little distance from each other. This Porte Road was much used by Flatbush farmers, who preferred going by Gowanus and a much more hilly road to the ferry, than by paying toll the other and nearer 98 THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND way. The Porte Road was the second road established from the ferry to Flatbush, it cross- ing the creek at the mills, and winding up to the opposite, or Bergen Hill, thence following the present direction of Smith Street to the ferry. Regarding the number of American troops on Long Island at this date, the "Memoirs of the Long Island Historical Society" says: "It is very difficult to form a satisfactory estimate of the number of the American troops on Long Island, on this and the subsequent days. Washington, in his letter to Congress, written on the 26th, says: 'The shifting and changing which the regiments have undergone of late has prevented their making proper returns, and the courts put it out of my power to transmit a general one of the army.' The whole number of American troops which crossed to Long Island at various times, before and after the battle, has been estimated from nine to eleven thousand; but the difficulty of estimating the strength of the force opposed to the British is greatly increased by the man- ner in which Washington rated his troops. In some of his letters which mentioned num- bers it is evident that he referred only to the regulars, entirely disregarding the militia. 99 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS During the battle, also, and on the subsequent days, troops were crossed in regiments, bat- talions, companies, and even in organized squads, which in the hurry and confusion were hardly even enrolled. At this time, however, the whole American force was probably not greater than five thousand five hundred men." Regarding Stirling's troops, the same au- thority writes: "Atlee's Pennsylvania and Smallwood's Maryland regiment, with Col. Haslett's Dela- ware battalion, composed the column with Lord Stirling. Cols. Smallwood and Haslett had been detained in the city on the night of the 26th, being engaged in official duty at the court-martial then sitting for the trial of Lieut.-Col. Zedwitz. At the rising of the court it was too late, as Col. Smallwood asserts, for crossing the East River to Brooklyn; but pushing over early next morning they joined their regiments on the field of battle, while these were warmly engaged in repelling the first attack." The following clear account of what hap- pened within the radius shown in the frontis- piece, is from the same excellent authority as the above: "Although the mortality of the day is 100 THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND largely attributed to the dangerous bog and water of Gowanus Creek and its ponds, yet, when it is remembered that the battery which Cornwallis had placed at the Vechte House was now pouring its discharge of grape and canister upon every point of the crossing, it is not hard to believe that most of those who fell in the creek perished from these missiles rather than by drowning. The brave fellows who had toiled so painfully in dragging the twelve pounder through the sand were now amply rewarded by the splendid results of its firing. After almost superhuman exertions in bringing their heavy piece into position, they opened fire upon Cornwallis' battery, at the Stone House, and in a few minutes had the satisfaction of putting it out of range. . . . The British field pieces were probably light four and six pounders, and unable to endure the heavy shot and accurate firing of the little band of artillerists, so that although these ar- rived too late in the day to aid in repelling the attack of the British columns on Stirling, or to assist his devoted corps of Marylanders in their assaults on the Vechte House, they actually accomplished the result which that General designed, in driving the enemy's bat- tery from the post." lOI THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS Of these same troops, Field says : "The Bat- talion was one of the few uniformed and well- disciplined organizations in the American Army, and was at once relied upon by General Washington for performing the most hazard- ous and important duties." Regarding their part in the battle at the Stone House, the same author states: "So fierce and persistent was the onset of the Battalion that the British were driven in confusion from their battery at the Stone House on the Gowanus Road. The guns would have been spiked or turned upon the enemy but for the brave fire of the grenadiers, who had flung themselves into the house, the strong walls of which made it a formidable redoubt. "For more than an hour the Battalion had maintained the terrible fire concentrating upon them, and five times assaulted an enemy more than twenty times their strength. Shat- tered at every charge upon their impregnable lines, their discipline, their ardor, and their heroism restored their regimental order at every repulse." Now, "beneath the streets and vacant lots lie the remainder of these brave sons of Mary- land." According to Field, "The officers (of the I02 THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND American army) give Lord Stirling the char- acter of as brave a man as ever lived." The following British account of the ac- tion at Gowanus — written, in fact, by General Howe himself — gives accurate data of their own movements; at the same time, their ex- planation of why they did not hold the Stone House at the critical period, is highly inter- esting as well as amusing. This, indeed, was the one point of victory for the Americans, though it was admirably backed by General Stirling's encounter with Grant at Greenwood. "About midnight he (Grant) fell in with their (Americans') advanced parties, and at daybreak with a large corps, having cannon, and advantageously posted, with whom there was a skirmishing and cannonade for some hours, until by the firing at Brooklyn the rebels, suspecting their retreat would be cut ofif, made a movement to their right in order to secure it across a swamp and creek that covered the right of their works." At the point farthest north on the march of the British army to Gowanus, at two o'clock of the morning of the fateful 27th of August, there occurred the scene at the "Rising Sun Tavern" between William Howard, its pro- prietor, on the one hand, and Generals Howe, 103 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS Percy, Cornwallis, and Clinton, on the other. This point is marked by the junction of the roads on the "Woody Heights." The British generals were seeking a guide for the advance from this point over the path or "pass" in these same "Woody Heights" to Bedford, in their march to Gowanus. At the butts of their pistols, Howard was forced to conduct them along the unguarded pass, and thus made pos- sible their descent upon Stirling's forces be- tween the mill-ponds and the Stone House. Some of Cornwallis's forces had traversed the pass from Flatbush to Bedford over Pros- pect Range, and these Cornwallis later joined, and with them made the first attack upon Stirling's redoubt. Some authorities give Sullivan, and some Stirling, the entire command without the lines at Brooklyn. The probabilities are that each was in charge of his particular territory — Sul- livan to the east and north, Stirling to the south and west. Putnam, who on the 27th was in charge of Brooklyn Heights, gave very little account of himself during the battle. His ignorance of matters, owing probably to his recent command, furnishes what excuse there was. General Sullivan's position is clearly repre- 104 THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND sented on the war map as facing, from Pros- pect Heights, the British before him at Flat- bush. From this point, the march of the victorious British straight down the old Porte Road to the Stone House, is clearly- indicated. So, from west, from north, from south, came the entire British forces upon the home of old Claes Vechte. Perhaps the memories of that day drove the last Nicholas of whom we have any knowl- edge away from Gowanus and the home of his ancestors. For what was left for him? — A riddled hearth, a blood-soaked field, pictures of brave, fighting, fleeing, wounded, dying men. Some other home he sought. And when the years of the war passed, when fresh young leaves pierced the sod, when the dead were buried, and nature had thrown its mantle of peace over the scene of strife, others came to occupy the brave old house — eyes which had not witnessed the fearful struggle without, nor the demolishment within. And again, the house, the orchard and wood at the back, the garden at the side, the meadows before, the creek and bay in the distance, became the scenes of domesticity. But the word of the strife would never pass — not even when walls were buried like the very soldiers who fell 105 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS around them, nor when green fields became streets for city feet to tread. The old Stone House at Gowanus, and its fields and creek, have become history. A little below the mill-ponds, in the creek, there was the island mentioned by the Laba- dists during their visit to Gowanus. Upon this island, situated about at Second Street near the present canal, a great many of the Revolutionary unknown heroes were buried. This occurred both immediately after the battle — when the residents of Gowanus were compelled to bury the dead that lay upon their lands — and during the succeeding years when the plows of the farmers upturned the bones that lay as near the surface of the ground as their furrows. This bury- ing place has never been disturbed; only the surrounding area has been filled, and undoubtedly the surface of the spot itself raised several feet. Here, therefore, lie most of the bones of the brave young Marylanders who gave their lives at the Stone House that their fellow-soldiers might find safety. It was of these soldiers that, "on the i6th of August, the Maryland Council of Safety announced to our delegates in Congress, 'We shall have with you in a few days four thousand men, io6 THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND which is all that we can arm and equip, and the people of New York, for whom we have great affection, can have no more than our all.' " General Stirling could not bring himself, when all was over, to surrender to the British Commander, and went back through the woods till he found the Hessian general, De Heister. He was then taken aboard a man- of-war, where Sullivan was already a prisoner. Of the numbers of Sullivan's men who were taken the same day, history has often spoken ; on the site of Fort Putnam — later converted into a park called Washington Park — a monu- ment has been erected to those who died while prisoners on the ships in the harbor. It has been called the Martyrs' Monument. 107 CHAPTER SEVEN GEN. WASHINGTON RETREAT FROM LONG ISLAND WHY there was not an attack by the British navy at this moment remains one of the mysteries of the war; for Manhattan, comparatively defenseless from its low position at the southern end, must have fallen an easy victim to the British ships, and this would have completely cut off any avenue of retreat for the Americans from Brooklyn. However, the presence of the American troops which were hurried over from New York, and who helped to cover the retreat of Stirling's soldiers across the meadows, to- gether with the presence of the chief himself, undoubtedly heartened the soldiers within the Brooklyn lines. (See Notes.) That night, on Prospect Range, and on the lowlands before the American lines, the Brit- ish slept. They were happy in the conscious- ness of victory, and no doubt believed that another day would see the beginning of a siege of Brooklyn Heights which would ulti- mately prove successful to royal arms. They 109 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS were tired with a day of battle after a long night of marching — so tired that one night's rest was probably insufficient to inspire a desire for further action. Added to this, with daybreak, a fog which enveloped everything was discovered to have made its way up the bay, so that the now nearby line of American fortifications was invisible. Further activity was therefore delayed by the British. Lord Howe thought this delay advantage- ous ; it would give his soldiers time for further rest. But Washington took no rest. He went to and fro, conferring with his gen- erals, examining his own and the enemy's position, and speculating upon the advisability of this or that course of action. It was no part of Washington's plan to allow himself to be hemmed in on the Heights of Brooklyn with the enemy around by water and land. With another day of fog, his preparations were completed. He had sent orders to Manhattan for every available craft to be centered in the East River, extending from about the point of the present Brooklyn Bridge terminal to Wallabout Bay — that sec- tion where the river was narrowest and best out of reach of the British ships. Yet, so close were these ships, and so near the British no BRONZE TABLET^ FOUR AND ONE-HALF BY FIVE FEET^ ATTACHED TO THE BRICK HOUSE AT THE CORNER OF FIFTH AVENUE AND THIRD STREET, BROOKLYN, IN MEMORY OF THE OLD STONE HOUSE, CALLED THE CORTELYOU HOUSE WHILE OCCUPIED BY THE FAMILY OF JAQUES CORTELYOU. 'we SHALL HAVE WITH YOU IN A FEW DAYS FOUR THOUSAND MEN. WHICH IS ALL THAT WE CAN ARM AND EQUIP, AND THE PEOPLE OF NEW YORK, FOR WHOM WE HAVE GREAT AFFECTION, CAN HAVE NO MORE THAN OUR ALL." MARYLAND COUNCIL OF SAFETY TO THE NEW YORK DELEGATES IN CONGRESS, AUGUST 1 6, 1 776, CONCERNING THE MARYLAND TROOPS WHO FOUGHT AT THE STONE HOUSE. RETREAT FROM LONG ISLAND camp, that it seems almost impossible such an array of river craft could have been gotten to- gether without the enemy's notice; this, too, where there was plenty of Tory sympathy, and numerous feet willing to run on errands of warning to the British. It speaks well for the guarding of the American lines, and the quick action and manceuvering of the chief, that on the morning of the 30th, with the fog's lifting, the British awoke to find their supposedly caged birds flown. The Heights of Brooklyn were deserted, and the Americans safely across the East River. The British had lost a supreme chance, and Washington's untiring activity was rewarded. On the 3rd of September following, he writes to Congress: "Since Monday scarce any of us have been out of the lines till our passage across the East River was effected. Yesterday morning and for forty-eight hours preceding that, I had hardly been off my horse, and never closed my eyes." And not only were the Americans not sat- isfied with getting themselves and their effects from under the very noses of the British, but once on Manhattan Island they proceeded to Governor's Island — in Colonial times called 113 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS Nutten, and even later, Nut Island — which was but a quarter-mile from the Long Island shore, and three-quarters from Manhattan. This island is now the headquarters of the Department of the East, and is so close to the Long Island shore that, according to tradition, at one time it was possible at low tide to walk on dry land from one shore to the other. This island had been well gar- risoned, and it was not the Americans' plan to leave so valuable an equipment behind; so having landed safely at New York, they went over and, according to the loyalists' own his- torian, Jones, who complained bitterly of the British laxity at this time, they carried away "two thousand men, forty pieces of heavy can- non, military stores, and provisions in abundance." 114 CHAPTER EIGHT THE LOYALISTS BRITISH ON LONG ISLAND BRITISH troops were now in possession of the works so zealously pushed by General Lee and Lord Stirling. Over Prospect Range, across the lowlands, their tents swarmed. British officers occupied the Stone House and the farmhouses of the dis- trict; and up on Brooklyn Heights the forts of the Americans became the forts of the British. To the loyalists, this would seem a promise of better things and, no doubt, for a time they so considered it. But not long. Of the British occupation their own historian, Jones, previously quoted, writes: "This day, though then looked upon as the most fortunate one that could happen for the Long Island loyalists, proved in the end a most unfortunate one, for instead of finding protectors in the King's troops, they were most scandalously, barbarously and indiscrimin- ately plundered; suflFered every insult and abuse during the whole war." He complains 117 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS that they, the inhabitants, "were well paid for their loyalty." As to General Stirling, it is pleasant to state that he was soon exchanged, and was enter- tained by General Washington at the latter's headquarters at Harlem — now Washington Heights — on Manhattan. In an original manuscript letter in possession of the Lenox Library, and dated Morristown, March 3, 1776, General Stirling writes: "At Long Island I lost two valuable horses, and all my Baggage, and in consequence of my captivation there, I was plundered and lost about five hundred pounds' worth of furniture." A curious document of the months im- mediately following the evacuation of Long Island by Washington, and printed in New York by Rivington, chief printer and publisher of the time, throws con- siderable light upon points of locality. It is dated 1776, and is a farce purporting to set forth circumstances connected with the Battle of Long Island. Written as it was to ridicule, by enemies of the Republic, truth of char- acter is absolutely wanting, its place being taken by gross falsehood. Yet facts of loca- tion were necessary to give semblance of life 118 BRITISH ON LONG ISLAND to even this fiction, and for such it may be legitimately drawn upon. As to certain dia- logue relating to the plunder of the natives by the soldiers, it is both curious and amusing to notice that the vs^riter attributed to the Americans exactly the behavior which their Tory historian, Jones, recorded as their own. Witness the following: SCENE: A Small House in a Field. Enter LASHER and CLARK. Clark. Behold, Colonel, these flocks and herds; with the sword of Gideon have I made them mine; and hon- estly collected them, in the district allotted to me by our agreement. Lasher. I rejoice with you in the acquisition. My harvest from the Wallabout is like the miraculous draught: — two hundred and seven head of horned beasts, and thirty-seven horses, graze where my guards direct. Clark. Favor has not been so amply manifested unto me; for from the farthest verge of Gowanus, even from Casper's house, till you come to Brewer's mills, one hun- dred and nine horned, and twenty beasts of burthern were all I could collect. Lasher. But for some twenty head of cattle, the glean- ings of Gowanus in the orchard of one Bergen, (see house on road to right, in frontispiece) I would not go so far; these once obtained, we will be near each other. Regarding the above, it is a fact that with the advance of the British upon the southern shore of Long Island, and their subsequent occupation of the entire plain between the 119 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS sea and Prospect Range, the natives and soldiers drove the live stock of this district within the American picket lines, so that im- mense herds ranged over the hills and plains of Gowanus. ACT i:. SCENE: A Hill at Gowanus about two miles from Brooklyn lines, with an encampment on it. TIME: About three o'clock in the morning. Enter a SOLDIER. Sol. Where's General Stirling? . . . Sir, it is I that call, to inform your lordship, there has been a great deal of shooting toward the Red Lion within this little while. SCENE : A hill with troops drawn up, under arms. TIME: Broad day-light. Enter SULLIVAN and STIRLING. Sul. Let your brigade immediately take post in the bottom, and extend from the small house below, (see frontispiece) as far as the STONE HOUSE upon the left: and farther, if the hill gives them cover. SCENE. FORT GREENE in BROOKLYN. (In frontispiece, hill showing to the left of the house.) LINES. Centinel on one of the Merlins, looking out. Enter WASHINGTON. Wash. What do you so earnestly look at, Centry? Cen. Look this way, Sir; there they run like many deer, and will get in: but the poor souls yonder, that come across the meadows, and attempt to cross the mill creek. Oh, what a number of these stick in the mud. Of course, the entire document, as pointed out, is a mass of fabrication as far as char- 120 BRITISH ON LONG ISLAND acter delineation is concerned; and the lines quoted are but to bring home more forcibly the "local color" and points of locality, which this literary effort of the day succeeds in doing despite its serious objectionableness as history. With the further movements of the Revo- lution, this book has little to do. The scene changes, while interest remains with the Stone House, with Gowanus, and the distant Heights of Brooklyn. The British held pos- session of this region till the close of the war. With their evacuation went also many of the loyalists of the district — one historian stating that a third of the whole population of Brook- lyn went to Nova Scotia — so that present day Brooklyn descendants of the time represent those families who remained true to the Amer- ican cause. FACSIMILE OF THE SIGNATURE OF NICHOLAS VECHTE, FROM THE " HISTORY OF THE BERGEN FAMILY," BY TEUNIS BERGEN. 121 CHAPTER NINE THE STONE HOUSE AFTE R THE REVOLUTION IN 1790, Nicholas Vechte sold the Go- wanus estate on which stood the Stone House to Jaques Cortelyou for $12,500. From this period on, the house was known either as the Stone House, or the Washington House— from Washington's presence there previous to the battle, in consequence of which it was often referred to as Washington's Headquarters on Long Island, the picture of the house frequently being so designated. Jaques Cortelyou was direct in descent from Jaques Cortelyou, the original owner of the first stone house at New Utrecht— the same house that was occupied by General Howe upon the British landing at New Utrecht, and which later became a part of Fort Hamilton, on the Narrows, and was included in the bar- racks up to modern times. (Large Map.) The Cortelyou House at New Utrecht was visited by the previously mentioned Labadist travelers in 1679, though as early as 1665, records have it that "Jaques Cortelleau, 123 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS younger hope," lived at New Utrecht. They state that the house of Jaques Cortelleau was the second one built by the owner, the first hav- ing been destroyed by fire ; and in this they are confirmed by contemporary records, which add that the inhabitants of the surrounding re- gion were asked to contribute a day's labor toward the erection of Jaques Cortelleau's new house, he having been grievously afflicted by fire. Evidently, the second house was intended to withstand both fire and time, as it was of the same strength and durability as the Stone House at Gowanus, bought by Jaques' de- scendant of the same name, surviving from the Seventeenth till the last half of the Nineteenth Century. (See Notes.) The Labadists became great friends of Jaques Cortelyou, whom they describe at that time as quite an old man. They made several visits to his home, and at one time thought of buying from him a tract of land owned by himself and "several partners" on the Passaic River in New Jersey. Of one of these visits to him, starting from New York, they write: "We both left about noon to go over to Long Island, and passed through Breucklen and Vlacke Bos (Flatbush, thus taking a dif- 124 AFTER THE REVOLUTION ferent route from previous ones by Gowanus) over New Utrecht on a large, fine wagon road to Najack (the part of New Utrecht occupied by the Nyack Indians, upon whose land Jaques Cortelyou had built), where we arrived about three o'clock. It had been very warm through the day, and we were all in perspiration and fatigued. After we had rested and eaten something, we went outside upon the banks of this beautiful bay, to breathe a little air, and look at several vessels going and coming." Jaques "had been to the fish fuyck, which they had lying there upon the shore and out of which they had taken at noon some fine fish. . . . The day be- fore he had shot a woodcock and partridge before the door of the House." At the time of the Labadists' visit, Cortelyou was paying the Indians twenty bushels of corn a year as rent for his land. He is spoken of by writers of his time as a "mathamatician, a sworn land surveyor, and a doctor of medi- cine." He enjoyed the position of "ofiicial surveyor" to New Amsterdam, and he it was who, in 1653, made that map of New Amster- dam ordered by the Governor, which present generations long searched for. The office of surveyor descended in the 125 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS family; in 1704 Peter Cortelyou was one of three men appointed to lay out the King's Highway, later Fulton Street, Brooklyn. The bronze tablet, placed by the Sons of the Revolution on the house now standing on the southwest corner of Third Street and Fifth Avenue, bears the following inscription : "The site of the old Cortelyou , i House on the Battlefield of Long Island. Here on the 27TH OF August, 1776 — two hundred AND FIFTY OUT OF FOUR HUNDRED BRAVE Maryland soldiers under THE command of LORD STIRLING WERE KILLED IN COMBAT WITH BRIT- ISH TROOPS UNDER CORNWALLIS." Above the inscription there is etched an imaginary picture of the conflict. The house is represented close at hand, two stories and a half in height and situated just at the rise of a hill. As a matter of fact, this should not be called the Cortelyou House of history, the latter, as explained above, having been situated at New Utrecht; moreover, the house represented and thus honored in the tablet — the Stone 126 AFTER THE REVOLUTION House of Gowanus — was not on the site of the brick dwelling to which the tablet is attached. The famous house stood some one hundred feet to the rear or west of the present edifice, and about fifty to the left or south. The southwest corner of the house was nearly coincident with the old willow tree which still stands on the property. As a young tree, this willow appears in certain of the later sketches of the house which were used as illustrations to histories, and which are subsequently de- scribed in detail in this chapter. At the time of its final destruction, some twelve years previous to this writing, the house occupied a corner of what was the Washington Park — so-named from the house — Baseball Grounds, and was used by the players as a club house. The wooden addi- tion to the rear was the part mainly used by the boys, and according to Mr. John Moore, a resident of the locality since the fifties, they gained entrance by jumping down through door or windows. As the house, in history, was always de- scribed as two stories and a half, it became a current fallacy of later days that the original roof had disappeared, and with it one of the stories. But this. is inconsistent with the fact 127 THE STONE HOUSE AT GOWANUS that the house retained to the end its original gable with the date, 1699, affixed to it. Referring to the frontispiece of this volume^ it is to be noted that the wooden addition spoken of by Mr. Moore is not only well above ground, but has a foundation ample in height. To have made it necessary to "jump down" through door or windows in order to gain en- trance, the house must have been buried to a point above the pictured or original doorsill, thus reducing the visible portion of the house to a story and a half; and that this was the case is practically assured from the fact that the slope shown in the painting at the back of the house had even then long since vanished — the undulating wooded hills of this slope having given place to the gradual, even descent from the park to-day. Mr. Litchfield, whose grandfather bought the property from the Cortelyous in 1846 and extended Third Street across the lowlands, states that the street was sixteen feet above the level of the meadows ; so that the original ground level of the Stone House would thus have been sixteen feet below the present surface — confirming eye-witnesses that the house appeared as though "in a hollow" even after having been buried to its second story. 128 THE OLD WILLOW TREE, WHICH STOOD NEAR THE DOOR OF THE STONE HOUSE AS IT LOOKS TO-DAY. IT IS SHOWN AS A SAPLING, REACHING ABOUT THE EAVES, IN THE TWO PRINTS AND THE LITHOGRAPH ELSE- WHERE REPRODUCED. "beneath THESE STREETS AND VACANT LOTS LIE THE REMAINDER OF THOSE BRAVE SONS OF MARYLAND." — FIELD. SECTION OF THE TRUNK OF THE OLD WILLOW TREE WHICH STOOD NEAR THE DOOR OF THE STONE HOUSE, SHOWING PRESENT AGE AND CONDITION. AFTER THE REVOLUTION With the building of Third Street across the meadows, and the consequent filling-in of the meadows themselves, there also became lost to view the spring, and the brook which flowed from it to the creek — shown plainly on the farther side of the road in the frontispiece. Mr. Moore states that the spring is still bub- bling beneath the ground, and that the stream yet finds its way to the canal but a few feet below the surface. Also, when the upper house was finally w h O w < Q t— 4 o o o o t-H H O w CO g Co fel •-^ £13 1^ Co CO ^' Co Co O Co :a; F^ o ttj > 1*4 h ftj 5 k o Co a. Q til a: £5 E^ h CO 5 fe) <; Q ty "^ o CO a: E~H o *^ o "^ cj '^ Co tq ^ a: tq E-H Co O a Co -S; ~« '^ 12 ClL (3 R « ^3 ^ t^ H.4 b/1 "^ 1^ J" 5 R ;^ *» o <3 ■K> .^ i.^ ^ CO CO t -R ."^^ ^ ^ sTL -5 -Si "^ ^ 6-. :2 ^ a Co k, Co « a o CO ;^ ^ R 'u