YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

AimUAL MEETING, OCTOBEK 16, 1B62.

The Annual Meeting of the Ulster Historical Society,
held at the Second Reformed Dutch Ohurch, Kingston, Oc-
tober 16th, 1862 — Hon. A. Bruyn HasBrouck, LL.D.,
President, in the Chair; Reuben Bernard, Esq., Treas
urer, acting as Secretary :
Besokied, That the reading of Minutes of previous meet
ing be postponed.
After the transaction of necessary business, HENRY H.
REYNOLDS arose and said—
Mr. President : — ^Limited as may seem to some to-day
our historic field of labor and the interest taken by others
in our effbrts, none here are unconscious of the events pass
ing about us, making up a momentous history, in many
respects, of sad and solemn importance. One of these is upon
all our hearts to-day, as -we contemplate a vacant place, never
so before, but at the call of patriotism or duty. Of him who
filled it, the lips of the strongest among you. were too tremu»
lous flrst to speak, for such knew him best and longest, and,
therefore, loved him most. So has it not seemed presump
tuous in me to accept the charge of offering the resolutions
I am about to present No one, who has known our his
tory or him for whom we mourn this day, will deem these
resolves a mere formality, or doubt the deep emotion with
which we seek to add one more wreath to his grave, one
more tribute to his memory. We could have said far more
in like sincerity, nor blush in after years to speak of it to
each other, for to no other man has this Society owed so
much. The efforts of others have been earnest and effective
— the desire to do honor to your noble ancestry has

a44 IN MEMORY OF COLONEL PEATT.
prompted to honorable labors and sacrifices, and yet amidst
them all, again and again, as you have marked the unwea
ried and unselfish perseverance of our noble comrade, and
responded to his earnest and courteous appeals, you have
freely passed to him the tribute of commendation offered to
all, and claimed only for yourselves, that
" The trophies of Miltiades will not let me rest."
It is too early yet for us to speak to each other of the
nature and extent of our loss ; and beside, there is too much
that is sorrowful and sad in this and other events about us,
to permit iis to do more than cheer and encourage one an
other. And so we need, in some degree, to antedate our
consolation as we strive for submission to the Divine allot
ment. As the captive tribes of Israel, amid all the depres
sion or the prosperity of their Babylonish condition, ever
left some part of their dwellings— ^palace or hovel — unfin
ished or broken, to remind of the desolation of Jerusalem,
we shall not be without mementoes of our loss, and do best
for the past, the present and the future, by recognizing in
them the hand that writes all history.
Eight hundred years ago, in a cause then deemed more
sacred than the love of country, a mixed multitude went
forth from Southern Europe to rescue the Temple and the
Sepulchre. In the market place of Clermont the eloquence
of Urban awoke from an hundred thousand lips the shout,
almost of triumph, "God wills it! God wills it!" and so
that host went forth to the field of conflict and of death.
¦ That u.nearthly battle cry is the utterance, though far more
sad and low, that with mivffled voice and sobbing, here and
elsewhere, speaks of our wise counsellor and faithful fellow
laborer. It is the assurance of our consolation in the day
when we may dare to speak of the great inheritance of
which we are co-heirs— the memory of such a life, the wit
ness of such a death. Nor even now may we forget that
as on the forms, of ancient Christian martyrs — Androni
cus and his fellow sufferers — a fond tradition said the stars

IN MEMOBT OP COLONEL PEATT. 245
came down to rest ; so were such a witness given to our
honored dead— not those alone that on his country's ban
ner told its past history and advancing glory would be
there, but those, to our tearful vision, the. brighter for its
darkness — that gem a crown more unfading and enduring
than the laurel.
To our own section of a land he loved so well, he gave
no small portion of the earnest sympathies and labor of his
most active life ; to the whole of that land he gave the
sacrifice of that life ; and thus to both a memory more en
during than either, and beyond which neither shall have a
trophy of history more priceless.
" Thej never fail -who die
In a great cans e — though years elafise,
And others share as dark a doom,
They but augment the deep and s-weeping thoughts
Wliich overspread all others, and conduct
The world at last to freedom."
Mr. Reynolds then submitted the following resolutions ;
Resolved, That the Historical Society may well claim a
place among the multitude of moumers*over the honored
grave of Colonel George W. Pratt, its late Secretary, and
record its sense of the great loss sustained in that of one to
whose ardent and unwearied labors in its behalf, it owes
much of its prosperity, if not its very existence.
Resolved, That while we bow in sorrowing submission to
the Divine dispensation which has removed from the midst
of us a scholar and patriot, we would recognize, with
devout gratitude, his unsullied example, as an incentive to
earnest effort as well in our especial field as in every other
of usefulness and philanthropy.
Resolved, That such efforts in behalf of institutions so
dear to him, will be among the best tributes we can render
to his commanding excellenceis, and best witnessess of the
respect and affection with which he was regarded by all who
knew him.

246 IN MEMORY OF COLONEL PRATT.
Resolved, That the Executive Committee be req-aesfed to
obtain a portrait of Colonel Pratt, suitable for preserva
tion among o-ur archives.
The President, A. BRUYN HASBROUCK, said :
Gentlemen : — It is known to the members of the
Society, that a memoir of the life and character of Colonel
Pratt was in preparation to be read to us at this meeting.
Our associate, the Rev. Mr. Temple, who had kindly under
taken the task, was obliged to decline, from not being able
in due time before this meeting, to procure such particu
lars of the earlier life of Colonel Pratt as he deemed nec
essary for the completion of his work. I cannot but hope,
however, that the Rwei'end gentleman will, at an early day,
favor the Society and the friends of Colonel Pratt, with
the result of his enquiries, which cannot fail to be both in
teresting and instructive. As it is, we are left to review
the character of Colonel Pratt only in its more general
aspect, as it was exhibited in his brief intercourse with the
world and in his connection with this Society. Enough,
however, remains'to confirm the opinion of his fiiends and
of those who intimately knew him, that he was no ordinary
man. ; to jjistify the warm eulogium expressed in the reso
lutions now offered for adoption, and the many public de
monstrations of regard which, have been made since his
death. I might, perhaps, after what has already been said
by Mr. Reynolds, have contented myself with a mere cor
dial assent to the passage of these resolutions. But it
seems to me, that the proprieties of the office I have the
honor to hold among you, require something more than a
silent vote; that my official and personal relations with
Colonel Pratt demand some open demonstration of my
regard, some outspoken expression of sympathy with this
Society in the loss it has sustained. I have often been
struck at Masonic fanerals, with the simple ceremony I
observed there, where each member of the Order throws a

IN MEMORY OP COLONEL PEATT. 347
sprig of evergreen into the grave of a departed brother.
Without understanding the meaning of this act, I can, at
least, catch its spirit ; and I would now, with all of the re
collections of the past, with all of rhe regard and of the
hope which it seems to imply, venture to offer to the mem
ory of our departed associate, the poor tribute of my rev
erence. It was my melanchoty gratification, with some of the
members of this Society, as its representatives, and with
many citizens of Ulster, to be an attendant at the funeral of
Colonel Pratt. And as the procession moved from the
Church to the distant Cemetery, with muffled drum and
solemn dirge, through the crowded streets of the Capital,
amid ranks of soldiers, at mournfuj, military rest upon
their arms, past long lines of sympathizing members of the
Masonic brotherhood, I could not but recall the familiai-
line, which, though poetry, I then felt to be no fiction —
" The paths of glory lead but to the tomb."
But, after the last sad rites had been performed, and as the
mourners went about the streets, each carrying to his home
the lesson of mortality taught by the occasion, when the
sun, on the very verge of the horizon, suddenly shone
through the clouds, and illumined the whole Western sky
with the rich tints of an Autumnal evening, I forgot the
despondent sentiment of the Elegist in remembering the
equally familiar but exultant strains of the Christian poet —
See truth, love and mercy, in triumph ascending.
And Nature all glowing in Eden's first bloom ;
On the cold cheek of death, smiles and roses are blending,
And beauty immortal awakes from the tomb.
Yes, it is indeed consoling to know, that here is not the
end of our being — that the grave is but the portal to an
other world. For, we have an assurance, which has sus
tained many a stricken mourner and been a balm for many
a wounded heart — which will exert its influence, too, till the

248 IN MEMOEY OP COLONEL PEATT.
battle of the warrior is no more heard, and garments are no
longer seen rolled in blood ; — an assurance higher than tbe
inspiration of mere human poetry — a Divine assurance, that
this corruption must put on incorruption, and this mortal
must put on immortality. In the Providence of God, the
Angel of Mercy is thus made to move swiftly on the foot
steps of the Destroyer, and survivors are consoled and
cheered in knowing and believing, that all o'ar friend's
graces of character which so attracted our admiration ; that
all his amiable qualities, which so won and fixed our re
gard ; that all his talents and acquirements, which blossomed
so thickly " in the dew of his youth," and gave such " hopes
of unaccomplished years ;" that all his ardor of patriotism,
which shrunk from no sacrifice, even of life itself, have not
been consigned to lie in the cold obstruction of the grave ;
but that they will awake from the tomb, to be clothed upon
with immortality.
Among the personages of a former period, whom his
tory has delighted to honor, and around whose memory are
clustered the choicest tributes of eloquence, of poetry and
romance, stands conspicuous the name of Sir Philip
Sidney. I trust I shall not be suspected of an undue or
exaggerated estimate of our fiiend's merits, when I say,
that I find much in his life and character to remind me of
that distinguished man. Both possessed of the advantages
of wealth and high social position ; both passing through
early life, amid the dangers and temptations incident to
such a condition, (so often, alas ! fatal to young men,) with
untainted morality and habitual virtue ; — both dying at an
age when most men have but just ptit on harness and are
yet hesitatingly treading the arena of action ; honored in
their day and generation, and mourned at their death, be
yond the measure accorded to few of their years ; with habits
and pursuits nearly identical, and talents and acquirements
different only in degree ; both, amid the love of books and
the calmer pursuits of polite literature, still intent upon the

IN MEMOEY OF COLONEL PEATT. 249
knowledge of tactics and the study of all the arts of war ;
both tearing themselves away from troops of friends, the
caresses of society, and the endearments of home, to endure
the privations of the camp, and to meet the stern realities
of war on the perilous edges of battle, — falling, wounded
on the battle-field, at precisely the same age, and alike car
ried away by sympathizing soldiers, to die of their wounds
at no distant day, among kindred and friends ; — it needs but
the touching incident of the cup of cold water declined by
Sir Philip in the extremity of his distress, and proffered to
a dying soldier at his side, to complete the parallel. From
what we know of Colonel Pratt's character and the im
pulses of his nature, we may be sure, had the occasion pre
sented itself, that the cup of cold water and the generous
offer would not have been wanting, still more to strengthen
the resemblance.
I need not, surely, remind the members of this Society,
how, with his whole heart, Colonel Pratt devoted himself
to its interests. One of its founders, its first and hitherto
its only Secretary, he labored to give it character at home
and a name abroad, with a degree of success that outstripped
the exertions of the best of us. Coming to- reside among
us, almost an entu-e stranger ; descended from a family that
had never struck root or fibre in the soil of our County
since its earliest settlement, he yet labored with the zeal of
a native to explore its early history, and to exalt its char
acter. He came to seat himself, at once, with the familiari
ty of kindred and descent, at what the poet has called " the
fire-side of our hearts;" and listening there, with filial inter
est, to the tales and misty traditions of former times, he
garnered up his materials, not to gratify an idle curiosity, or
to enrich the pages of some future romance, but for profit
and instruction ; to present them to us in the nakedness of
truth — to fix them in the dignity of history. His paper,
published in our Collections, on the expeditions of General
Yaughan up the Hudson, and the consequent destruction of

250 IN MEMOEY OP COLONEL PEATT,
Kingston by the troops under his command, has been pro
nounced by those best qualified to judge, a highly valuable
contribution to the History of the Revolutionary War. I can
myself bear witness to the patience he exhibited, amidst much
doubt and perplexity, in the preparation of that work ; to
his liberal expenditure of time and money, and to (the
earnestness with which he sought to verify every statement
he made — extending his enquiries even to the Paper Offices
in London — all, at last, to result in a narrative of charming
detail, and undoubted authenticity — ^honorable to himself
and to this society. In my sober judgment, if Colonel
Pratt had no other claim ; if there were no 'faithful dis
charge of duty, no generous public spirit, no patriotism, no
loss of life in his country's service to speak of, his interest
in this Society and his contributions to it, would alone en
title him to the lasting gratitude of the people of Ulster.
Gentlemen : It is no light thing to tell of a man after he
is gone; it is something that will "blossom in his grave
and smell sweet " in after days, that amid the occupations
of a busy life and in a period of great political anxiety he
could turn aside to devote his time and talents to rescue
from neglect 'the piety, the sufferings, the bravery, the
patriotism of an humble and almost forgotten generation ;
that he illustrated in his own conduct, even to the bitter
end, the love of liberty and the devotedneSs to country,
which he found exhibited there. That he taught us by his
example, in the words of his own chosen motto of our
Society — Qedenht-aen-de-dagen-van-ouds — to rememher the
days qf old ; that we, too, might learn there, lessons of con
duct, and gather courage and hope, in the troubles that so
thickly beset us now.
Gentlemen: Colonel Pratt's course is finished; "his
warfare is accomplished." Having himself passed into His
tory, let us do for him what he has done for others • let us
enroll his name among the Worthies of the Country. Let
the Resolutions be entered on our Minutes, that those who

TN MEMOEY OP COLONEL PEATT. 251
are to follow us, in these our laibors of love, may know how
highly we esteemed our associate — how truly we revere d
his memory, as a man, a citizen and patriot soldier. For he
was, indeed, an embodiment of Shakespeare's conception of
a finished man —
His years but young, bat his experience old ;
His head unmellowed, ^at his judgment ripe,
And in a word.
Complete in feature and in mind,
With aU good grace to grace a gentleman.
Mr. Wm. Lounsbery, having been requested, from his
acquaintance* with Colonel Pratt's public life, seconded the
Resolution. He advocated their adoption as follows :
WILLLAM LOUNSBEEY'S EEMAEKS.
Mr. President : — The Ulster Historical Society at this
day of its assembling, commemorates the burning of King
ston, and the sufferings of our early settlers in their first
struggle for independence. The resolutions which have
been proposed are equally suggestive of patriotic sacrifice,
and strike us with a closer sympathy. They commemorate
the loss of one of our founders, who has- lately fallen in
another contest to preserve the liberties and Government
handed down to us by the heroism of our ancestors. This
Society would be unequal to its trust, if it passed by in
silence a loss so vital to the country and itself
It is with no ordinary feelings that I have undertaken, to
respond to the resolutions, just offered, and to utter an ap
propriate tribute to the worth, enterprise and heroism of
of our late Secretary, Colonel George W. Pratt.
Government is the work of mortal man. The social
-fabric is sustained and held together by the enter
prise of indi-viduals. And when a man of intelligence
and active virtues falls, either by the, ordinary decay of
age, or; more suddenly, by violence and war, we feel - the
structure crumbling, and see the beauties of the edifice

353 IN MEMORY OF COLONEL. PEATT,
defaced. In the death of Colonel Pratt, a column has
fallen in the temple of liberty. The decorations which art
and learning and civilization have added to it, have been
marred and mutilated, and are not to be quickly repaired.
Some lives do not perform very vital functions in the
community. A retiring or selfish nature works in quiet
— out of sight of associates, and does not mingle in such
efforts as society puts forth for its advancement by the
combination of multitudes. I do not say that such are
useless, but their death is not so much felt. Tlieir little
circle of action revolves upon . itself, and its destruction
does not jostle and unhinge the public aspirations, or
break up the social progress. They are not missed from
the world — their death is not counted by so large a value.
So many of such do not seem to die. The poet utters
this conviction when he says —
" The good die first, and those
Whose hearts are dry as summer dnst.
Bum to the socket."
Colonel Pratt was a man of active and busy enter
prise. He had the inspiration of a genius that works and
accomplishes. He set to work and did not look back.
He had the elements of a great man,- which only failed
to ripen into eminence by the accident of his early death.
I recollect when the plan to form this Society was first
revolved in his mind. I think it originated with him,
though the materials for the work were not lacking, either
as to the field of operations or the workers that were
called out. He saw that Ulster County was a rich field
for historical research, and he undertook to lead and
stimulate the action of the people in that direction.
I was one who distrusted the project and expressed
the fear that a Society, organised simply for plodding
among dusty records, or turning up memorials of the
past, could not be sustained by a practical and working

IN MEMOEY OP COLONEL PEATT. 253
people, however intelligent. This was suggested to him
when we were going in company to attend the raeeting
to organize this Society. He thought differently, and it
is proved that he was right The half dozen that assem
bled in the Dutch Church, at New Paltz, have grown into
an organization that has made its mark upon the literary
character of the age. How much of this is due to the
personal effbrts of Colonel Pratt, the members of the
Society, here assembled, are the -witnesses. He was ably
seconded by men of a high order of intelligence and
spirit, but the organization and direction of the enter
prise were his, and its present prosperity is a part of the
glory that clusters about his memory.
The spirit with which this enterprise was accomplished
was only a type of his other efforts. The Ulster County
Regiment was organized and equipped into a military
corps, and when the war broke out he marched at the
head of his men by the side of the Regiments of New
York City, It was his glory and the glory of his coun
try, that he took to the field the only Regiment of the
State Militia outside of New-York and Brooklyn, and the
one equipped under the eye of the State authorities at
Albany. In the years 1858-9, Colonel Pratt represented Ulster
County in the State Senate. At that time the State
Library was being removed from its old room, in the
Capitol, to the new building erected in the rear for the
purpose. The work of arranging the State collections was
entrusted to a committee of the Senate, of which Colonel
Pratt was the working head.
I have lately had, occasion to admire his work in the
an-angement of the invaluable archives there collected by
our great State. It shows- the master hand of a faithful and
intelligent worker, and will furnish, for ages, a curious testi
monial of his genitis.
After the return of the Ulster County Regiment from its

254 IN MEMOEY OF COLONEL PEATT.
three months campaign, I visited Colonel Pratt at his new
residence in Esopus. He pointed out to me his fature
plans in reference to beautifying the grounds of his new
home. I took in the picture which his own fancy was
painting for coming years. The happy family circle of his
wife and children — the surroundings of fields and shaded
walks — the landscape, with the beautiful river in front — his
library, so full of the learning of which already he had
imbibed so much — and wealth to furnish every rational
comfort — were all his.
In view of this picture, I asked, if it was his intention
to take command of his regiment for the remainder of the
war. I felt then impressed with the extent of the calam
ity, if his life was sacrificed by such a resolution. I knew,
too, that he was impressed with the fearful nature of the
hazard. His wife had plead, with tears of regret, all she
dared urge against her country. His children and his plans
of home and home comforts had been busy in dissuading
him. And his reply was impressive for its earnest sadness.
" I shall go again," he said. He made the sacrifice — and
oh, how great !
Who can replace this fallen column ? Who can repair the
mutilated omament or restore to beauty this shattered ruin ?
Who can again fill the place in that widow's blighted heart?
Who can heal an aged father's sorrow ? Who can take up the
noble aspirations that were blossoming into bright fruition ?
Death hath stricken us all. Country, society and friends
have suffered a common calamity, and have a common sor
row. The grave, so arbitrary in its dealings, hath taken
him in the beginning of usefulness. His youth and virtue
— too glorious for a common death, have given him a sacri
fice to our constitution and liberties, and insured for his
name an illustrious immortality.
After the passage of the Resolutions, Archibald Russell,
of Esopus, submitted a resolution proposing the erection of

EEGIMENTAL MONUMENT. 255
t
monuments commemorative of the services of the gallant
soldiers of Ulster. ME. EUSSELL'S EEMAEKS.
Mr. President: — During the crisis of our country's
history, it is proper that the Ulster Historical Society
should consider whether any duties devolve peculiarly upon
it, and take efficient measures to discharge them. Our at
tention is so apt to be diverted fi-om the occurrences around
us to the war-stirring news from other sections of the
country, that we allow the materials of history to be lost,
and forget to take proper measures to ensure their preser
vation. Already this County has sent, in connection -with
Greene, three regiments into the field ; and I question if
we have in our archives the roster roll of any one of them.
It is evident, however, that it is the duty of this Society to
pay diligent attention to the part which our neighbors are
taking in the great drama enacting around us. Our sons —
our young men — are leaving us amid the sound of martial
music, and with confident step marching to defend the
liberties of their country ; but how many of them shall
return to recount their deeds and tell of their toils
and sufferings, and to be cheered by the Christian amenities
of the domestic hearth, after the rough experience of the
battle field ? The blood of Ulster tinges the sod along the
Annapolis Railroad ; it can be traced upon the bank of the
Potomac, and on Upton's Hill; it crimsons the field of
Manassas, and mingles in the bloody stream which swelled
the waters of the Antietam ! And shall the Historical So
ciety sit silent and make no fitting record of the victims
who may have fallen, or of the gallant survivors who may
return ? It is fortunately not too late for us to obtain most
of the information which, it is important, should be pre
served ; and I most respectfully urge upon the officers of
this Society, not to lose the opportunity of doing so. It is
proper that the names and positions of all who enhst should

256 EEGIMENTAL MONUMENT.
*
be recorded with, as far as possible, some brief biographical
sketch. I would suggest that suitable books, strong and
durable, should be provided ; that a page should be appro-
23riated to each individual, and a small fee paid to a neat
penman for entering such particulars as might be furnished
concerning each. Few are so friendless as not to have some
one who would be interested in having recorded some traits
of their character and some events of their history ; and
their surviving comrades would furnish the particulars of
their death. In after ages, when blessed with the peace for
which we wage this war, how grateful will it be to all con
nected with its martyrs, to be able to turn to our archives
aud trace the part their forefathers took in the National
struggle for the preservation of the Union !
But while we thus make a record of the services of the
sons of Ulster, the manner in which I 'propose having it
done is necessarily private and devoid of publicity. We
should not be satisfied with this — we should at the same
time attempt to raise some public and enduring tribute,
which in all future time will perpetuate the self-denying
efforts which our friends have made. Each regiment should
have a commemorative pillar erected on some conspicuous
place, to give prominence to its services, and recall, as time
rolls on, the memories of the past. I am sorry to see so
many bodies, marred and maimed amid the carnage of the
battle field, returned to their homes, to be buried in the
private grounds and cemeteries of the land. It is a practice
injurious alike, I think, to the living and the dead — to the
living, as exposing to contagion those brought in contact
with remains which have lain exposed and become corrupt ;
to the dead, the most appropriate resting place of the soldier
being the battle field.
Tranquil amidst alarms
It finds them on the field :
The veterans sleeping on their arms,
Beneath a blood-stadued sliield.

EEGIMENTAL MONUMENT. 257
But though many are brought back to be buried among
their relatives, more sleep beneath the sod of the battle
field, or lie in the hastily dug trench, to wait, with their
comrades in arms, the dawn of the Christian's hope.
It is not only to those who fall that I would suggest
a commemorative pillar, but to those who have breasted
successfully the tide of battle, and return to tell how field's
were won. To the regiment as such, to all who went out
to crush the rebellion, this tribute is due, and I hope will
be gratefully paid by their friends and countrymen.
Of the regiments that have been raised among us, one
only has as yet been actively engaged in service. Under
the leading of as true, modest and conscientious a Colonel
as ever marshalled his men and led them into battle, it
went out one thousand strong. It stood the rude shock of
war, and still maintains, -with one-fourth its number, its
proud pre-eminence. But the survivors mourn the loss of
their gallant Colonel ; the staff and commissioned officers
miss many of their number ; and the men cluster round
their war-worn standards a mere handful. Shall we, who
cheered them on their departure and reap the benefits of
their sufferings, coldly and calmly hear of their loss, and
not raise a tribute of respect ere "the opium of time" (as
Sir Thomas Browne terms it) " deals with the memories of
men ?"
The most appropriate method of perpetuating the re
membrance of the heroic services of the 20th Regiment,
would be to erect, on some of the prominent mountain tops
which abound in this picturesque county, a simple stone
column, massive, substantial and plain, dedicated to the
regiment As the county is so large and is intersected by
several mountain chains, it would be impossible to select
one spot that could be seen from all its towns ; but if a
similar monument were raised to each regiment, and judi
ciously placed, there would be few districts which would
not be "within sight of one of them. Such a silent monitor.

258 EEGIMENTAL MONUMENT.
erected on the top of a commanding height, with its outline
sharply cut against the sky, braving the storms of winter
and heedless of the alternations of our climate, would tell
to all time the grateful estimate which we, the loyal people
of Ulster, placed upon the devoted services of the war of
the Rebellion. <
Should this proposal be deemed worthy of adoption, I
would suggest that the monument to the Twentieth Regi
ment should be erected on the top of Shappawnic, as it over
looks the home of the gallant Colonel who has sealed with
his blood his devotion to his country's cause. There are
few points of land in the country that are more generally
seen. Situated about ten miles south of Kingston, and
about one mile from, the Hudson, it commands a view in
almost every direction. To the east, the valley of the Hud
son stretches far into the distance, and any monument
erected on Shappawnic would attract the notice of the tens
of thousands who daily throng this great national highway.
To the north, the view is unbroken till the eye rests upon
the Catskills, and easily discerns Rondout, Kingston, and
innumerable smaller towns and -villages. To the west, it
overlooks the valley of the Esopus, and Shandaken and
Olive seem to be at its feet To the south, it looks upon
New Paltz and the other settlements of the earlier Hugue
nots. It is also of easy access by a good mountain road,
which would greatly facilitate the transportation of all the
material required in its construction.
When we consider the number of smaU but expensive
monuments that will be erected over the remains of those
connected with this regiment, and the very ephemeral char
acter of all these structures, the severity of the climate soon
damaging the most elaborate carvings and effacing in a few
years all of the inscriptions, it would seem that a simple, un
adorned and effective column, built of rough mountain
stone and made enduring for all ages, would, in connection
with the records of the regiment already suggested, be the

EEGIMENTAL MONUMENT. 2.^)!)
most appropriate method 'of perpetuating the services of
our national defenders.
I would after this statement respectfullv move ;
1. That a. committee be appointed with power to raise
funds and carry the following resolutions into- effect :
2. To procure suitable books, in which to record the
names and a brief biographical sketch of all the members
of the 20th Regiment who went to the war; to make ar-
rangementf for the engrossing of the sketches and the pres
ervation of the records.
3. To obtain a suitable site on which to place a monu
ment to the Twentieth Regiment, and erect the same in an
enduring and permanent manner.
These Resolutions were unanimously passed, and the fol
lowing Committee appointed :
AKCHIBALD EtJSSELL, a, BHUYN HASBEOrCK,
Joshua Piero, Jk., Etjpus H. King,
Jambs Fitch, Henry H. Eeynolds,
Eexibbn Bernard. Thomas Cornell,
Henry A. Samson, James L. Hasbkotick,
Edmund Eltinge.
The following officers were elected for the ensuing year :
President — A. Bruyn Hasbrouck, Kingston.
Vice-Presidents — Rev. Charles Scott, Bruynswick ; Ed
mund Eltinge, New Paltz ; Ebenezer Lounsbery, Stone
Ridge ; George H. Sharp, Kingston.
Secretary — Henry H. Reynolds, Kingston.
Treasurer — Reuben Bernard, Kingston.
Mcecutive Committee — D. L. Bernard, Clintondale ; Ab
ner Hasbrouck, Bruynswick ; Henry H. Rey nolds,
Kingston. Adjourned.

260

APPENDIX.
At a meeting of the Monumental Commiftee of tbe Ul'ster Historical
Society, held at Kingston on Friday, tbe 14th da^ of NoV^aber, 18^j—
Present: Archibald Eussell, Chairman, Hoih A. Bru^n Hasbrouck, B.
Bernard, James L. Hasbrouck and H. H. Eeynolds.
On motion, Mr. Bernard was appointed Treasurer of "The Monumen
tal Committee," and Mr. James L. Hasbrouck, Secretary.
On motion, it was unanimously
Resolved, That this Committee, in view of a very generally expressed
desire, deem it expedient to enlarge the scope of its operations, and will
prepare books for recording the names of aU who have enlisted in the
Eegiments raised in Ulster and Greene, and likewise, that the proposed
Monument on Shappawnic shall be dedicated to all the Eegfiments en
listed in this District during the war of the Eebellion.
Ou motion, it was unanimously
Resolved, That a sum of at least $5,000 be raised for the erection of
the Monument, and the Committee recommend that it be collected in
subscriptions of $5 each.
Resolved, That the Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary of this Com
mittee be authorized to appoint sub-committees in the several towns of
this Congressional District, for the purpose of forwarding the objects of
the Committee.

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