V^^'\/^ "V^^V' \J^^S^V'^ "V' t^ ^^ V 'V^ '-J ^"o i??r'-:^>_v:"vs J I \^«&fe«f%^ ^1S!^.-^'«JS ///r/m/, '^r^^ mmmm ^' ^> "vm 'g T^ ^ i iEwiigwMWfJ ^ w^ y/r/vW-i r^'iss'^^f»''^ig^zwm ::^ys^ '^^^^^-'/■:^jsf-'..^^^.^:i'. olfitfwttno Gp V THE STERLING FURNACE AND THE WEST POINT CHAIN '2Vn IKutorlcal 'Address DELIVERED AT STERLING LAKE, ON SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 1906, /~iXT rrXJ-p r\r^ri A C^ T r\-KT /^^TI rw^-r-rrr, ^-r^T-w^-r-^,^ - . . . . , With the compliments of cMacgrane Coxe •^•S*5i3'«0^i<5^ NEW YORK PRIVATELY PRINTED 1906 THE STERLING FURNACE AND THE WEST POINT CHAIN '^n TKutorlcal '^d^res^ DELIVERED AT STERLING LAKE, ON SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 1906, ON THE OCCASION OP THE UNVEILING OF A TABLET AT THAT PLACE BY THE DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK IN COMMEMORATION OF THE FURNACE AND OF THE MAKING OP THE CHAIN BY MACGRANE COXE NEW YORK PRIVATELY PRINTED 1906 Gift Author (Person) V. Je'07 Mr. Chairman, Honored Regent and Ladies of the Daughters of the Revolution, Neighbors and Friends: WE are gathered here upon a most auspicious occasion. We are gathered here to perform a most salutary deed. It needs no reiteration, and yet, perhaps, it can never be said too often, that it is a matter of great good to our own souls and of great benefit to our common country, — not only now but for all time, — that we should, from time to time, gather together and commemorate with reverent minds, and with suitable monu- ments, those spots which are so blessed as to be particularly identified with the establishment and the development of our nation. Such is one of the primary purposes of the honorable society whose generous and patriotic gift of this beautiful tablet has brought us together to-day. In Article II of its constitution, these objects are stated as follows : ''The objects of this society shall be to perpetuate the patriotic spirit of the men and women who achieved Amer- ican Independence ; to commemorate prominent events con- nected with the War of the Eevolution; to collect, publish and preserve the rolls, records and historic documents relating to that period, and to encourage the study of the Country's history." And so it was that, when the New York Chapter of the Daughters of the Revolution did me the honor to ask me to come here and lay before you something of the history of this old furnace and of this region in which we live, I felt it not only an honor but a duty to comply. As you will see by examining that tablet yonder, we are here to commemorate the establishment of one of the oldest iron and steel producing plants in the territory now of the United States ; but especially are we gathered here to commemorate and to celebrate the making of that great chain which, in April, 1778, our government laid across the Hudson River from West Point to Constitution Island, to prevent our then enemies, now happily our friends, from passing up the river in their ships to destroy our country. That this chain fully served the purposes for which it was intended is now matter of history. Another and earlier chain was broken, and other and earlier attempted ob- structions were destroyed, permitting the British to pass and to devastate as far as Kingston. But after April, 1778, no enemy ever passed, and this chain stood through to the glorious end. I think it is hardly appreciated by us of the present day how very important to the American cause the obstruction of the Hudson River was considered by General Washington and by all others having responsibility in our military affairs. A glance at the map will show what a central and important position the river occupied with reference to the colonies as they existed at that time. Practically, it cut them in two, so that the possession of the river by the British would have separated the New Eng- land and northern colonies from the middle and southern col- onies, and permitted the enemy to beat them in detail. Further than this, the possession of the river would have given com- paratively easy communication between the British in New York and the British in Canada; and I think that it is not an exag- geration to say that, but for the ultimate American control of the Hudson River, St. Leger and his Indian allies would have beaten Herkimer at Oriskany, Burgoyne would not have lost Saratoga, and the final triumph of the American cause would have been long delayed. That the importance of this subject was fully appreciated by both belligerent governments is abundantly manifest in the docu- ments of the day. I will not weary you by their detailed recital here. They are readily to be found in the libraries, in the Journals of Congress, and of the Provincial Legislatures, Pro- ceedings of Courts and other recorded documents. 3 Suffice it to say, that the matter was early taken up by the Continental Congress and urged by them upon the Legislature of the Colony of New York. On May 25, 1775, the Continental Congress passed the follow- ing resolution, which, with others, it on the next day communi- cated to the New York Legislature : ''2. Resolved, that a post be also taken in the highlands, on each side of Hudson's river, and batteries erected in such manner as will most effectually prevent any vessels passing, that may be sent to harass the inhabitants on the borders of said river ; and that experienced persons be immediately sent to examine said river, in order to discover where it will be most advisable and proper to obstruct the navigation. "^ At that time the New York Legislature was known as the Provincial Congress ^ of the Colony of New York. The New York Convention took up the matter with great dil- igence and prosecuted it untiringly through the various defeats of its first efforts until it finally succeeded, by the building of this great chain. The New York Convention acted not only through its own body, but as early as the 16th of July, 1776, only a few days after the Declaration of Independence, it appointed a ''Secret Committee" to take charge of this whole subject, un- der a resolution which reads as follows : ^'Resolved unanimously, that a secret committee be ap- pointed to devise and carry into execution such measures as to them shall appear most effectual for obstructing the channel of Hudson's river, or annoying the enemy's ships in their navigation up the said river; and that this Con- vention pledge themselves for defraying the charges in- cident thereto. ^ Journal N. Y. Prov. Cong., Vol. I, p. 16. ^ On July 10, 1776, the name of the Provincial Congress was changed, the fol- lowing being the resolution adopted upon that day: "Besolved and Ordered, that the style or title of this House be changed from that of 'the Provincial Congress of "the Colony of New York' to that of 'the Convention of the Eepresentatives of the State of New York.' " (Journal N Y Prov. Cong., Vol. I, p. 519.) Resolved, that Mr. Jay, Mr. Eobert Yates, Major Tappen, Mr. Robert R. Livingston, Mr. Gilbert Livingston and Mr. Paulding, be the said committee. ' ' ^ It is, I think, quite generally believed that there was only one chain stretched across the river, but this is an error. There was at least one other chain, proper, and altogether there were four places at which the river was sought to be obstructed by chains, booms, chevaux-de-frise, sunken vessels, fire-rafts, and other obstacles. The first was at Forts Washington and Lee, in the Summer of 1776; the second from Fort Montgomery to An- thony's Nose, in 1777; the third at Polopel's Island, opposite New Windsor, in the Autumn of 1776 and the Springs of 1777 and 1778, and the fourth and last, the great chain from West Point to Constitution Island, which as we shall see was laid in place on the 30th day of April, 1778. The first obstruction attempted was by a line of chevaux-de- frise and sunken ships stretching across the river from Fort Lee to Fort Washington, which stood in what is now Fort Wash- ington Park, at about 178th Street, in the City of New York. They seem to have been completed during the summer of 1776, but they did not last long, and failed entirely of their purpose, as the British passed them on the 9th of October, 1776, without firing a gun. The great promptness with which Washington communicated this misfortune to the New York Convention indicates its im- portance in his mind ; and, from the phraseology of the letter of his aide-de-camp in communicating the same, the solicitude of Washington on the whole subject is plainly manifest. This letter, dated at Headquarters, Harlem Heights, Oct. 9th, 1776, the very day of the disaster, is as follows : '^ Head-Quarters, Harlem Heights, 9th Oct. 1776. "Gentn. About 8 o'clock this morning the Roebuck and Phoenix of 44 guns each and a frigate of about 20 guns got under way from about Bloomingdale, where they have been laying some time, and stood on with an easy southerly breeze ' Journ. N. Y. Prov. Cong., Vol. I, p. 526. towards our chevaux-de-frise, which we hoped would have given them some interruption while our batteries played upon them; but to our surprise and mortification they all ran through without the least difficulty, and without re- ceiving any apparent damage from our forts which kept playing on them from both sides of the river. How far they entered up I do not know, but His Excellency thought fit to give you the earliest information, that you may put Gen- eral Clinton on his guard at the Highlands, for they may have troops concealed on board with intent to surprise those forts. If you have any stores on the water side, you had better have them removed or secured in time; boards espe- cially, for which we shall be put to great straights if the communication above should be cut off. The enemy have made no move on the land side. I am, gent. Your most obdt. servt. Tench Tilghman." **Be pleased to forward this intelligence up the river and to Albany. The two new ships are put in near Colo. Philips 's. A party of artillery with 2 twelve-pounders and XOO riflemen are sent up to endeavor to secure them." "Honble. Committee of Correspondence, State of N. York."^ Efforts to obstruct the Hudson were, however, not retarded, but rather were accelerated by this disaster, and the second ob- struction attempted was by a chain with boom stretched from Fort Montgomery to Anthony's Nose. This chain is sometimes confused with the great chain at West Point, and this confusion has led to more or less misconception. There is, however, no longer any room for doubt upon the subject. The documentary evidence is clear, beyond a shadow of doubt. The character and size of the Fort Montgomery chain is well known and differs essentially from that at West Point. Mr. E. M. Ruttenber, of Newburgh, in a very interesting paper upon the subject of the obstructions of the Hudson River at this time, gives a drawing of this chain and its defenses, which he says is a copy from an original map found among the papers of the Secret Committee, which clearly shows the position and the character of the chain.^ » Journal N. Y. Prov. Cong., Vol. II, p. 254. '"Obstructions to the Navigation of Hudson's River," E. M. Ruttenber, Albany, N. Y., 1860, p. 64. This chain, although well made and of good iron, was much lighter than the West Point chain, and, as will be seen, did not stand the strain put upon it. The greater part of it was made at or near Ticonderoga and was intended to obstruct the Sorel River, the outlet of Lake Champlain. When the matter of the Fort Montgomery chain was taken up, however, it was directed to be brought to Poughkeepsie, consigned to Messrs. Van Zante, Lawrence and Tudor, iron workers, who there manufactured enough more chain to completely cross the river. On July 25th, 1776, the Secret Committee, sitting at Pough- keepsie, directed that General Schuyler should be requested to send down the chain, and that bar iron of about I14 inches square should be made to complete its length.^ A letter was at once sent by the Committee to General Schuyler at Albany, which is as follows : ''Sir: The enclosed copy of some late resolutions of the Convention of the State of New York will inform you, that we are a Committee of that body and charged with the execution of the business mentioned in them. "As the chain intended to obstruct the River Sorel can- not now be applied to that use, and will serve to prevent the enemy's ships from going beyond the Hook on Hudson's River, we must beg the favor of you to send it (the whole or such parts of it as may expeditiously be had) to Pough- keepsie and consigned to Messrs. Van Zante, Lawrence and Tudor, with the utmost despatch. "Be pleased to inform those gentlemen of the length of such part of the chain as you can send, in order that they may direct the deficiency to be supplied. ' ' We shall, by this opportunity, request of the Committee of Albany immediately to furnish us with 150 saw logs of *"Itis proposed and agreed to, that a boom be drawn across the Hudson's Eiver at the Highlands. That an express be sent General Schuyler for the chain intended to be thrown across the River Sorrel, to be employed for the above purpose; and as it may fall short of the distance required, it is farther concluded to apply to Col. Livingston to make, until countermanded by this Committee, a quantity of bar iron of about 1% inches square, and to be sent from time to time to the works at Poughkeepsie. ' ' In the margin of this minute is the following memorandum: "For 600 yds. or 1800 feet of chain, you want 4800 foot of bar iron in length." (Papers of the Secret Committee MSS., State Library, Albany,) the largest size to support the chain; and we flatter our- selves that your attention and influence will be extended to both these objects. ''We have the honor to be, sir, with the greatest esteem and respect, etc., etc., etc."^ The chain was accordingly sent,^ and the completion of it was pushed with all vigor. On September 27th, the Secret Committee by formal resolution ''ordered and requested" the blacksmiths engaged on the works "to proceed with all possible dispatch in making and completing the chain. "^ The minutes of a meeting of the Committee, held at Fort Constitution, on Oct. 14th, show that they were already consider- ing a chain at that point, but concluded in favor of Fort Mont- gomery because there were no works at West Point to defend a chain, and the season was too far advanced to permit of these being constructed before the winter set in ; and that it was, there- fore, decided that Captain Machin should immediately set the chain at the former place. "Considering that there are no works erected at this post that can defend the chain proposed to be stretched across the river here, and the impracticability of executing any in season for the above purpose, and believing that the river at Fort Montgomery in the narrowest place is but 1600 feet wide, which exceeds the width of the river here but 100 feet, therefore, "Resolved, That Mr. Machin immediately prepare a place on each side the river at Ft. Montgomery to fasten the ends of the intended chain to ; that he place two or three guns in the small breastwork to be erected for that purpose on the flat place just under the north end of the grand battery, where the fire-rafts now lay; also a small work, if time per- mit, near the water edge on the south side of Poplopen's Kill."* The precise date at which this chain was actually stretched across the river is nowhere given. The foregoing minute shows, however, that it was nearly ready on October 14th, and the fol- ^ Papers of the Secret Committee MSS., State Library, Albany. ' Minutes of Secret Committee, Ihid., Aug. 13, 1776. ^ Ihid., Sept. 27, 1776. * lUd., Oct. 14, 1776. 8 lowing resolution, passed by the Convention itself, on October 22d, confirms the fact : '^ Resolved, That Mr. Gilbert Livingston, one of the Secret Committee, be directed to be sent down with the utmost despatch to Fort Montgomery, with such parts of the chain as is fixed in the logs, and that Mr. Henry Wisner, Junr., cooperate with him in carrying this measure into execution in the most safe and expeditious manner possible."^ The next reference we have to the chain is on November 28th, 1776. On that day the New York Convention reported to the Continental Congress that the chain had been put in place, and had broken twice after holding only a few hours. They say: ''In projecting the obstruction between Anthony's Nose on the eastern shore and Fort Montgomery, we endeavored to avail ourselves of the model of that which had proved effectual in the Delaware River, and were assisted by the advice and experience of Capt. Hazelwood. But the great length of the chain, being upwards of 1,800 feet, the bulk of the logs which were necessary to support it, the immense weight of water which it accumulated, and the rapidity of the tide, have baffled all our efforts. It separated twice, after holding only a few hours ; and we have too much reason to despair of its ever fully answering the important pur- pose for which it was constructed. "^ From the foregoing it appears certain that the Fort Mont- gomery chain was put in place some time between October 22d and November 28th, and that it was found much too light for the purpose for which it was intended. As the winter was at hand, and the chain, of course, was not needed while the river was frozen over, the time was occupied in repairing and strengthening it. It was finally placed across the river about the 23rd of March, 1777. It seems then to have met with no difficulty from the weight of the current and to have * Journal N. Y. Prov. Cong., Vol. I, p. 686. ^ ' Journal N. Y. Prov. Cong., Vol. I, p. 723. stood in its place until it was captured by the British. This cap- ture was accomplished by an expedition under Sir Henry Clinton himself, which passed up the river on the 4th of October, 1777, and attacked and reduced Forts Clinton and Montgomery on the 7th of that month. The enemy captured and carried away the chain, as they seem to have done pretty much everything else in the vicinity. In Beatson's "Naval and Military Memoirs of Great Britain," published in London in 1804, Vol. IV, page 236, after an extended description of the capture of Fort Mont- gomery, we find the following : ''Besides their forts, ships and cannon, a sloop of ten guns was taken. Every article belonging to their labor- atory, which was in the greatest perfection, their stores, such as port-fires, match-harness, spare gun-carriages, tools, instruments, a large quantity of provisions and a boom and chain which ran across the river from Fort Montgomery to St. Anthony's Nose, and which is supposed to have cost £70,000 fell into the hands of the conquerors. This chain was of most excellent workmanship. It was sent to England and from there to Gibraltar, where it was of great use in protecting the shipping at the Moles." Thus failed the second attempt. Immediately thereafter, the British fleet, having broken this obstruction, sailed directly to Kingston and burned that town, October 15th, 1777. The im- mense importance of the subject was now more than ever ap- parent to the military commanders and to the people. Obstruc- tions in the nature of chevaux-de-frise were set up at Polopel's Island and fire-ships and fire-rafts were kept there in readiness to be floated down against any of the enemy's ships that might attempt to pass. These appear not to have been ever considered of very serious moment, however, and were not completed until about the time the great chain was contracted for. Thus we find Governor Clinton writing under date of January 17th, 1778: ' ' I would advise, that the Chevaux-de-Frize be completed under the directions of Capt. Machin, who has hitherto had 10 the management of that business. He knows how many are yet wanted and where to be sunk, so as to perfect the ob- structions."^ This was on January 17th, 1778, and the contract for the mak- ing of the great chain, as we shall see, was executed on the 2d day of February, 1778. Immediately after the return of Sir Henry Clinton's expedi- tion from Kingston to New York, the more thorough fortification of the Highlands was undertaken with more vigor than ever. The importance with which General Washington looked upon the subject, is made manifest by a letter which he wrote on December 2d, 1777, to General Putnam. It is as follows : "Headquarters, 2. Dec. 1777. "Dear Sir: The importance of the Hudson river in the present contest, and the necessity of defending it, are sub- jects which have been so frequently and fully discussed, and are so well understood, that it is unnecessary to enlarge upon them. These facts at once appear, when it is con- sidered that it runs through a whole state; that it is the only passage by which the enemy from New York, or any part of our coast, can ever hope to co-operate with an army from Canada ; that the possession of it is indispensably es- sential to preserve the communication between the eastern, middle and southern states ; and further, that upon its secur- ity, in a great measure, depend our chief supplies of flour for the subsistence of such forces as we may have occasion for in the course of the war, either in the eastern or north- ern departments, or in the country lying high up on the west side of it. These facts are familiar to all ; they are familiar to you. I therefore request you, in the most urgent terms, to turn your most serious and active attention to this in- finitely important object, seize the present opportunity, and employ your whole force and all the means in your power for erecting and completing, as far as it shall be possible, such works and obstructions as may be necessary to defend and secure the river against any future attempts of the enemy. You will consult Governor Clinton, General Par- ^ Euttenber's "Obstructions in the Hudson," p. 114. 11 sons, and the French engineer, Colonel Radiere, upon the occasion. By gaining the passage, you know the enemy have already laid waste and destroyed all the houses, mills and towns accessible to them. Unless proper measures are taken to prevent them, they will renew their ravages in the spring, or as soon as the season will admit, and perhaps Albany, the only town in the state of any importance re- maining in our hands, may undergo a like fate and a gen- eral havoc and devastation take place. ' ' To prevent these evils, therefore, I shall expect that you will exert every nerve and employ your whole force, in future, while and whenever it is practicable, in constructing and forwarding the proper works and means of defence. The troops must not be kept out on command, and acting in detachments to cover the country below, which is a con- sideration infinitely less important and interesting. "I am, dear sir, &c. &c. "Geoege Washhstgton."^ General Putnam, of course, took the matter up most ener- getically and communicated on the subject with the Convention of New York, as will be seen by the following resolution of that body, passed on Thursday, January 8th, 1778: "Application being made by Major General Putnam, Commanding Officer of the Middle Department, that this Convention would appoint a committee to confer with him relative to the necessary works to be constructed for the defence of the passes in the Highlands, "Resolved, that the General's request be complied with, and that Mr. Scott, Mr. Pawling, Mr. Wisner, Mr. Snyder, Mr. Killian Van Rensselaer, Mr. Drake, Mr. Hathorn and Mr. Hoffman, be a committee for that purpose. ''^ And on the following day, January 9th, 1778, we find the fol- lowing resolution, the first one passed upon that day : *' General Scott, from the committee appointed yesterday evening, to confer with General Putnam, General James * Writings of George Washington, edited by Worthington C. Ford, Vol. VI, p. 231. * Journal N. Y. Prov. Cong., Vol. I, p. 1113. 12 Clinton, lieutenant-colonel of engineers and other military officers, relative to the necessary works to be constructed for the passes in the Highlands, and the place or places where the same ought to be erected, reported that they had conferred with the said generals and said officers; that on such conference there was a disagreement in sentiment be- tween those gentlemen (arising from certain different facts alleged) as to the place where such works ought to be erected; and therefore that it was the opinion of the said committee and the military gentlemen, that this convention appoint commissioners to view the several passes on Hud- son River, with the generals and other officers, and advise in fixing the places . where such fortifications should be erected. *' Resolved, that John Sloss Hobart, Esqr., one of the Justices of the Supreme Court, the Honble. Robt. R. Liv- ingston, Chancellor of this State, Mr. Piatt, Mr. Wisner and Colonel Hathorn be, and hereby are, appointed commis- sioners for the purpose above mentioned, and proceed on that business with all possible despatch."^ The report of this committee, composed of such distinguished gentlemen, is so interesting that it ought to be given in full. It is dated Poughkeepsie, January 14th, 1778, was submitted to the Provincial Convention in session at that place on that day, and is as follows: "Your committee, who were sent to ascertain the place for fixing a chain and erecting fortifications for obstructing the navigation of Hudson's river, beg leave to report: That they have carefully viewed the ground on which Fort Clin- ton lately stood and its environs, and find that the ground is so intersected with long, deep hollows, that the enemy might approach, without any annoyance, from the garrison within the fort, to within a few yards of the walls, unless a redoubt should be raised to clear the hollow next the fort, which must be built at such a distance from the fort that it could not be supported from thence in case of an assault, so that the enemy might make themselves masters of the re- doubt the first dark night after their landing, which would * Journal N. Y. Prov. Cong., Vol. I, p. 1113. 13 be a good work, ready to their hand, for annoying the fort and facilitating their operations against it; and, together with the eminences and broken grounds within a short dis- tance of the fort, would render it impossible for the garrison to resist a general assault for many hours together. "Another objection that appeared to the committee was the want of earth on the spot, which would reduce the en- gineer to the necessity of erecting his works entirely of timber, which must be brought to Pooploop's Kill [Pop- lopen's Creek] in rafts, and from thence drawn up a steep and difficult road to the top of the hill. The rafts can not be made till the water is warm enough for men to work in it, by which it is probable that a fort can not be erected be- fore the ships of the enemy will come up the river. Besides, at this place, the chain must be laid across the river so that it will receive the whole force of the ships coming with all the strength of tide and wind, on a line of 3 or 4 miles. Add to these, if the enemy should be able to possess themselves of the passes in the mountains, through which they march to the attacks of Forts Montgomery and Clinton, it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the militia of the country to raise the siege. * ' Upon viewing the country at and about West Point, the committee found that there were several places at which the enemy might land and proceed immediately to some high grounds that would command a fort erected at West Point at the distance of six or seven hundred yards, from which they might carry on their approaches through a light grav- elly soil, so that it would be impossible for the fort to stand a long siege. But to balance this advantage, in this place, there is plenty of earth. The timber may be brought to the spot by good roads from the high grounds at the distance of one to three miles. ' ' 300 feet less of chain will be requisite at this place than at Fort Clinton. It will be laid across in a place where ves- sels going up the river most usually lose their headway. Water batteries may be built on both sides of the river for protecting the chain and annoying the ships coming up the river, which will be completely commanded from the walls of the fort. There are so many passes across the mountains to this place, that it will be almost impossible for the enemy to prevent the militia from coming to the relief of the gar- 14 rison. From these considerations, the committee are led to conclude that the most proper place to obstruct the naviga- tion of the river is at West Point ; but are at the same time fully convinced that no obstructions on the banks of the river can effectually secure the country, unless a body of light troops, to consist of at least 2,000 effective men, be constantly stationed in the mountains while the navigation of the river is practicable, to obstruct the enemy in their approach by land."^ No time was lost in following this advice. Captain Thos. Machin, already, as we have seen, recommended by Governor Clinton, was put in full charge of the work.^ Under him was Hugh Hughes, Deputy Quarter-Master Gen- eral of the army. Col. Timothy Pickering, then president of the Board of War, that is to say, substantially the head of the war department of the Confederated Colonies, took especial interest in the subject. At the direction of Washington, he took up the matter with Mr. Peter Townsend, proprietor of the Sterling Iron Works, then residing temporarily at Chester in Orange County, with a view of ascertaining whether it would not be practicable to manufacture a chain strong enough ^ Journal N. Y. Prov. Cong., Vol. I, p. 1117. ^ Thomas Machin was a good deal of a man. He was born in Staffordshire, England, March 20, 1744, and was employed by Brindley in constructing the canal of the Duke of Bridgewater. Afterwards he made a voyage to the East Indies and in 1772 he came to the Colonies for the purpose of examining a copper mine in New Jersey. He later took up his residence in Boston, and, espousing the popular feeling of the time, made one of the Boston Tea Party. He was wounded at Bunker Hill. On Jan. 18, 1776, he was commissioned second lieutenant of artillery in Col. Knox's regiment, and was employed from April to June of that year in laying out the fortifications for the defence of the town and harbor of Boston. Later he was, by direction of General Washington, appointed to act as engineer under Gov. Clinton in constructing the fortifications and obstructions of the Hudson River in the Highlands. He was wounded at the capture of Forts Montgomery and Clinton Oct. 7th, 1777, but immediately upon his recovery, was again actively engaged in repairing the damages which the British had done the forts, and on the obstructions of the river. In the fall of 1781, he aided in laying out the works of the American army then be- sieging Yorktown. In August, 1782, he married Susan, daughter of James Van Nostrand, of Huntington, L. I. (Simm's History of Schoharie County. ) 15 to withstand the strain and shock, and, at the same time, not so heavy as to render its handling impossible, so as to effectually prevent the passage of any ship then known. Mr. Townsend replied that he thought it could be done. The order was given. Work was immediately begun. And this tremendous chain five hundred yards in length and said to have weighed 186 tons was ready for delivery to the Government by April 1st, the time fixed in the contract.^ This chain was made for the government under a written agreement, which is now among the Clinton Papers in the New York State Library. It was dated February 2d, 1778, was ex- ecuted by Peter Townsend, on behalf of Noble, Townsend & Co. (the then trade name of the proprietors of the Sterling Iron Works), and by Hugh Hughes, on behalf of the United States. It is as follows: ''Articles of Agreement between Noble, Townsend & Company, Proprietors of the Sterling Iron Works, in the State of New York, of the one part, and Hugh Hughes, D. Q. M. G. of the United States, of the other part, ' ' WITNESSETH : "That the said Noble, Townsend & Company, jointly and ^Lossing, in his Field Book (published in 1852), Vol. II, p. 137, states as fol- lows: ' ' The Stirling works are still in operation. They are situated on the outlet of Stirling pond, about 5 miles southwest of the Sloatsburg station on the Erie Eailway. They are owned by the descendants of Peter Townshend [sic], and have been in operation about 100 years, having been established in 1751 by Lord Stirling (the revolutionary general) and others. Gordon and other early writers have promulgated the erroneous opinion that this chain was constructed in 1777, and was destroyed by the British fleet that passed up the Hudson and burned Kingston in October of that year. Misled by these authorities, I have published the same error in my Seventeen Hundred and Seventy-Six. Documentary evi- dence, which is far more reliable than the best tradition, shows that the chain was constructed in the spring of 1778. Colonel Timothy Pickering, accompanied by Captain Machin, arrived at the house of Mr. Townshend [sic] late on a Sat- urday night in March * of that year to engage him to make the chain. Town- shend [sic] readily agreed to construct it; and in a violent snow-storm, amid the darkness of the night, the party set out for the Stirling Iron Works. At daylight on Sunday morning the forges were in operation. New England team- sters carried the links, as fast as they were finished, to West Point, and in the space of six weeks the whole chain was completed. It weighed 180 tons. ' ' * It must have been earlier, since the contract was dated February 2d. 16 severally engage to have made and ready to deliver at their works, to the said Hugh Hughes, D. Q. M. G., or to the D. Q. M. G. of the middle department for the time being, on or before the first day of April next ensuing the date hereof, or as much sooner as circumstances will admit, an iron chain of the following dimensions and quality, that is, in length, 500 yards— each link about 2 feet long, to be made of the best Sterling iron, two inches and one quarter square, or as near thereto as possible, with a swivel to every 100 feet and a clevis to every thousand feet, in the same manner as those of the former chain. ''The said Noble, Townsend & Company also engage to have made and ready to be delivered at least 12 tons of anchors of the aforesaid iron, and of such sizes as the said Hugh Hughes, or his successors in office, shall direct, in writing, as soon as the completion of the chain will admit. ''In consideration of which, the said Hugh Hughes, in behalf of the United States, agrees to pay to the said Noble, Townsend & Company, or their order, at the rate of £440 for every ton weight of chain and anchors,^ delivered as before mentioned, unless the general regulations on trade, provisions, &c., which are now supposed to be framed by deputies from the United States shall be published and take effect before the expiration of four months from the date of this ; in which case the price is to be only £400 per ton for the said chain and anchors. The payment, if demanded, to be made in such proportion as the work shall be ready to be delivered, which shall be determined in ten days after requisition made by a number of competent judges, not less than three nor more than five, unconcerned with the pro- prietors, or the works, and if condemned, to be completed at the expense of the said company, who are also to repair, as aforesaid, all failures of their work, whenever happen- ing, whether at the works or river, or in extending it across. "The said Hugh Hughes also engages to procure of the government of this state, for the said Noble, Townsend & Company, an exemption for nine months from the date here- of, from military duty for sixty artificers that are steadily employed at the said chain and anchors, till completed. Agreeable to the said exemption, the said company comply- ing with the terms thereof; providing, also, that the said Undoubtedly continental money." -~T^ '^ .. ^ J) /3 t-*-t'' d -f***f <>»'>- '■c^-e-)^ iTt^ ■ 9 ." /„ ^ "y^ ^yy-c' .-V iic y ^ THE STERLING FURNACE IN 1797 17 company give the said Hugh Hughes, or his successors in office, the refusal, by letter, of all the bar iron, anchors, &c., made at the said works in the said term of nine months, at the current price, less what is necessary to exchange for clothing and other articles for the use of the works. It is also agreed, by the said parties, that if the teams of the said company shall transport the said chain or anchors, or any part thereof, to any assigned post, they shall receive for such services the same pay as shall be given by the U. S. for the like ; the teams of the company being exempted from impress by any of the Q. M. G. 's deputies during the space of nine months. '' Lastly, the said company engage to use their utmost endeavors to keep seven fires at forging and ten at welding, if assisted with such hands as are necessary and can be spared from the army, in case of their not being able to procure others, the said company making deduction for their labor. "In witness whereof, the parties have interchangeably subscribed their names this 2nd day of February, one thou- sand seven hundred and seventy-eight, in the second year of American Independence. "Peter Townsend, in behalf of Noble & Company. "Hugh Hughes, in behalf of the U. S. "In Presence of, "P. Tillinghast."! It will be noticed that in this contract the character of the chain is described with some particularity. The links called for are to be "about two feet long" and the bar iron of which they were to be made was to be " about 2^4 inches square ' ' and '■ ' of the best Sterling iron. ' ' It will be remembered that the iron in the Fort Montgomery chain was but about 1% inches square.^ As a matter of fact, as the work progressed, it was real- ized that, since the strain on the chain would be greater at some portions of it than at others, it would be advisable to have some of the links heavier than the contract called for, and accordingly some were made of iron as large as 3i/2 inches square and meas- * Clinton Papers, New York State Library. ' Supra, p. 6. 18 uring as much as 3i/^ feet in length. This chain, like that at Fort Montgomery, was supported in the river by large logs as rafts, so that it floated but a few feet below the surface of the river. The chain was finally set in place on April 30, 1778. There is plenty of documentary evidence to this effect. Machin's expense account shows that he kept a careful record of his expenses from day to day, giving the date for which each payment was made and the purpose. In this account we find the following entries : "March 26, [1778] expences [sic] to Sterling, £1.10.6; April 30, While Getting the New Chain across £0.11.0." And Governor Clinton, in a letter on the subject to Governor Jonathan Trum- bull of Connecticut, dated Poughkeepsie, May 1st, 1778, said: * ' The chain which exceeds the old one in point of strength was drawn across the river at West Point on the 30th of last month, but the works for its defence at that place, though in good forwardness, are far from being complete."^ Fortunately we are not confined to contemporary records for a description of this chain, as quite a considerable portion of it has been preserved. There are, as you know, a number of links with clevis and swivel at West Point. These links are of the smaller size. A considerable portion of the chain, when taken up, was sent to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where it re- mained for a great many years. Some of this portion was pur- chased by the late Hon. Abram S. Hewitt, and is now upon the lawn at Ringwood, and ten links are at the writer's home at Southfield. Both of these are of the larger links. Two links are in the State Library at Albany and two in the possession of Prof. Peter Townsend Austen of Staten Island, the great- grandson of the manufacturer. As is well known, this chain was never broken and stood its service until the declaration of peace. It was, as we have seen, very much stronger than the Fort Montgomery chain, but also, upon the advice of the committee of the Convention, had a great * Public Papers of George Clinton, War of the Eevolution Series, compiled by Hon. Hugh Hastings, State Historian, Vol. Ill, p. 246. 19 advantage in position as compared with the latter chain. The river, as you know, as it flows down toward West Point takes a sharp bend to the East by Constitution Island, and then quickly another sharp bend to the Southward. It was midway of this bend, as the river flows nearly East and West, that this chain was stretched, and the result was that any ship sailing up from the South, or, indeed, down from the North (although they were not feared from that direction) was bound to make a tack from a point very little distant from the chain, the result being that any such vessel would of necessity approach the chain with very much diminished headway. The iron of which this chain was made seems to have been of a very superior grade. You will have noticed that the contract specifies that it should be ''made of the best Sterling iron." That this iron had a high reputation is shown by a letter written by Hughes to the New York Convention on April 9th, 1777. It appears that the Government was already at that time purchas- ing iron and steel from Sterling (as indeed it was from other furnaces and forges in the Highlands),^ and that in order that deliveries might not be delayed, the workmen engaged in the works were exempted from military duty. In this letter Hughes urges the Convention to grant the necessary exemption for this purpose. He says that "the reputation of their [Noble, Town- send & Co.'s] iron is such that General Knox desired that I would purchase no other for the use of the laboratory and train, nor will any other that has been tried in our department bear plating [beating into a plate] for spades, &c., so well as theirs does. Nor is their steel less necessary. . . ."^ ^ Page 21, infra. "Fishkill, April 9, 1877. '"Sir: Having been ordered by General Mifflin and General Knox to purchase about a hundred tons of iron, manufactured at Sterling Iron Works, I accord- ingly applied to Messrs. Noble, Townsend & Co., who informed me that they cannot furnish near that quantity unless their workmen can be exempted from detachments and other military duties, and desire that they may be empowered by your Honble. House, to protect, at least, as many as are absolutely necessary for the use of the service. The reputation of their iron is such that General Knox desired that I would purchase no other for the use of the laboratory and train, nor will any other that has heeii tried in our department hear plating for spades, ^c, so well as theirs does. 20 The ore used was mined in about equal quantities from Sterling mine, which is there before your eyes, and from the Long mine, which lay about a mile to the northeast. It was smelted in this furnace, and, of course, as you understand, here made into ''pig iron. ' ' The pig iron was then forged, that is, wrought, into bar- iron of the required dimensions, in the Sterling forge, which stood about two miles down the stream, very near where the old Sterling district school-house still stands; and this bar-iron was thereafter welded into links. As you will appreciate, on account of its great weight, the chain had to be taken to the river in sections. It was taken over the mountains on mule back and in ox carts, two or three or more links at a time, and was there welded together, with the proper swivels and clevises, at several forges situated along the river near New Windsor and West Point. Thus it was that these other forges contributed, in their proper measure, to the completion of this great work. At last, a barrier had been devised which was adequate to the purpose for which it was designed. It remained where placed until the Autumn of 1783, when it was taken up unbroken and in good order.^ No British ship ever passed it; the efforts of the enemy to gain possession of the Hudson Eiver were finally and for ever defeated; the American Colonies were never dis- Nor is their steel less necessary, having contracted for several tons, which ought to have been delivered before now, but has been delayed on account of their hands being drawn out on sundry occasions. If the Honourable Convention can devise any means to forward the services, I am very sensible that the reflection will be a far greater inducement than anything which can be offered by me, and beg the affair may be communicated in such manner and time as will be most agreeable to them and yourself, air, I am, with great regard, sir, Your most obdt. and very humble servt. Hugh Hughes, D.M.G. The Honble., the President of the Convention of the State of New York." (Journal N. Y. Prov. Cong., Vol. II, p. 431.) [The writer has been informed (although he has never verified the fact) that, so good has the reputation of the Sterling Iron continued to be, that for a long l)criod, extending from almost the beginning of the Government and down to the end of the Civil War, the printed forms of contracts for certain iron and steel work for the Government had printed in them words substantially as fol- lows: "of which per cent, shall be of Sterling iron"; indicating, of course, that for all such work Sterling iron was always desired, the only thing left unde- termined being the precise proportion of it.] ^ Eager 's "Orange Co.," p. 567.) 21 united; the British armies of Canada and of New York never joined, and I think it may not be an unfair thing to say that the deed we are here to-day to celebrate was by no means one of the minor circumstances which contributed to the success of the Revolution and the establishment of this Government. The Sterling Iron Works were, however, by no means the only iron works which contributed to the revolutionary cause. As we have seen, a portion of the Fort Montgomery chain was made at Poughkeepsie^ which seems to have been made from iron from Salisbury Furnace in Connecticut and of bar-iron made by Col. Livingston.^ Iron was made for the defence of the Highlands at Queens- boro Furnace near Fort Montgomery from ore from the Forest of Dean Mine, which, as you know, is situated on the road lead- ing from Central Valley to West Point ; and you will find that considerable iron was also furnished to the Government by the mines and works at Ringwood, then owned by Robert Erskine, and afterward and now the property of the late Hon. Abram S. Hewitt and his family. You will find, hanging, framed, at Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh in Room B, a bill of ^'Robert Erskine of Ringwood to Capt. Thos. Machin and John Nicoll for the U. S." for £5,000 for clips, links and bolts furnished by the Ringwood Works to the Government. This bill is dated 1777 and gives the dates of the various deliveries of the material referred to in it, and the last delivery is dated November 1st, 1777.^ ^ Supra, p. 6. ' Supra, p. 6. ^ The Hon. Abram S. Hewitt was under the impression for many years that the great chain had been forged at Eingwood. In the spring of 1899, however, I laid before Mr. Hewitt some of the evidence herein set forth, whereupon Mr. Hewitt at once admitted that the greater part of it, at least, could not have been there forged. He said that when he purchased the Eingwood estate, there was a large link on the property, which Mr. Peter Eyerson (from whom he purchased the property) pointed to as evidence that the chain was in part forged at Eingwood; also that this link was sent to the Centennial Exposition in 1876 and was never returned. [Letter of Mr. Hewitt, April 29, 1899.] I have been unable to find any evidence, documentary or otherwise, that any 22 You have done me the honor to ask me, besides setting forth what was ascertainable about the great chain, to say something with respect to the history of this old furnace and of the locality in which it stands. You have stated in the tablet, which you have just unveiled, that this furnace was built upon this spot in 1751. This, it is true, is the earliest date at which any mention of an iron furnace proper has yet been found, but that "iron works/' known as the "Sterling Iron Works" existed at this spot at a consider- ably earlier period than that time, is certain. It is shown, be- yond a peradventure of a doubt, from the field book of the great surveyor, Charles Clinton (a great and good man and the progenitor of great and good men)^ who made a remarkable survey of this whole region of country between the years 1735 and 1749. In this book he several times, as early as 1745 at least, mentions the fact that iron works were situated here known as the Sterling Iron Works. A few words about this survey will not be uninteresting. It covers a tract of land comprising a large proportion of the southern part of the County of Orange, known as the patent of Cheescocks. This patent had been granted by Maungomach, Shawgus and other native Indian proprietors in 1702 ^ and was confirmed by letters patent of Queen Anne bearing date the 25th of the links were forged at Eingwood. It will be seen that the bill above mentioned, representing materials furnished prior to the undertaking of the chain, is not evidence to this effect. It is not, however, at all impossible that some of the links may have been forged at Eingwood. As we have seen, extra- ordinary expedition in completing the chain was absolutely necessary. The relations between the Sterling and Eingwood Iron Works were close and friendly. And it is not at all unlikely that some of the links may have been forged at Eingwood for Sterling. ^ Charles Clinton came to this country from Dublin, Ireland, in May, 1729, and settled at New Windsor, Orange County, New York, in the spring of 1731. Besides his work as a surveyor, he was appointed judge of the Common Pleas Court. He was the father of George Clinton, Governor of New York and Vice President of the United States, and of General James Clinton, so distinguished in the revolutionary war, and the grandfather of Governor DeWitt Clinton. 'Deed dated Dec. 30, 1702, recorded in Orange County Clerk's oflSce, June 1st, 1736, in liber B, No. 2, fols. 432-453. ^,^f (.i^-^'))iVi^/f.^rtr ,^3f ~J^ U4^ ^^^-^ ^(}^c^ cy/^, iM^ui LOBf^- lQ^ ^4^1 CHARLES CLINTON'S FIELD-BOOK Page 321 23 day of March, 1707.^ In the year 1735, this tract was owned by a number of proprietors by a title which is known to the lawyers as title in common, that is to say, no one of the proprietors owned any particular parcel of the land alone, but all of them owned an undivided interest in all the land. The law at the time provided that, if it was desired to partition the tract among the several owners, they might do so by causing it to be sur- veyed, mapped and allotted in some fair manner, among them- selves, and that upon the filing of said survey, map and allotment, sworn to as correct before a justice of the Supreme Court, in the office of the Secretary of the Colony, each several owner would become the owner in fee of the particular lot or lots so apportioned to him.^ Acting under this authority, the owners of the patent of Cheescocks applied to Charles Clinton to make a survey of the tract and to allot it in fair proportions among the respective owners. This survey, as is shown by the field book, was begun on April 1st, 1735, and was finished on or before the 13th day of December, 1749. Col. Clinton did his work with the greatest care, and has recorded it in a field book of 384 pages, known to surveyors and conveyancers as the ''Marble Book."^ It is writ- ten in a very legible hand, gives most interesting details and in- cidents of this great survey, and shows, on every page, work of the most painstaking and intelligent kind. On pages 313 to 317 of this book, we find reference to Clinton's work in this particular region, which was performed between the 23d and 29th days of April, 1745, and on page 316, in describing his course, he says : ''At 40 Ch. crofses the road to Sterling Iron Works/' On pages 320-321, describing his work on April 30, 1745, he says that he ran : ^ Patent bearing Queen Anne's seal now in the possession of The Sterling Iron & Ry. Co. ^ AN ACT for the more effectual collection of His Majesty's quit rents in the Colony of New York, and for partition of lands in order thereto. New York Eevised Statutes, 1st Edn., Vol. Ill, Appendix, p. 11. * This, apparently, because the covers are of marbleized cardboard. 24 "516 Chains to a Black Oak tree, marked with three notches on ye N. E. and S. W. sides and two chips cut of the other two sides, standing about 3 Chains North west of a little Pond that is about 5 Ch. East of the great Pond at Sterling Iron Works." Any of you can go to the head of the Lake yonder and walking up the path for ''about 5 Chains," i. e., about 330 feet, you will find the little Pond, now known locally as Cricket Pond. A facsimile reproduction of page 321 is given here, as is also a facsimile of page 384, which shows the completion of the work and bears date the 13th day of December, 1749. Thereafter in the field books follows a carefully prepared index, and on the last page of all appears the oath subscribed by Charles Clinton, set- ting forth his survey and his allotment, which is sworn to by him, on the 20th day of April, 1764, according to the statute, be- fore Robert R. Livingston, Justice of the Supreme Court, who was also, as you know, first Chancellor of the State of New York and first Secretary of State of this Government. There are in addition several other references to the Sterling Iron Works in the Marble Book. There can, therefore, be no reasonable doubt that, as early as April 30, 1745, at least, there were iron works so named sit- uated here; and it is altogether probable that they had been there for some time previous thereto, because so carefully was Clinton's work done, that, if there had been anything new or recent about these works, it is almost certain that he would have referred to that fact. These works consisted of the furnace at this spot, in which the ore was smelted and made into pig iron, of a forge and anchory, which stood about a mile and a half down the Sterling stream, near the bend in the road where now stands the old Sterling school-house, and the Sterling works and forge, which stood still further down the stream by the pond known as Sterling Pond, where the ruins of the more recent Sterling furnace stand. Descriptions of what they consisted of and of the kinds and IfW^" '^a/T' f^/ll4^ i.(/ WA ( IIARLES CLINTON'S FIELD-BOOK Page 384 25 amount of labor employed in them as they were in 1776 and 1777 are found in petitions of the owners addressed to the Convention of New York, on the matter of the temporary exemption of their men from military service to which we have before referred.^ There are several of these petitions preserved in the Calendar of New York Historical Manuscripts ^ and they contain such in- formation. For instance, appended to one of these petitions, dated April 12, 1777,3 we find the following: "A List of Men to Enable the Carrying on the Sterling Fur- ''nace, Forge, Ancory and Steel Works is as follows, viz.: FOR THE FURNACE 20 men. Wood cutters, 4 Master Colers, Each 4 men— is 3 Men for Raising Oar, 2 Men for Carting ditt 7 Men Carters for Hauling Coles, 2 Men for Stocking Coles, 1 Banks man, 2 Men Burning Oar, 2 Mine Pounders, 2 Fillers of furnace, 2 Founders, 1 Gutter man, 1 Black smith, 1 Carpenter, 1 Manager, 1 Clark, '68 men FOR FORGE AND ANCORY 20 Men for Cutting Wood, 3 Master Colers, Each 4 Men, 5 Men Carters for Hauling Coles, 2 Stocker of Coles, 10 Men for makeing Iron in five fires, 10 Men for makeing Anchors, three fires, 1 Carpenter, 1 Blacksmith, 1 Manager, 1 Clark, ' Supra, p. 19. ' Revolutionary Papers, Vol. I, pp. 446, 460, Vol. II, p. 69. ' lUd., Vol. II, p. 70. 65 men 26 FOB STEEL WORKS & FORGE 15 Men for Cutting Wood, 3 Master Colers, Each 4 men, 4 Men Carters for Bringing the Coles, 1 Stocker of Coles, 1 Man to Cart Pigs, 6 Men for making Steel, in three fires, 4 Men for makeing iron in two fires, 1 Carpenter, 1 Black Smith, 1 Man to manage the Bussiness. April 12th, 1777. 49 men 182 This particular petition was granted by a formal resolution of the Convention adopted April 23rd, 1777, and in this resolu- tion the letter of Hughes commending the Sterling iron and steel, heretofore referred to, is recited.^ We should here perhaps say a few words as to how this proj)- erty first came by the name of Sterling.^ Eager, in his History of Orange County^ says: ''We believe they [the Sterling Iron Works] were estab- lished by a London company, of which Lord Stirling of New Jersey was a member, and sold them the land and hence the name." That this was the source and origin of the name has been repeated by a number of historians and writers on the subject, but cannot be correct. We have seen that the Sterling Iron Works were in existence as early as 1745. The ''Lord Stirling" here referred to by Eager was at that time but 19 years of age. He could not, therefore, have ' ' sold them the land, ' ' and it is not * Journal N. Y. Prov. Cong., Vol. I, p. 900. 'It is to be noted that wherever the name is found in the Marble Book, as in the Contract of February 2, 1778, and in the papers last cited, it is spelled Sterling, and not Stirling. = p. 566. 27 at all to be supposed that a great tract of property should be named after a lad of nineteen years, however gallant and dis- tinguished he was thereafter to become.^ For the true origin of the name, we must search still further back. The estate was first owned by Henry Townsend, commonly known as Henry IV, who was the father of that Peter Townsend who, as we have seen, manufactured the great chain. This Henry IV was born at Oyster Bay, Long Island, and moved to Orange County with his family about 1735. His father and ancestors had for at least three generations lived at Oyster Bay. His great grandfather, Henry Townsend, commonly known as Henry I, was living there as early as 1661. One of the most an- cient records of that town is of a grant of land to him dated the 16th of September, 1661.^ At that time ownership or at least the overlordship, not only of Oyster Bay but of the whole of Long Island, was claimed by the Right Honorable Earl of Stirling, under a grant of King Charles I, made the 22nd day of April, 1636,^ and this Earl of Stirling was, through his agent in Boston, James Farret, clearly and in no uncertain tone continuously calling his rights to the minds and attention of the inhabitants of the Island. For in- stance, we find, that on the 28th day of July, 1641, an attempt having been made to form a settlement on the present site of the village of Oyster Bay by Capt. Edward Tomlyns, and his brother, Timothy Tomlyns, and a few other persons from the town of Lynn, without having first obtained the consent of this ^William Alexander, generally stiled, through courtesy, "Lord Stirling," was born in the City of New York in 1726. He claimed to be the rightful heir of the title and estates of the Earldom of Stirling in Scotland, from which country his father came, though the British government refused to acknowledge the son's claim when he went to England to press it. He had a brilliant career in the Eevolutionary Army. He particularly distinguished himself in the Battles of Long Island, Germantown and Monmouth. He was warmly attached to Wash- ington, which feeling, it is believed, was returned. He died at Albany, New York, Jan. 15th, 1783. ''Thompson's History of Long Island, 1st Edn., p. 323. ' Ibid., p. 87. 28 agent of the Earl of Stirling, the latter immediately drew up and published a protest against them in the following terms : "Know all men by these presents, that whereas Edward Tomlyns and Timothy Tomlyns, together with one Housard Knowles and others, have lately entered and taken posses- sion of some part of the Long Island in New England, which was formerly granted by Letters Patent of our Sov- ereign Lord, King Charles, to the Right Hon. William Earl of Stirling and his heirs: I, James Farret, by virtue of a commission under the hand and seal of the said Earl to me made for the disposing and ordering of the said Island, do hereby protest and intimate, as well to the said Edward Tomlyns and others, the said intruders, as to all others whom it may concern, that neither they, nor any of them, nor any other person or persons, (not claiming by or from the said Earl,) have or shall have, or enjoy any lawful right, title, or possession of, in, or to the said Island, or any part thereof; but that the said Earl, his heirs and assigns, may and will at all times, when they please, implead or eject, either by course of law or lawful force, if need be, all the said intruders, their servants, tenants, or assigns; and may and will recover against them and every of them, all damages and costs in this behalf sustained, or any color of title, or pretence of right, by grant from the governor of New England, or any other notwithstanding. In testi- mony whereof I have made and published this protest and intimation before John Winthrop, one of the magistrates and council of the Massachusetts, in New England afore- said, and have desired that the same be recorded there, and in other jurisdictions in these parts, and have published and showed the same to the said Edward Tomlyns in pres- ence of the witnesses. Dated at Boston, the 28th of 7th month. An. Dom. 1641, in anno Regis Domini Nostri Caroli Anglise, decimo septimo. James Farret."^ This shows that the Lord of Stirling was claiming and en- forcing, if not ownership, at least the right and control of the character known to the English law, as manorial or baronial, • Winthrop 's History of Massachusetts, Thompson 's Long Island, ibid., p. 320. 29 and that he was making it known to all the people in no uncer- tain terms. This was while the Townsends were living and had for many years been living on his grant. This particular pro- test was dated but twenty years prior to the above mentioned grant to Henry Townsend I, and he and his family had been liv- ing in the immediate neighborhood for many years before. In the conception and the atmosphere of the old English law as to land tenures and as to the relations of tenants to the overlord, — a relation of respect and admiration oftentimes amounting to de- votion,^— it is entirely probable that this feeling toward this Earl of Stirling became impressed upon all the inhabitants of Long Island, including the Townsends ; and nothing could have been more natural than that, when one of the sons moved to a new country, to take up his home, he should have named his estate after the old manorial overlord. I am sure you all know how very rich in revolutionary history this region is. The road from Newburgh and West Point on the north, to Pompton and Morristown on the south, was many times traversed and retraversed by Washington and the Con- tinental army. Indeed, New York City and the lower Hudson being in control of the British, it was the best way by which Washington could pass from his headquarters at Newburgh and West Point to the battlefields of New Jersey and Pennsylvania and the more southern colonies. Fortunately, we have through contemporary manuscripts, many of them written by Washing- ton himself, almost daily memoranda of his location and doings upon each particular day.^ Many of these memoranda are made in our neighborhood and I have thought that it might not be inappropriate to set some of them out here. At Pompton Plains, Saturday, July 12th, 1777, General Wash- ington writes to the President of Congress : "We have been prevented marching to-day by the rain; but, as soon as the weather permits, we shall proceed as * Lewis ' Blackstone 's Commentaries, Vol. II, p. 90. = Itinerary of General Washington from June 15, 1775, to Dee. 23, 1783, by- William S. Baker, 8vo., J. B. Lippincott Co., Phila., 1892. 30 expeditiously as we can towards the North Kiver and cross or not, as shall appear necessary from circumstances." From Pickering's Journal, at the same time, we have the following :^ ''July 11th: The whole army marched from Morristown to Pompton Plains, about 17 miles." * ' July 12th : A rainy day. ' ' "July 13th: The same." "July 14th: Marched to Van Aulen's, a mile east of Pond Church." "July 15th: To Sovereign (Suffren's or Suffern's) Tavern near the entrance to Smith's Clove." On Sunday, July 13th, Washington writes from Pompton Plains to General Schuyler: ' ' This is the second day I have been detained here by the badness of the weather. As soon as it will permit, I shall prosecute my march through the clove." On Tuesday, July 15th, from Suffern's Tavern, General Wash- ington writes to General Schuyler : "The evacuation of Ticonderoga and Mount Independ- ence is an Event of Chagrin and Surprise not apprehended nor within the compass of my reasoning. * * * * This stroke is severe indeed and has distressed me much." Again, from Suffern's Tavern, on Friday, July 18th, 1777, Washington writes to Schuyler : "Upon my requisition. General Arnold, waiving, for the present, all dispute about rank, left Philadelphia and ar- rived here last evening, and this day proceeds on his jour- ney to join you." And, on the next day, Saturday, July 19th, Washington writes to General Heath, again from Suffern's Tavern: ^ Timothy Pickering was present with Washington at this time. 31 ' ' General Howe still lays intirely [sic] quiet on board the fleet at Staten Island. Very few troops remain on shore and the destination a profound secret. Whatever were his in- tentions before this unlucl^ blow to the northward, he cer- tainly ought, in good policy, to endeavor to cooperate with General Burgoine [sic]. I am so fully of opinion that this will be his plan that I have advanced the army thus far to support our party at Peeks Kill, should the enemy move up the river." On Sunday, July 20th, 1777, Washington has moved on north- ward into the Ramapo Valley and to the place then known as Galloways, which is now the village of Southfield. On that Sun- day, we find the following note in Pickering's Journal: "Went from Suffern's Tavern into the clove, 11 miles. Headquarters at Galloway's, an old log house. The Gen- eral [Washington] lodged in a bed and his family on the floor about him. We had plenty of sepawn [corn meal mush] and milk, and all were contented."^ Washington remained at Galloway's, on this occasion, three or four days. On July 21st, he writes from there to General Putnam as follows: ''The intelligence which occasioned us to advance from the entrance of the clove yesterday morning, I find to have been premature, and mean to remain here till I have your answer. ' ' ^ On Tuesday, July 22d, Washington writes from Galloway's to the President of Congress : ''We have been under great embarrassments respecting the intended operations of General Howe, and still are, not- ^ Here is an amusing instance of the habit of the day of calling a general's staff his family; for surely, such must have been the family which Pickering referred to as lying on the floor about the general. ^ This movement into the clove was made under the supposition or premature intelligence that General Howe was about to push up the North Eiver to cooperate with General Burgoyne. 32 withstanding the utmost pains to obtain intelligence of the same. At present, it would appear that he is going out to sea. By authentic information, there are only 40 ships at New York, the rest are gone elsewhere and have fallen down between the Narrows and the Hook. Between these two places, the number, from the most accurate observa- tion, was about 120 yesterday."^ On Thursday, July 24tli, General Washington was back in New Jersey at the then village of Eamapo. From there, on that date, he writes to General Putnam: "I have just received advice of the enemy's fleet having sailed from the Hook: in consequence of which, I have to desire that you will immediately order General Sullivan and Lord Stirling's divisions to cross the river [the Hudson] and proceed towards Philadelphia."^ Two years afterwards, we find Washington again in the Valley. On Sunday, June 6th, 1779, he writes to the President of Con- gress from Ringwood, as follows : "On the 1st inst., in the morning, the enemy opened a battery at Stony Point, which lies on the west side of the Hudson at the landing at King's ferry, against a small de- tached work at Verplanck's Point on the east side, and kept ^ The point from which Washington was enabled to see New York Bay and Harbor, and thus obtain the intelligence of which he writes, was near at hand. It was the top of the Torn mountain, near the present village of Eamapo. ' The village of Eamapo, from which General Washington wrote this letter, was not the present village of Eamapo, but was a small settlement about five miles south of the present Suffern station on the Erie Eailway, and was nearly seven miles below the present village of Eamapo (see frontispiece), which was founded, in about 1785, by Mr. Jeremiah Pierson. Mr. Pierson was the inventor of the first machines by which nails were cut and screws were made, and the first cut nails and screws to be manufactured in the United States were made in his works at Eamapo. He owned large tracts of land there, much of which is still in the hands of his descendants, though some of it has been conveyed to the late Dr. Alfred L. Loomis and members of his family, Mr. Francis Lynde Stetson, and Mr. Augustus B. Field, of New York, and others, who have estab- lished country homes in the neighborhood. 33 up a constant fire upon it, in conjunction with their ships, till 4, in the afternoon, when the party stationed in it, find- ing that it was also invested on the land side in force, sur- rendered by capitulation." On Monday, the 7th, we find in Washington's Orderly Book, at Smith's Tavern in the clove, the following entry: "The army is to camp till further orders. "^ On Friday, June 11th, Washington writes from Smith's Tav- ern to the President of Congress : *'We have taken post for the present with the main body of the army in this clove, where we are as well situated as we could be anywhere else to succor the forts [on the Hud- son] in case the future operations of the enemy should be directed against them." At Smith's Tavern, Monday, July 14th, 1779, the Orderly Book contains the following entry: ' ' As the commander-in-chief sits [sic'] out to-day for West Point and may be absent two or three days, Major-General Putnam will take the command of the troops in this camp till his return." Washington, on his return, remained in the clove until the afternoon of June 21st, when he set out for New Windsor. This march into the clove from New Jersey is described by Dr. Thatcher in his Military Journal, as follows : "June 10th, Smith's Clove [Orange County, New York] is a fine level plain of rich land, situated at the foot of the high mountains on the west side of Hudson River. It is about 14 miles in the rear of the garrison at West Point, and surrounded on all sides by the highlands. The few families ^ Smith 'a Tavern was situated near the point on the road from Arden to Central Valley, a little south of Central Valley, where this road is met by the road from Turner's, about where the house known as the old Dickerman House now stands. 34 who reside here find a profitable employment in cultivating the fertile soil. Our brigade marched from quarters at Middlebrook on the 2nd inst., and arrived at Morristown, where we received orders to leave all our heavy baggage and proceed with all possible expedition, as the enemy was advancing towards West Point. Marched rapidly through Troy, Pompton and Eingwood and on the 7th inst. en- camped in the clove." Smith's Clove, then called, in its lower end, the Eamapo Clove, seems to have been, roughly speaking, the valley of the Eamapo Eiver from Suffern's to Newburgh Junction, and, from thence, the valley northward toward Newburgh by way of Central Val- ley, Highland Mills and Woodbury. There seem to have been three celebrated taverns in this clove, not counting the Suffern Tavern, which was a little south of the southerly end of the clove. They were Galloway's, at present Southfield, Smith's Tavern, the location of which has already been described,^ and another tavern known as June's, which is shown on several of the contemporary maps, and is frequently mentioned in the documents of the day, and which seems to have been situated at the point where the road from Arden to Central Valley is inter- sected, about a mile north of the Arden station, by the road run- ning westerly towards Turner's, on the land which was formerly known as the James Wilkes Farm, now owned by Mr. E. H. Harriman. This region then was, as it is now, in large measure composed of wild, rugged and wooded mountains. It afforded safe hiding for people of lawless or wayward dispositions, and there are many traditions of violent deeds committed in these mountains, by men who seem to have been treated virtually as outlaws. The most prominent of these seems to have been Claudius Smith, who, after a long career of depredation and even, it is alleged, of murder, was executed on the gallows at Goshen, January 22d, 1779.2 ^ Supra, page 33, note. '^ Eager 's ' ' Orange County, ' ' p. 556. 35 Without a doubt, many of these traditions were exaggerated, and the few people then living in the country were probably not all as bad as they were painted, but that passage through the clove for unarmed people was not unattended with danger seems to admit of no doubt. This fact is illustrated by an anecdote locally told of General Washington. It was in the summer of 1781 that, once again, and for the last time, the Kamapo Clove became the temporary theatre of mil- itary operations. Washington had intended to make an attack in force upon New York, but the failure of the Comte de Grasse, Commander of the French fleet in the West Indies, to cooperate with the land forces, caused Washington to change this project and to march to the assistance of the Southern Colonies. Again, the march southward was taken up through the Ramapo Valley. Meanwhile, Washington caused deceptive letters to be written and put in the way of being intercepted, in order to deceive Sir Henry Clinton into the belief that an attack on New York City was the real object of the Americans. Lossing, in a note to his Field Book (Vol. II, p. 213), thus relates the incident: ' ' One of the bearers of these letters was a young Baptist clergyman named Montagnie, an ardent Whig, who was directed by Washington to carry a despatch to Morristown. He directed the messenger to cross the river at King's ferry, proceed by Haverstraw to the Ramapo Clove and through the pass to Morristown. Montagnie, knowing the Ramapo pass to be in possession of the cowboys and other friends of the enemy, ventured to suggest to the commander in chief that the upper road would be safest. ' I shall be taken, ' he said, 4f I go through the clove.' ^Your duty, young man, is not to talk but to obey, ' replied Washington, sternly enforcing his words by a vigorous stamp of his foot. Mon- tagnie proceeded as directed, and near the Ramapo Pass was caught. A few days afterward, he was sent to New York, where he was confined in the Sugar House, one of the famous Provost prisons in the city. The day after his ar- rival, the contents of the despatches taken from him were published in Rivington's Gazette with great parade, for they indicated a plan of an attack upon the city. The enemy was 36 alarmed thereby and active preparations were put in motion for receiving the besiegers. Montagnie now perceived why he was so positively instructed to go through the Ramapo Pass, where himself and despatches were quite sure to be seized. When they appeared in Rivington's Gazette, the allied armies were far on their way to the Delaware. Mon- tagnie admired the wisdom of Washington, but disliked him- self to be the victim. Mr. Pierson, from whom I heard the narrative, received it from the lips of Montagnie himself." Perhaps the last time that Washington came through our Clove was in the spring of 1782, after the victory at Yorktown, when, accompanied by Mrs. Washington, he returned to his old headquarters at Newburgh. In the Washington Itinerary, under date of Thursday, March 28th, 1782, we find that ''Washington left Morristown on the morning of March *'28th, reaching Newburgh on the 31st, stopping at Pomp- ''ton and Ringwood on the way. He was accompanied by ' ' Mrs. Washington, and an escort of an officer, sergeant and "12 dragoons." That Washington, amid all these scenes of strenuous and stir- ring war, was not unmindful of the importance of that educa- tion and learning which such an occasion as this contributes to cultivate and promote, is shown by two short letters, both of which, being written in this county, may, not inappropriately, be mentioned here. On Thursday, March 22nd, 1781, Washington writes from New Windsor to Mr. Jos. Willard: *'I am much indebted to you for announcing my election as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. I feel myself particularly honored by this rela- tion to a society whose efforts to promote useful knowledge will, I am persuaded, acquire them a high reputation in the literary world." And again, from New Windsor on May 15th of the same year, having been offered the degree of doctor of laws by Yale Col- lege, he writes to Dr. Stiles, the President of Yale, as follows: 37 "For the honor conferred on me by the President and fellows of the University of Yale College by the degree of doctor of laws, my warmest thanks are offered; and the polite manner in which you are pleased to request my ac- ceptance of this distinguished mark of their favor demands my grateful acknowledgments. ' ' We cannot leave the great Washington and his relations with this county of Orange without mentioning one other incident. It has been considered by many to be the greatest and noblest act that he ever performed. I refer to the incident known as ''The Newburgh Letters." As you know, there had been much discontent among many of the officers and soldiers of the army with regard to the way in which they had been treated by the Continental Congress. It must be regretfully admitted that they were not without just ground for complaint. Their pay was largely in arrears, and they were about to return to their homes without means of sup- port. Some, smarting under this feeling of injustice, and some, perhaps, swayed by more unworthy motives, set on foot a movement looking to the establishment of a military oligarchy, or, at least, of a government under military control; and those interested went so far as to offer to Washington the head of such a proposed government with the title of king. A letter, manifestly pointing in this direction, was sent to him by one of the officers, and on May 22nd, 1782, at his headquarters at New- burgh, Washington replied to this proposal as follows : "With a mixture of great surprise and astonishment, I have read with attention the sentiments you have submitted to my perusal. Be assured, sir, no occurrence in the course of the war has given me more painful sensations than your information of there being such ideas existing in the army, as you have expressed, and I must view with abhorrence and reprehend with severity. I am much at a loss to conceive what part of my conduct could have given encouragement to an address, which to me seems big with the greatest mischiefs that can befall my 38 country. If I am not deceived in the knowledge of myself, you could not have found a person to whom your schemes are more disagreeable. ' ' ^ Washington determined to quell this movement without seem- ing officially to oppose it. He therefore caused a meeting of the officers and soldiers to be called for the purpose of considering the question of their grievances. The meeting was held in a building called the Temple, near and just south of Snake Hill, in the town of New Windsor.^ The building was a large one. It had been specially built by "Washington as a place of worship for, and for general meetings of, the army while encamped in the region. The meeting was held in the evening, — it was past dark, and the room was lighted by lamps. As Washington rose to read his manuscript, he took out his glasses, and wiping them, said: ''You see, gentlemen, I have grown not only grey, but blind in your service."^ Then followed one of the most touching and stirring appeals ever addressed to men. I wish I could read it to you here entire, but space and time will not permit. Let me, however, read you the concluding words. He freely admitted that they had griev- ances which were hard to bear, but he pointed out that theirs was not the proper way of remedy, and, beseeching them to relin- quish their present purposes, concluded: ''By thus determining, and thus acting, you will pursue the plain and direct road to the attainment of your wishes ; you will defeat the insidious designs of our enemies, who are compelled to resort from open force to secret artifice. You will give one more distinguished proof of unexampled patriotism and patient virtue, rising superior to the pres- sure of the most complicated sufferings; and you will, by the dignity of your conduct, afford occasion for posterity to say, when speaking of the glorious example you have exhibited to mankind— had this day been wanting, the world ^ Washington 's Itinerary, supra, p. 262, ' Eager 's ' ' Orange County, ' ' p. 135. ^Lossing's "The Hudson," p. 199. 39 had never seen the last stage of perfection to which human nature is capable of attaining." Every heart was touched, and the movement of the would-be conspirators was quashed forever. Aaron Burr, also, as you know, was much in this region. It was on the Plains of Paramus, but a few miles south of us, that he courted and won the Widow Prevost. On one interesting occasion, Aaron Burr visited these iron works, in the beginning of June, 1779. At that time. Sir Henry Clinton, having captured the forts at Stony Point and Ver- planck's Point, was again threatening West Point. The com- munication through the Clove between General Washington, who was in New Jersey, and Major-general McDougall, who was in command at West Point, was much embarrassed. Ban- dits, it is said, had been placed by the British in the mountain passes for the purpose of capturing bearers of despatches. At this critical moment, Colonel Burr happened to be on a visit to General McDougall at West Point. Burr was at the time in ill- health, and on that account temporarily out of the service. In the course of the conversation, McDougall informed Burr of his difficulties in communicating with Washington, saying that he had made various unsuccessful attempts, his messengers either having been captured or having deserted; and he then asked Col. Burr whether, in view of the critical condition of affairs, the latter would not undertake to be the bearer of an oral communication to General Washington. Burr, notwith- standing his ill-health and that he was not then on that account in the service, readily assented. His way, of course, led through Smith's Clove and the Ramapo Clove, and he stopped over at Mr. Townsend's at Southfield. The next day he came on to this point, when an amusing incident occurred, which is thus de- scribed by his biographer :^ ''Col. Burr arrived at the iron works of the elder Town- send in Orange County with a tired and worn-out horse. ^ Davis' "Burr," Harper & Bro., 1836, Vol. I, p. 173. 40 No other could be obtained, but after some detention, a half broken mule, named Independence, was procured and the colonel mounted. But Independence refused to obey or- ders, and a battle ensued. The mule ran off with his rider and ascended a high bank on the side of which stood a coal house, which was filled with coal through an aperture in the top. At length, Independence, in the hope of clearing him- self of his incumbrance, entered the coal house [through this hole] at full speed, the colonel firmly keeping his seat, and both came down an inclined plane of coal not less than 30 feet in height. On reaching the ground without injury. Burr hired a man to lead the animal a mile or two and then again mounted him and pursued his journey. This scene was exhibited on a hot day in the month of June, amid a cloud of coal dust. The anecdote, Burr occasionally repeated to his friends and some of the younger branches of the Town- send family." Two French officers, the Marquis Hector St. Jean de Creve- coeur and the Marquis Francois Jean de Chastellux, who pub- lished accounts of their travels in this country at the time, have made reference to our neighborhood. The Marquis de Crevecoeur, who was in the French service during the French and Indian Wars, and afterwards traveled extensively in this country, and continued here throughout the Revolutionary War, gives quite an extended account of the Sterling Iron Works on a visit which he made to this region in the year 1790.^ The work was published in Paris in 1801. It is in three volumes, and a copy of it may be found in the Library of the New York Historical Society. Describing a journey through the iron making regions of New York and New Jersey for the purpose of particularly examin- ing the methods there employed, the author gives a record of his travels in considerable detail. He visited, not only the Sterling Iron Works but those at Ringwood, Bellvale and other places. With regard to Sterling, he wrote as follows :^ ^ Voyage dans La Haute Pensylvanie, et dans I'Etat de New York, par un Membre adoptif de la Nation Oneida. - Ibid., Vol. I, p. 282. 41 *'A peine avions-nous mis nos clievaiix a I'ecurie, que le proprietaire, M. Townsend, vint au-devant de nous, et nous regut avec la politesse d'un liomme accoutoume a voir sou- vent des etrangers et des voyageurs. En effet, son hospi- talite est si bien connue depuis long-temps, que, soit qu'on vienne de I'interieur ou de New- York, on s 'arrange toujours de maniere a loger chez lui, en passant les montagnes. Ayant appris que le motif de notre voyage etait d 'examiner avec attention ses differens ouvrages, il offrit de nous en montrer les details. ''D'abord, il nous conduisit a sa grande fournaise ou le mineral etoit fondu et ensuite converti en saumons de 60 a 100 livres pesant. Elle etoit situee a pen de distance de la principale digue qui, par la position favorable des rochers, lui avait procure a peu de frais une retenue d'eau tres-con- siderable. D'un simple ruisseau, il avait fait un petit lac de quinze mille acres de surface, rempli de poisson, et sur lequel il avait un joli bateau. Cette fournaise etoit animee par deux immenses soufflets de quarante-huit pieds sur sept, qui n'etoient faits que de bois sans fer, ni cuir. La violence, le bruit du vent qu'ils produisaient, ressemblait a celui d'une tempete. " 'Cette fournaise,' nous dit-il, 'produit annuellement, quand il ne lui arrive point d 'accident, de deux mille a deux mille quatre cents tonneaux de fer, dont les trois quarts sont convertis en barres, et le reste fondu en boulets, canons, etc., a 1 'usage du commerce. Ces montagnes dont les coupes me procurent le charbon, fournissent aussi plusieurs especes de mineral, d'une excellente qualite, connu sous des noms differens. ' '^ De-la nous fumes voir la raffinerie; six gros marteaux etoient occupes a forger des barres de fer et des ancres, ainsi que plusieurs pieces a 1 'usage des vaisseaux. Plus bas, sur le meme ruisseau, etoit la fonderie avec son four a re- verbere. II nous fit observer plusieurs machines ingenieu- ses, destinees a differens usages, dont on lui avait envoye les modeles, qu'il avait fondus avec un potin nouvellement decouvert dans ces montagnes, dont le grain, apres deux fusions, acquiert la finesse et presque la couleur de I'etain. " ' Je puis en f aire, ' nous dit-il, ' les clioses les plus delicates et les plus legeres. Quel dommage que vous ne soyez pas venus ici buit ou dix jours plutot! je vous aurais fair voir. 42 (1) trois nouvelles especes de charrues, dont j'ai fondu les principales pieces, et qui cependant ne sont pas plus pe- santes que les anciennes. Chacune d'elles est pourvue d'une espece de romaine graduee, au moyen de laquelle on peut voir avec la derniere precision a combien se monte la puis- sance d'attelage, et consequemment la resistance, c'est-a- dire, la tenacite du sol; (2) un moulin portatif, destine a detacher le grain de la menue paille. Cette invention n'est que la suite d'une autre, au moyen de laquelle tons les epis d'un champ pourront etre facilement enleves, sans qu'on soit oblige de le couper par le pied pour en faire des gerbes, suivant I'ancien usage. Tout cela est parti pour le Mont- Vernon (1) ; car,' continua-t-il, 'quoique le general Washing- ton remplisse avec des talens aussi distingues la presidence de 1 'Union, a laquelle il a ete appele par la voix unanime de 1 'affection et de la reconnoissance, et que le siege du Gou- vernement soit a cent lieues de sa belle terre, il surveille son immense culture, et en dirige les operations avec un des- cernement et une attention digues d'eloges. Toutes les se- maines il en regoit les details, comme un negociant, le compte courant de ses affaires. A I'aide d'une tres-grande carte qu'il m'a fait voir, il connoit tons ses champs, sait ce qu'ils ont rapporte, et prejuge ce qu'on doit y semer. Jamais on n'a pousse plus loin I'ordre, la methode et I'economie du temps. C'etait la meme chose durant la guerre. Le Con- gres et le public ne furent pas peu etonnes, lorsqu'apres etre rentre dans la classe des citoyens, il rendit au premier les comptes de son commandement, parmi lesquels on trouva celui de la depense particuliere des services secrets pendant sept ans, entierement ecrit de sa main, et qui ne se montoit qu'a douze ou quatorze mille guinees. Pendant ce long in- tervalle, ainsi que depuis qu'il est devenu chef du Gouverne- ment general, cet illustre Agricola n'a jamais cesse d'etre un des cultivateurs les plus eclaires des fitats-Unis. Avant la revolution, il avait quarante charrues, et en 1772 il re- colta pres de dix mille boisseaux de bled.' " *'De la fournaise nous allames voir les fours dans lesquels le fer etait converti en acier. — *I1 n'est pas encore aussi bon que celui de Suede,' nous dit M. Townsend, 'mais nous en approchons. Encore quelques annees d 'experience, et nous parviendrons a la perfection. Le fer qui sort de dessous mes marteaux, jouit depuis long-temps d'une bonne reputa- 43 tion et se vend de 28 a 30 pounds le tonneau de 2,200 livres pesant. " 'Voyez-vous,' continua-t-il, 'ce bel et vaste herbage, en- yironne par les deux branches de la riviere? c'est ce que j'appelle le chef-d'oeuvre de mon industrie; 11 n'y a pas encore dix ans que ce bas-fond etait le cloaque de ces mon- tagnes. J'essayai de le faire def richer a la hache; mais les haliers et les broussailles dont il etoit convert, ne presentant aucune resistance, cet instrument devint inutile. Je ne sa- vois comment m'y prendre, lorsque Pidee me vint d'y mettre trois cents chevres, et de les y retenir jusqu'aux approches de I'hiver. Pressees par le besoin, elles firent mourir les buissons les plus vivaces ; en les depouillant de leur ecorce. '* 'L'ete suivante, un embrasement general fit tout dispa- roitre ; j 'ensemeuQai mon terrein en trefle et en timtchy [sic] et I'annee d'apres, cet amas impenetrable de ronces et d'e- pines fut remplace, a ma grande joie, par une abondante re- colte de foin. Cette ile est devenue, depuis, une des meil- leures prairies du canton. Plusieurs cultivateurs ont suivi mon exemple.' " ''Apres avoir passe deux jours a examiner ces construc- tions si diverses, a admirer I'art avec lequel on avoit com- bine le mouvement des eaux, ainsi que I'ordre et 1 'arrange- ment des coupes de bois, necessaires a la fourniture du charbon qu'exige une entreprise aussi considerable, nous quittames M. Townsend."^ * Hardly had we put our horses in the stable, when the proprietor, Mr. Town- send, came out to meet us, and received us with the polish of a man of the world, accustomed often to meet strangers and travelers. In fact, his hospitality has been for a long time so well known that, whether one comes from the interior or from New York [City], one always makes one's plans so as to pass the night with him in going over the mountains. Having been informed that the object of our journey was to examine with attention his different works, he of- fered to show them to us in detail. First he conducted us to his large furnace, where the ore is smelted and con- verted into pigs, weighing from 60 to 100 lbs. This furnace was situated at a short distance from a dam, which, through the favorable conformation of the ground, had given him, at little cost, quite a considerable water storage. From a mere brook, he had made a little lake of 15,000 acres of surface, filled with fish, and on which he had a pretty boat. [This size for Sterling Lake is a mistake, but clearly unintentional since he uses the word "little." The area of the lake is actually only about 310 acres.] This furnace was blown by two immense bellows of 48 feet by 7 feet, which were made entirely of wood, without any iron or 44 leather. The rush and the noise of the wind which they produced resembled a tempest. "This furnace," said Mr. Townsend, "produces annually, barring accidents, from 2000 to 2400 tons of iron, of which three-quarters are converted into bar iron and the balance cast into bullets, cannons, etc., for the market. These mountains, the forests of which furnish me with charcoal, furnish also several characters of ore of excellent quality, and known under different names." From there we went to see the forge. Six large hammers were busy forging bars of iron and anchors, as also several parts used in the building of ships. Further down still, on the same stream, was a foundry — with its reverberatory furnace. He showed us ingenious machines intended for different uses, of which the models had been sent him, and which he had cast with iron from an ore re- cently discovered in the mountains, which after two fusions acquired the fineness and almost the color of tin. "I can make out of it," he told us, "the lightest and most delicate articles. What a pity," he said, "that you did not come here eight or ten days earlier. I would then have shown you (1) three new kinds of plow, of which I cast the principal parts, and which are, nevertheless, no heavier than the old type. Each one of them is equipped with a sort of gradu- ated scale, by which is registered with great precision the power of the team, and consequently the resistance, that is to say, the tenacity of the soil, (2) a portable mill, designed to separate the grain from the chaff. This invention follows upon another, by means of which all the ears in a field can be easily gathered without the necessity of cutting the stalks at the foot, according to the old method. All these things have been shipped to Mt. Vernon, for," con- tinued he, "although General Washington is filling with such distinguished talents the presidency of the Union, to which he has been called by the unanimous voice of affection and gratitude, and although the seat of government is about 300 miles from his fine plantation, he watches over its cultivation, and directs the operations thereof, with an admirable discernment and attention. Every week he receives detailed reports just as a merchant would of the transaction of his affairs. By the aid of a very large map, which he showed me, he keeps in mind all his fields and knows what they have produced, and can therefore con- clude beforehand what ought to be planted in each. Nowhere have order, method and economy of time been pushed further. It was the same thing during the war. The Congress and the public were not a little astonished when, after hav- ing retired to private life, he rendered to the former the accounts of his expendi- tures while in the service, among which, particularly, were the expenses of the secret service during seven years, written entirely in his own hand, and which did not amount to as much as 12,000 to 14,000 guineas. During this long period, as well as since he has become the chief executive of the government, this illustrious Agricola has never ceased to be one of the most enlightened farmers of the United States. Before the revolution, he had 40 plows, and in 1772 he gathered nearly 10,000 bushels of wheat. ' ' From the forge we went to see the furnaces in which the iron was con- verted into steel. "It is not yet as good as the Swedish steel," said Mr. Town- send, "but we are approaching it. With a few more years of experience, we will arrive at perfection. The iron which comes from under my hammers 45 The Marquis of Chastellux, in his Travels in North America/ describes a journey through this region in 1780. He was not, like Crevecoeur, particularly interested in the mines and manufac- tures, and devotes himself more to the inspection of the scenery and of the general condition of the people. One night, it being, as he says, very dark, and having, not without difficulty, passed two or three streams on very small bridges, he arrived at Court- Heath Tavern near Pomptom. He was interested to find that the daughters of the landlord had considerable claims to educa- tion and accomplishment. He remarked that they read Addison and other English classics, and the evening seems to have passed pleasantly for him. On the next morning, he continues his journey, which he describes as follows : '' Je quittai a huit heures du matin mon hote et mes jeunes hotesses pour m'enf oncer dans les bois en suivant un chemin que personne ne connoissoit trop bien. Le pays par lequel je devois passer s'appele le Clove; il est tres sauvage et n'est gueres connu que depuis la guerre; c'est une espece de vallee ou de gorge situee a I'ouest des grandes mon- tagnes qui regnent entre New Windsor et Kings-ferry et au has for a long time had a good reputation and sells for 28 to 30 pounds per ton of 2200 lbs." "Do you see," continued he, "that fine and large meadow sur- rounded by two branches of the stream? That is what I call the chef d'oeuvre of my works. Less than 10 years ago, that bottom was merely a drain of these mountains. I tried to clear it with axes, but the thickets and brush by which it was covered, presenting no resistance to the axe, this instrument proved useless. I was at a loss what to do, when the idea occurred to me to put out 300 goats and keep them there until winter set in. Driven by hunger they killed the most vigorous bushes by peeling off their bark. The following summer a fire caused everything to disappear. I planted the soil with clover and timothy; and, the year after, this impenetrable mass of brambles and briars was, to my great joy, replaced by an abundant harvest of hay. That island has since be- come one of the best pastures in the vicinity. Several farmers have followed my example." After having passed two days in examining these various works and in admiring the skill with which the water powers had been utilized, as well as the method and arrangement of the wood-cutting necessary to the pro- duction of the charcoal, which so considerable an enterprise demands, we parted from Mr. Townsend. " ^Voyage de M. le Marquis de Chastellux dans I'Amerique Septentrionale, dans les annees 1780-1781-1782. Deux tomes, Paris, 1786. Vol. I, p. 284. 46 pied desquelles se trouvent West-pointe, Stoney-pointe, ainsi que la plupart des forts qui defendent la riviere. Dans les terns [sic] on elle n'est pas navigable, soit a cause des glaces, soit a cause des vents contraires, on a besoin d'une communication par terre, entre I'etat de New York et les Jerseys, entre New Windsor & Morristown. Or cette communication traverse le Clove et le General Green, etant Quartier-maitre-general, y fit ouvrir un chemin par lequel passent les convois des vivres et de I'artillerie. C'est ce chemin que je pris, laissant sur ma droite le chemin de Romopog et remontant celui qui vient de Ringwood. Ring- wood n'est proprement qu'un hameau de sept ou huit mai- sons, forme par le manoir de Madame Erskine et les forges qu'elle fait valoir. On m'avait prevenu que je trouverois la touts sortes de ressources, soit pour loger si je voulois m'y arreter, soit pour me procurer toutes les indications, dont j 'aurois besoin. Comme il etoit de bonne heure et que je n 'a vols fait encore que douze milles, je ne descendis cliez Mme. Erskine que pour la prier de m'indiquer une auberge ou je pourrois coucher, ou de me donner des recommanda- tions pour trouver I'hospitalite quelque part. J'entrai dans une tres jolie maison, ou je trouvai tout le monde en deuil, M. Erskine etant mort deux mois auparavant. Mme. Erskine, sa veuve, agee de quarante ans a peu pres, n'avoit pas Pair moins frais & moins tranquille: elle avoit chez elle un de ses neveux & M. John Felle, membre du Congres. On me donna tons les renseignemens dont j'avois besoin & apres avoir bu un verre du vin Madere, suivant I'usage du pays qui ne permet pas qu'on sorte d'une maison sans y avoir bu un coup, je remontai a cheval & m'enfoncai de nouveau dans les bois, montant and descendant des montagnes tres elevees, jusqu'a ce que je me trouvasse pres d'un lac telle- ment solitaire & cache qu'on ne I'appergoit qu'a travers les arbres qui 1 'environnent. Les cotes qui en forment les rives sont si escarpees que, si un chevreuil faisoit un faux pas au haut de la montagne, il rouleroit jusque dans le lac sans pouvoir se relever. Ce lac, qui n'est pas marque dans les cartes, se nomme Duck Sider : il a pres de trois milles de long sur un ou deux milles de large. Je me trouvois dans le pays le plus sauvage et le plus desert que j'eusse encore parcouru; mon imagination jouissoit deja de cette solitude & mes yeux cherchoient a travers les bois quelques animaux 47 extraordinaires : tels que des elans ou des caribous, lorsque j'appergus dans un eclairci un quadrupede qui me parut tres grand. Je tressailois de joie et j'approehois douce- ment; mais en fixant mieux le monstre du desert, je vis a mon grand regret que c'etoit un triste cheval, qui broutoit I'lierbe paisiblement, et que 1 'eclairci qui m'avoit laisse le distinguer, n'etoit autre chose qu'un enclos appartenant a un nouveau defricliement. Je lis encore quelques pas et je ren- contrai deux enfans de huit ou dix ans qui revenoient tran- quillement de 1 'ecole, portant sous leurs bras un petit panier et un gros livre. Ainsi il me fallut declieoir de toutes mes idees de poete ou de chasseur pour admirer ces nouvelles contrees ou I'on^ne sauroit faire quatre milles sans trouver une habitation, ni trouver une habitation qui ne soit pas a portee de tons les secours possibles, tant dans I'ordre phy- sique que dans I'ordre moral. Ces reflexions & le beau tems [sic] qu'il fit toute I'apres-midi me rendirent la fin de ma journee tres agreable. A 1 'entree de la nuit, j 'arrival a la maison de M. Smith, qui tenoit auberge autrefois mais qui ne loge plus que ses amis. Comme je n'avois pas I'honneur d'etre de ce nombre, je fus oblige d'aller un pen plus loin, a Hern Tavern; c'est une assez mauvaise auberge, mais j 'eus a souper & a coucher. J 'en partis le 19 le plutot qu'il me fut possible, parce que j'avois encore douze milles a faire pour arriver a New Windsor, & que ne devant y coucher qu'une nuit je voulois du moins passer la plus grande partie de la journee avec le general Washington. Je le rencontrai a deux milles de New Windsor, il etoit dans sa voiture avec Mme, Washington, & ils alloient faire une visite a Mme. Knox, dont le quartier etoit a un mille plus loin, pres des barracques de I'artillerie."^ ^At eight o'clock in the morning, I left my host and my young hostesses to bury myself in the woods, following a road which no one seemed to know any too well. The country through which I was about to pass is known as the Clove. It is very wild and was hardly known before the war. It is a kind of valley or gorge, situated on the west of the large mountains which interpose between New Windsor and Kings-ferry, and at the foot of which are West Point and Stony Point, as also most of the forts which defend the river. At times when the river is not navigable, either on account of ice or contrary winds, it is necessary to have communication between New York and the Jerseys between New Windsor and Morristown by land. Now, this communication is through the Clove, and General Greene, who was quartermaster-general, opened a road through it, over which pass the convoys of stores and artillery. 48 There have been but few changes in the ownership of the Sterling tract from the earliest times. In 1783, a portion of it, It is this road that I took, leaving on my right hand the Romopog [sic] road, and following the one which comes from Ringwood. Ringwood, strictly, is but a hamlet of 7 or 8 houses, forming the manor of Mrs. Erskine and the forges which she operates. I had been forewarned that I would there find all manner of resources, either to put up there, if I should desire to stop, or to obtain all the necessary directions of which I might be in need. As it was still early, and I had as yet gone only 12 miles, I alighted at Mrs. Erskine 's, only to beg her to direct me to an inn where I might pass the night, or to give me recom- mendations as to where I could find hospitality. I entered a very pretty house, where I found everyone in mourning, Mr. Erskine having died two months pre- viously.* Mrs. Erskine, his widow, about 40 years of age, looked none the less fair and calm. She had with her one of her nephews, and Mr. John Fell, a member of Congress. They gave me all the directions I needed, and after having taken a glass of Madeira, according to the custom of the country, which forbids one to leave a house without having quaffed a glass, I remounted my horse and plunged anew into the woods, ascending and descending very high mountains until I found myself near a lake, so solitary and hidden that it can be seen only through the trees which thickly surround it. The rocks which form its shores are so steep that, if a deer should make a misstep high on the mountain, he would roll down into the lake without being able to stop himself. This lake, which is not set down on the maps, is called Duck Sider. It is almost 3 miles long by one or two miles wide. [The Marquis must have been feeling the Madeira. Tuxedo Lake has a superficial area of 300 acres. It is only a mile and three- quarters long and not more than about half a mile wide. Again, not only was it "set down on the maps," but it was set down upon several maps, most care- fully made, by the very Col. Erskine whose home he had just left. (See frontis- piece.) Also it is difficult to find the very high mountains (montagnes tres elevees) which the marquis speaks of "ascending and descending" on his way from Ringwood to Tuxedo Lake.] I found myself in the wildest and most desert country that I had yet traversed. My imagination was already rejoicing in this solitude and my eyes were seeking through the woods for extraordinary animals, such as elks or caribous, when I perceived in a glade a quadruped, which seemed to me very large. I thrilled with joy and softly approached, but on better inspecting this monster of the desert, I recognized, to my great regret, that it was but a sad horse who was peaceably cropping the grass, and that the vista which had enabled me to see him was nothing else than an en- closure belonging to a new clearing. I went on a few more steps, when I met two children of eight or ten years, who were returning quietly from school, and carrying under their arms a little basket and a large book. Thus, I found myself compelled to lay aside all my poetic and sportsmanlike notions to admire this new country, where one cannot go four miles without finding a home, nor find a home which is not supplied with all possible advantages, both physical and mental. These thoughts and the beautiful weather which continued all the * Col. Erskine died October 2, 1780. 49 about 6,000 acres, known as the Augusta tract, was purchased from the then Peter Townsend (he who made the chain) by his cousin, Solomon Townsend, who also became his son-in-law by marrying his eldest daughter, Anne.^ This property was the same as that now known as Tuxedo Park. Solomon Townsend at once established iron works on it. He constructed saw works on the Ramapo River, near the pres- ent north gate of Tuxedo Park, where the outlet of Tuxedo Lake joins the Ramapo. And about two miles further down this river and immediately north of the Erie Railway station at Tuxedo, and almost immediately below and opposite the great boulder known as "Man-of-War Rock," he established other works for the making of bar iron and anchors, which were known as the Augusta forge. The ruins of this forge may yet be afternoon, made the end of my journey very agreeable. At night fall, I came to the house of Mr. Smith, who formerly kept an inn but who now takes in only his friends. As I had not the honor to be of that number, I was obliged to go a little further on to Hern's Tavern. It is a pretty bad hotel, but I had supper and a place to sleep. I left there on the 19th, just as soon as it was possible, for I had yet 12 miles to make to arrive at New Windsor, and as I did not expect to spend but one night there, I desired at least to spend the greater part of the day there with General Washington. I met him two miles from New Windsor. He was in his carriage with Mrs. Washington, and they were going to pay a visit to Mrs. Knox, whose quarters were about a mile further on near the artillery barracks. [The tavern which the Marquis calls Hern's was doubtless Earl's, about three- quarters of a mile north of Smith's Tavern, where the stream now crosses the highway, and where there is a large house with large pine trees around it.] ^ Captain Solomon Townsend was born at Oyster Bay, Long Island, in 1746. He early developed a taste for the sea, and in his twentieth year was made captain of a brig belonging to his father. In 1778, being in France, and desirous of returning home, he obtained the following certificate from Benjamin Franklin, then our minister at the French capital: "Passy, near Paris, June 27, 1778. "I certify to whom it may concern, that Captain Solomon Townsend, of New York, mariner, hath this day appeared voluntarily before me, and taken the oath of allegiance to the United States of America, according to the resolution of con- gress, thereby acknowledging himself a subject of the United States. "B. Franklin." It was after returning home under this passport that he came to Orange County and married his cousin. He was a man of fine ability and the iron business he conducted was large and important. (Thompson's History of Long Island, 2nd Edn., Vol. II, p. 350.) 50 seen just below the falls in the Eamapo River at the point de- scribed. Capt. Townsend continued the operation of these works until the time of his death, March 7, 1811.^ In November, 1813, his widow and administratrix sold the en- tire Augusta tract to Mr. Peter Lorillard of New York, the grandfather of the present head of the Lorillard family.^ The property has since continued in their hands, and through their fine courage and wise business ability, has been transformed into the now splendid and renowned Tuxedo Park, of whose beauties and charms we are all so proud. The balance of the property thereafter continued in the own- ership of the first, second and third Peter Townsends, with cer- tain interests in other members of the family, until April 1st, 1864, when the present owner, the corporation known as the Sterling Iron and Railway Company, was organized. There- upon, through Mr. David Crawford, Jr., a son-in-law of Mr. Peter Townsend, 3rd, the entire property was transferred to that corporation.^ Mr. Townsend retained a large interest in the property, other large interests being acquired by such well- known and distinguished men as Mr. Thos. A. Scott, renowned as President of the Pennsylvania Railway Company, and as Assistant Secretary of War during the Civil War, Mr. Jay Cooke and Mr. Joel Barlow Morehead, of Philadelphia, and Mr. Samuel L, M. Barlow and Mr. George C. Clark of New York City. Thereafter the ownership continued substantially undisturbed until within the last year when control of the property has been acquired by Mr. Theodore H. Price, the present worthy president of the Sterling Iron and Railway Company, from whom we have had the great pleasure of hearing to-day. We give Mr. Price, and his charming family, a hearty wel- come among us as a neighbor. He comes of a family of the Old ' Eager 's * ' Orange County, ' ' p. 567. ^ Deed dated Nov. 17, 1813, recorded in 1815 in Orange County Eecords, liber E, p. 54. ' David Crawford, Jr., to the Sterling Iron & Eailway Co., deed dated April 1st, 1864, and recorded in Orange County records of deeds, April 12, 1864, in lib. 178, p. 196. 51 Dominion, as old as any of those, to whom reference has been made, of the sister colony of New York. He is the seventh in lineal descent from William Randolph of Turkey Island, Va., of whom Thomas Jefferson, John Randolph of Roanoke, and Gen- eral Robert E. Lee were also Hneal descendants. Thomas Price, owner of the celebrated ''Coolwater Estate" in Virginia, and the great grandfather of Mr. Theodore H. Price, was a member of the Revolutionary Army during the whole war from Lord Dunmore's gunpowder plot to the surrender of Cornwallis, and so did he bravely contribute to the glorious result to which this furnace made its silent contribution. In 1804 the building of the Southfield furnace was begun. It made its first blast in 1806, just one hundred years ago, and liad its last blast in 1887. In 1810, at Southfield, Peter Town- send, 2nd, made the first ''blister steel" manufactured in the United States,^ and the manufacture of iron and steel was thence- forth continued by the second and third ^ Peter Townsend, at Southfield, in conjunction with their works here. ^Swank's "Iron in All Ages," 2nd Edition, p. 138. ^ Peter Townsend, father of Mrs. S. L. M. Barlow, Mrs. Thomas Francis Meagher, and Mrs. David Crawford, Jr., died on the 26th day of Sept., 1885, at his resi- dence, 32 East Twenty-third Street, in his 83rd year. He was bom on Maj' 13th, 1803, in Orange Co., on the Sterling tract, which has been owned by the Townsend family for more than one hundred and fifty years. The Sterling Iron tract in Orange and Eockland Counties, and running down into New Jersey, was originally named after Lord Sterling, a General in the Eevo- lution, and who was financially interested in it. [This is an error. See supra, p. 26.] It embraced a territory of nearly 50,000 acres. Until Iron Mountain, Mo., was discovered, this was the largest known iron deposit, and is even now known as one of the largest in the world. It was from this property that iron was first sent to England from America, and English iron masters in the days of Queen Anne complained so bitterly of American competition that Parliament passed a law protecting English iron. It was Mr. Townsend 's grandfather who forged at the Sterling Iron Works the great chain which was stretched across the Hudson Eiver near West Point, in the Revolution, to prevent the British ships from passing up the river to Albany. This chain weighed over an hundred tons, and was conveyed to its destination in parts, which were later attached by swivels. At these Works also was cast the first of a number of large cannon for the use of the Navy of the United States, to be placed on a series of frigates built by Congress. Also the first anchors cast in this country and used by the United States Government 52 The new Sterling furnace, so-called, was built in 1848, about two miles down the stream, just below the pond known as Ster- ling Dam. It had its last blast in 1891, and was the last furnace in operation in all this valley, where a century ago the manufac- ture of iron had been so vigorously pursued. The change in the times since those good old days when the proprietor stood more in the nature of a friend and father to the employe than, unhappily, he usually does now, finds an illustra- tion in the following verses, which were sent to Mr. Town- send in 1829 by the author, John Brooks, who was at that time the clerk and storekeeper at the Sterling works : ^ on the "Constitution," the "Constellation," and the "Congress," and later on all the ships of war. Three brothers named Townsend came from England prior to 1630 and settled in Oyster Bay. The family was originally connected with that of the Marquis of Townsend, of Eaynham Hall. One of the brothers [This is an error. See supra, p. 27], soon after their arrival in this country, went to Orange Co., and from that time the family occupied the Sterling tract. The first Peter Townsend married Hannah Hawxhurst, of Sterling, and died in 1783. His son Peter was born in 1770, and when a lad rode to New York on horseback to witness the evacuation of that city by the British. He suc- ceeded his father in manufacturing iron, and may be regarded as the pioneer in the introduction of anthracite coal as a fuel for smelting iron. The second Peter Townsend married Alice Cornell, * 6 « O «.■ ^. -^ "^-^K^^ ^r--^^ V^ »**^% <^ >°v ■^'^. V ^•j.'' ••• 3^ ^c -^^0^ > o « ' *o <=i vP ^v °,^Ei?!fe" ^p' J.^ ^ ,0 ' A^ »' %?- <- * ^ -^Ao^ fe>. /V^^^X .<^:^a,'X ..-^\-^ " ° ♦ '<*' o TVi' ^O' ^ * AT ^ vO-A %"^o .-^^'.^j^^^ c^.^^jz^^^o /'^i'^-^ \o^v-- -^^ ^' '^o V^' C" * ^ST. AUGUSTINE ^^ V-^^ ,^^ FLA. ?^o ,<5^/^„ • 'd'' "'J^.- ^^.=.^' 32084