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EVACUATION OF NEW YORK BY THE BRITISH

1783—1883

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REPORT OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

EVACUATION OF NEW YORK BY THE BRITISH

Monday, Novembeb 26th, 1883

WITH AN 'HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

JOHN AUSTIN STEVENS

NEW YQRK
PKESS OF J. J. LITTLE & 00.
10 to 20 Astok Place
1885

CELEBRATION OP THE EVACUATION OP NEW YORK
BY THE BRITISH
{General Offices— Rooms of the Chamier of Commerce — 63 William Street)
Organization of Committees
JOINT COMMITTEE
The Hon. John Cochrane, Chairman. — John Austin Stevens, Secretary.
Solon Humphrey, Treasurer
(Treasurer oftlte Chamber of Commerce.)
Common Council of the City op New Yoek
Nine :¦ The Hon. John Cochrane, Chairman.
Aldermen — William P. Kirk, Edward T. Fitzpatrick, Hugh J. Grant,
Charles B. Waite, Robert E. DeLacey, Edward DufEy, Henry W. Jaehne, John
C. O'Connor, Jr.
New York Historical Society
Thirteen : Augustus Schell, President, Chairman.
Edward F. DeLancey, Hamilton Fish, Royal Phelps, George H. Moore,
John A. King, Andrew Warner, Robert E. Livingston, Cornelius Vanderbilt,
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant, John McKesson, James M. Varnum, Cornelius N.
Bliss.Chamber op Commerce op the State op New York
Thirteen : George W. Lane, President, Chairman.
A. A. Low, William E. Dodge, Samuel D. Babcook, S. B. Chittenden,
James M. Brown, Solon Humphreys, William H. Fogg, John Austin Stevens,
Cyrus W. Field, Charles S. Smith, Frederick L. Talcott, A. Gracie King.

Honorary Members
New York State Society of the Order of the Cincinnati.
John Schuyler, William H. Crosby, William L. Keese, Alexander J. Clin
ton, Matthew Clarkson.
New York Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the
United States.
Asa Bird Gardiner, Judge- Advocate U.S.A. ; Martin McMahon, General
U.S.V. ; Alexander S. Webb, General U.S.A. ; Henry Walke, Rear -Admiral
U.S.N. • Henry E. Davies, General U.S.A. ; Alexander Shaler, Major-General
N.G.S.N.Y.

Grand Army of the Republic : Department of New York.
Henry A. Barnuni, General ; M. A. Reed, Comrade ; James McQuade
General ; Willard Bullard, Major ; William McEntee, Comrade.
Veterans of the N. G.S.N. Y.
George W. McLean, Major Old Guard ; E. O. Hotchkiss, Colonel 23d Regi
ment Veterans; George W. Laird, Colonel 33d Regiment Veterans ; Willoughby
Powell, Colonel 13th Regiment Veterans ; William Scott, Colonel 9th Regi
ment Veterans ; Locke W. Winchester, Colonel 7th Regiment Veterans : C. W.
Dustan, Colonel 71st Regiment Veterans.
GENERAL COMMITTEE OF FIFTEEN
Delegations
Common Council: Historical Society: Chamber op Commerce
The Hon. John Cochrane, Chairman — John Austin Stevens, Secretary.
Common Council
Five — The Hon. John Cochrane, Edward T. Fitzpatrick, Hugh J. Grant,
Edward Duffy, John C O'Connor, Jr.
Historical Society
Five — Augustus Schell, Edward F. DeLancey, John A. King, James M.
Varnum, Cornelius N. Bliss.
Chamber op Commerce
Five— George W. Lane, Solon Humphreys, William H. Fogg, John Austin
Stevens, Charles S. Smith. SUB-COMMITTEES
Executive Committee op Nine
John Cochrane, Chairman — John Austin Stevens, Secretary.
Common Council — John Cochrane, Edward T. Fitzpatrick, John C.
O'Connor, Jr.
Historical Society— Augustus Schell, James M. Varnum, Cornelius N.
Bliss. Chamber op Commerce— George W. Lane, William H. Fogg, John Austin
Stevens. Military — Major-General Alexander Shaler, commanding First Division
N.G.S.N.Y. Finance Committee op Five*
John Cochrane, Chairman.
Augustus Schell, George W. Lane,
Cornelius Vanderbilt, Rutherfurd Stuyvesant.
* The Committee was never formally organized. Its duties fell to the Com
mittee of Arrangements.

Ill
Sub-Committees op Detail
Committee on the Legislature — John Cochrane, Edward F. DeLancey,
James M. Varnum.
Committee on Congress* — William H. Fogg, Solon Humphreys, John
A. King. Committee on Co-operation op Citizens op the State and City * — A.
Gracie King, John Cochrane, John Austin Stevens.
Committee op Arrangements
Major-General Alexander Shaler, Chairman — John, Austin Stevens, Secretary.
James M. Varnum,
Charles S. Smith,
Colonel Locke W. Winchester.

GRAND MARSHAL
The Hon. John Cochrane, General U.S.V.
Appointed by Executive Committee
Adjutant-General and Chief of Staff, Colonel Edward M. L. Ehlers.
Assistant Adjutant-General and Military Secretary, Colonel John B:
Phelps. (Headquarters Police Court-Room, 300 Mulberry Street).
Military Committee on Reception
Appointed by Committee of Arrangements
Reception and Promenade Concert at Seventh Regiment Armory in honor of
the Visiting Military.
Colonel Emmons Clark, Lieut. -Colonel Wm. De L. Boughton,
Colonel George D. Scott, Major Lawson B. Bell,
Colonel Richard Vose, Captain Ferdinand P. Earle,
Major John H. Kemp, Adjutant Wm. J. Harding.
* The Committee on Congress and the Committee on Co-operation of Citizens
of the State and City were never organized. The duty of the latter fell to the
Committee on Arrangements.

COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS
Major-General Alexander Shaler, Chairman.
Mr. John Austin Stevens, Secretary.
Col. James M. Varnum,
Mr. Charles S. Smith.
Col. Locke W. Winchester.
Honorary — Mr. A. C. Cheney, of Committee on Water Parade.
SUB-COMMITTEES
On the Press — Colonel Winchester, Colonel Varnum.
On Police Arrangements — General Cochrane, Grand Marshal.
On Hotel Accommodations for Invited Guests, The President and Governors
of States — Mr. Stevens.
On Carriages — Mr. Stevens.
On Stands for Review and Observation — General Shaler.
On Invitations to Stands, Cards and Badges — Colonel Varnum.
On Invitations to Slate Branches of the Order of Cincinnati — General Coch
rane, Colonel Varnum.
On Thoroughfares — Line of March — General Cochrane.
On Madison Square Garden — Rendezvous and Entertainment of Visiting
Military — Colonel Winchester, Mr. Smith.
On Reception and Promenade Concert at Seventh Regiment Armory —
General Shaler.
On the Veterans of 1812 ; their Entertainment — Mr. Stevens.
On the Washington Coach; its Decoration and Equipment — Mr. Stevens.
On Salutes — General Shaler.
On the Programme ; Order of Ceremonies — Mr. Stevens.
On Historical Pamphlet, with Order of Procession — Mr. Stevens, Mr.
Smith. On Medals in Commemoration of the Day — Mr. Smith.
On Reception of Invited Guests, President and Governors of States (Fifth
Avenue Hotel) — Colonel Varnum, Mr. Smith, Mr. Stevens.
On Reception of Mayors and Municipal Authorities (Windsor Hotel) — Mr.
Stevens. On Reception of Historical and Commercial Societies and Corporations
(Victoria Hotel) — Mr. Stevens.
On the Budget. — Colonel Varnum.
On Auditing of Bills and Accounts — Mr. Smith, Colonel Varnum, Colonel
Winchester. On Memorial Pamphlet Report of Proceedings, and a Memorial Tablet at
the Battery — General Cochrane, Colonel Varnum, Mr. Stevens. (Mr. Stevens
charged with the Pamphlet.)

INTRODUCTORY NOTE
An appropriate celebration of the Centennial Anniversary
of the Evacuation of the City of New York by the British troops
in 1783, had been for some years contemplated by gentlemen
interested in the history of our city. It was the second military
event in our Revolutionary annals : the first, the Battle of Harlem
Plains, was celebrated on the place of the action by the New
York Historical Society in 187(5, and by them also the initial
movement was made for the memorable demonstration of na
tional patriotism and civic pride which is recorded in the
following pages. The literature pertaining to Evacuation-day
was gathered and published in 1870 by Mr. William Kelby, our
accomplished local historian, in the Manual of the Common
Council for that year. It has been since discovered that all the
official British documents connected with this event, and minutes
of the negotiations between Washington and Sir Guy Carle ton,
are preserved in the fifty-six volumes of the papers of the Com
manders in Chief in America now preserved in the Library of
the Royal Institution of Great Britain in London. From memo
randa obtained by the courtesy of the officers of this Institution
many interesting points have been brought to light. Prom
these sources the historical introduction to the present report
has been mainly prepared. It is of the highest importance that
copies of the Carleton papers should be procured by the State
of New York and printed as a part of our annals. It was the
original intention of the Historical Society in urging this cele
bration to awaken public interest in this important, but hitherto
neglected part of our history, and it was hoped that the Legis
lature of the State or the Corporation of the City would take
the occasion to order a thorough search of the English archives
by some person familiar with our local history, and to obtain
copies for publication.

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

The war of the Revolution virtually ended with the capitu
lation of Yorktown in the autumn of 1781. New York and
Charleston still remained in British occupation for more than
two years after this important military event. Peace was not
disturbed save by an occasional skirmish in the Southern de
partment, where the British post at Charleston was held in close
siege. The future of America hung upon the debates in Parliament,
where the Whigs had at last obtained a sufficient majority to
control the war ministry of George the Third. In the long and
painful uncertainty Washington prudently held his forces
together, watching the drift of British opinion, with some
anxiety as to the effect of the delay upon public sentiment at
home and the morale of his army ; a general exchange of pris
oners by commissioners was proposed by General Washington
and accepted by Sir Henry Clinton, the British Commander in
Chief, whose headquarters were in New York City, and a neutral
zone was established " from Newark to Rahway and four miles
back " for the protection of the commissioners, and the con
venient supply of clothing and necessaries- to the British prison
ers from the New York garrison. But Washington, whose
army lay at Morristown, where he had established his head
quarters, was careful that this relaxation should not degenerate
into an abuse of passports, an indiscriminate traffic, or any
friendly association of the inhabitants on either side of the line.
The commissioners, unable to agree, broke up their conference,
and the relations between the two commanders were soon

6
after strained by the inhuman execution of an American officer
and the selection of a British officer for death in retaliation.
This sentence was later countermanded by Congress upon the
intercession of the Count de Vergennes.
Early in April, 1782,Washington transferred his headquarters
to Newburgh on the Hudson, in the northern department. To
ward the close of the month Sir Henry Clinton, who had long
solicited his recall, received permission from the king to return to
England, and passed over his command to Lieutenant-General
Robertson. The new commander enjoyed but a short term of
office. On the 5 th of May the Geres man-of-war arrived from
Portsmouth, having on board Sir Guy Carleton, " Commander in
Chief of his Majesty's forces, and Commissioner for making
peace or war in North America." The same vessel brought
news of the dissolution of the British ministry on the 20 th of
March previous, and the formation of a new ministry on the 27th.
Fox and Burke were, with the Marquis of Rockingham as Premier
and Lord John Cavendish, members of this ministry. The
change was radical.
Sir Guy Carleton lost no time in opening correspondence
with Washington, whom he addressed on the 7th of April,
with copies of the proceedings of the House of Commons
on the 4th March, and their address to the king in favor of
peace, and also a copy of the bill, reported in consequence
thereof, enabling his Majesty to conclude a peace or truce with
the revolted colonies in America by a mixed commission repre
senting the two nations, without foreign umpirage. Sir Guy
Carleton sought in every manner to carry out the policy of his
government. Rebuffed by Congress, he addressed himself to
the Governors of the States, made appeals to the people in
directly through the New York newspapers, and sought to con
ciliate individual opinion by personal kindness and permission
of the largest freedom of action consistent with military safety.
Nor were his efforts wholly barren of result ; meetings in favor

of an immediate peace were held in New England, and an indis
position to submit to further taxation in support of the military
establishment was generally manifested. Still Congress held
firm, content to leave the destinies of the country in the hands of
Franklin, Adams, Jay and Laurens, who represented it abroad.
On the 20th June, Carleton again addressed Washington, but
received in reply a distinct refusal to confer or correspond with
him on civil affairs or on other than military points, and on such
of these only as might tend to mitigate the calamities attendant
on a state of war.
Congress and the States were fully resolved to entertain- no
proposition of peace until the fleets and armies of Great Britain
were withdrawn or the independence of the States recognized
as a preliminary to the negotiation. Sir Guy Carleton con
tinued his seductive policy, while Admiral Digby was impress
ing American seamen and General Haldiman with his Indian
allies was committing ravages on the Canadian frontier. Wash
ington had a conference with the Count de Rochambeau at
Philadelphia on the 15th July. The defeat of the French fleet
of De Grasse by Rodney in the West India waters and the
effect of the Southern climate on the French troops had deter
mined Rochambeau to move his army to the northward, and he
had invited Washington to an interview at which future military
movements might be decided upon. Pending further informa
tion, the French army was marched north, and went into camp
at Baltimore for the summer. At the conference it was decided
to effect a junction of the two armies on the Hudson. By this
movement New York would be menaced, and any detachment
of British troops to the West Indies from this garrison be pre
vented. Soon after, information was received from England that
the war was to be vigorously prosecuted by the British in the
West Indies.
On the 2d August, Admiral Digby, who had succeeded Rodney
at New York, joined Sir Guy Carleton in a letter to Washington,

8
informing him that negotiations for a general peace had arrived
in Paris, and that Lord Grenville was invested with full power
to treat with all parties; and, in addition, that his Majesty had
commanded his ministers to propose the independence of the
thirteen colonies in the first instance, instead of making it a
condition of a general treaty. This letter was republished in
New York as a broadside by Rivington, " at the request of the
Loyalists assembled at headquarters," with the caption that it
was written in consequence of directions from England. On
the 12th August Congress ordered the publication of this letter,
as mere matter of information to the people, adding, in their
resolution, that as no word had been received from the American
Ministers, no public measure could or ought to be taken upon it
in its present form. Congress at the same session directed the
Commander in Chief to propose to his Majesty's Commander
at New York the appointment of commissioners to settle a
general cartel for the exchange of prisoners. But Washington,
in view of the former infatuation, duplicity and perverse system
of British policy, was induced to doubt and suspicion of every
action. Nor were his suspicions unfounded.
The British ministry had determined to push their opera
tions in the West Indies with the utmost vigor, that the "uti
possidetis " might be as extended as possible in that quarter.
Admiral Digby had been charged with the expedition. Sir
Guy Carleton had acted in perfect good faith, but his actions
also were governed by military prudence. He had informed
the ministry that he had hitherto declined evacuating New
York because of the want of victuallers and transports. In
reply, Mr. Townshend wrote to him on the 13 th August advis
ing him that transports would be at once supplied from Quebec ;
that Admiral Pigot was ordered to take from New York to the
West Indies a part of the troops, and that the remainder were
to be embarked for Halifax. Mr. Townshend also informed him
that his Majesty had determined to confide to him the conduct

of the war in the West Indies. Orders were given him to em
bark for Barbadoes, and upon his arrival there to take upon
himself the command of the forces in that quarter.
In view of the changed political situation, the army of
Rochambeau was moved to the northward. Crossing the Hud
son at King's Ferry on the 19th September^ they went into
camp at Crompond, with their advance on Croton Heights and
their patrol stretching from the river to Long Island Sound.
The American army had been moved from Newburgh to Ver-
planck's Point, where a camp was established on the 31st
August, and Washington transferred his headquarters to this
point. It was evidently the purpose of the allied commanders
to hold New York under a certain military pressure ; no doubt,
to prevent the detachment of troops to act against the French
islands. On receiving the resolution of Congress with regard to the
cartel, and after taking further preliminary directions from that
body, Washington nominated Generals Heath and Knox to act
as commissioners, and proposed a meeting at Tappan on the
Hudson on the 18th September. The conference was held at
this place on the 25th of this month, Lieutenant-General Camp
bell and Mr. Elliot appearing on behalf of the British com
missioners ; but the Americans being dissatisfied with the
powers of the British, the commissioners separated without a
negotiation. General Carleton had informed Washington in so
many words " that all hostilities stood suspended on their part,"
but Washington again called his attention to the activity of the
British cruisers on the coast and the inroads of the Indians on
the northwestern frontier as inconsistent with this declaration.
The death of the Marquis of Rockingham, on the 1st July,
1782, broke up the Whig administration. Fox, Burke and Cav
endish went out, and Earl Shelburne took the lead as First Lord
of the Treasury. The proroguing speech of the king in July
left no doubt as to his intention to push the war as long as he

10
could find men or money. Shelburne was but too willing to
carry out the wishes of the obstinate king. He had declared
that " the sun of Great Britain would set the moment American
independence was acknowledged." On the one side the old
Tory policy was renewed by authority. On the other the Whigs
stood firmly to curb the royal prerogative. In the uncertainty
Washington's recommendation was to prepare for the worst.
" There is nothing," he wrote to his aid, James McHenry, on
the 12th September, " which will so soon produce a speedy and
honorable peace as a state of preparation for war."
The negotiations for exchange had fallen through, because
of the demand insisted on by Congress, and made a sine qua non
of the instructions to the American commissioners, that com
pensation or security should be had for payment of the moneys
disbursed in the maintenance of the British prisoners, among
whom was the army of Burgoyne captured at Saratoga in 1777.
The British commissioners would not entertain this demand.
Hopes were generally entertained in October that New York
would be evacuated before the winter set in, but Washington
wrote to Major-General Greene on the 18th of this month that
he had no such expectation. Sir Guy Carleton, however, called
in his outposts, contracted his lines, and made the garrison of
New York as compact as possible. Assurances were given to
Washington that the incursion of the savages on the frontier
were stopped by authority.
Rochambeau received orders on the 20th September from
the Court of France, directing him, in the case of the evacuation
of either New York or Charleston, to embark his troops on
board the French fleet which lay at Boston, and send them to
St. Domingo to reinforce the army in the West India Islands.
The information received from General Greene leading to a
belief that the British were on the point of evacuating Charles
ton, Rochambeau on the 22d October broke up his camp at
Crompond and put his troops in motion for the eastward. On

11
the 28th November, Washington marched the American army
from the encampment at Verplanck's Point, and, crossing the
Hudson at West Point, cantoned them in huts for the winter in
the neighborhood of Newburgh, where he re-established his
headquarters. Charleston was evacuated on the 14th Decem
ber, part of the British garrison embarking for the West India
Islands, the remainder being sent to New York.
When the year 1783 opened, the seat of war was confined
to New York territory. The approach of peace did not induce
Washington to relax his vigilance or his enterprise. An attempt
was made to capture the British fort at Oswego, which failed
not from any want of spirit or activity on the part of Colonel
Willett, who commanded the expedition, but from the error or
treachery of the Indian guide. Effectual measures were taken
to prevent the clandestine trade by which the New York garrison
was supplied with provisions from New Jersey, and Colonel
Tallmadge, in a gallant enterprise, broke up a similar illicit in
tercourse maintained by British armed vessels with the inhabit
ants on the coast of Long Island Sound. Washington, consider
ing the contingency of the future of the negotiations for peace,
at the end of January, i783, suggested to Congress the policy
of attempting by one decisive blow to expel the enemy from
their remaining possessions as a matter of ultimate econo
my. The army chafed at its inactivity, and both officers and
men were sullen and discontented at the delay of Congress in
the adjustment of their accounts.
On the 30th December the high officers of the army, Major-
General Knox at their head, addressed a petition to Congress
from their cantonments on Hudson River, on behalf of them
selves and their brethren, the soldiers, setting forth their griev
ances, hardships and distress. This memorial was referred to
the Grand Committee, consisting of a member from each State,
which on the 25th January, 1783, reported resolutions of a
vague and unsatisfactory nature. The obligation of the several

12
States for the pay of the troops was recognized in common
with other claims, but no preference was even hinted at. The
tenor of the report of the committee, who had visited Phil
adelphia to present the memorial, and the resolution of Con
gress being publicly announced, the indignation of the troops
rose to fever pitch. This feeling was still further heightened
by the appearance on the 8th March of an anonymous letter
to the officers of the army, inviting the general and field officers
to meet together, to consider the report of the committee in
Philadelphia, to draw a last remonstrance, and to resolve what
further measures should be taken to obtain that redress which
they had solicited in vain. The appeal was inflammatory, and
but for the prudence of Washington, the result might well have
been a serious, perhaps successful mutiny. With that judg
ment and tact which never failed him in great emergencies,
Washington issued a General Order disapproving of this irregular
invitation as a disorderly proceeding, injurious to the reputa
tion and true interests of the army, but at the same time sum
moning the General, Field, and a representation of other officers,
to meet upon a later day to hear the report of the committee to
Congress ; the result of their deliberations to be presented to
himself. To this General Order the author of the anonymous
paper replied, ingeniously attempting to construe the order into
an approbation of his original call. On the day assigned,
March 14th, Washington appeared in person at the meeting and
read an address, condemning in the severest manner the tone
and spirit of the anonymous letter, expressing his own con
fidence in the justice of Congress, pledging his personal in-'
terference in behalf of the rightful demands of the army
and counseling moderation in their deliberations. Dignified
resolutions were unanimously adopted and transmitted to
Congress by the Commander in Chief, and the danger was
averted. On the 12 th March, while the country was agitated at the

13
possibility of an organized mihtary revolt, or a dissolution of
the army, the packet Washington, which left the port of
L'Orient on the French coast on the 17th January, arrived at
Philadelphia with the news of the preliminary articles of peace
between Great Britain and the United States having been signed
by the commissioners at Paris on the 30th November preceding.
Washington found the articles of the treaty as full and satisfactory
as America had any reason to expect, but, in the connection in
which they stood with a general pacification, inconclusive and
contingent, and on the 19th January, in stating these views to
the President of Congress, he expressed his fears that the
country would be obliged " to worry through another campaign."
His fears were soon dissipated, however, for on the 23d March Le
Triomphe, a French armed vessel, which had been dispatched
by the Count d'Estaing from the squadron at Cadiz, arrived at
Philadelphia with a letter from Lafayette to the President of
Congress, announcing the signature of a general Treaty of Peace,
at Paris on the 20th January, 1783.
On the evening of the 5th April the British packet Prince
William Henry arrived at New York from Falmouth with the
king's proclamation of the 14th February, declaring a cessation
of arms. At noon on the 8th April the welcome document was
officially read by the Town Mayor at the City Hall in New York,
a great number of inhabitants attending. Sir Guy Carleton
immediately notified Washington. On the 11th April Con
gress issued a proclamation in conformity with the treaty,
which was read at Newburgh on the 19fch April, dispatched to
all the outposts of the American army, and communicated to
Sir Guy Carleton on the 21st, with notice of the measures pro
posed to be taken to send in the British prisoners of war, some
fifteen hundred in number, who were lodged at Frederickton
and Winchester, in the States, of Virginia and Maryland. These
measures were in conformity to the resolutions of Congress of
the 15th April, directing the Commander in Chief to make

14
arrangements for the possession of the posts still held by the
British and the liberation of prisoners.
. The arrangements required a conference of the commanders.
This was held at Tappan on the morning of 3d May ; Washing
ton, with Governor Clinton, left the army headquarters, which
were still at Newburgh, and was rowed down the Hudson in
his barge, attended by a sloop, with his baggage, horses and
table furniture. They were escorted by four companies of light
infantry, and a small party under the command of Major Nicho
las Fish, which left camp the day previous to do duty as guard ;
these rode down the west bank of the river. Sir Guy Carleton
went up the river in the sloop of war Greyhound, the same ves
sel which carried up General Robertson on his fruitless visit of
intercession for the life of Andre. The conference was held at
Qrangetown or Tappan on the 6th May, after which Washing
ton requested of Carleton written information as to what meas
ures he should adopt for the evacuation of the posts. On the
8th May the Americans dined on board the sloop, and were re
ceived with military honors. When Washington left the vessel
he was saluted with seventeen guns in honor of his exalted
military rank. This was the first complimentary salute fired
by Great Britain in honor of an officer of the United States.
Jonathan Trumbull, who was present at this interview, noticed
the strong resemblance Washington and Sir Guy Carleton
bore to each other ; both tall, stately, sedate and impressive
in their manners. Washington returned the next day to head
quarters. On the 13th May the Society of the Cincinnati was in
stituted at the Newburgh cantonment by the officers of the army.
On the 2d June, the resolution of Congress ordering the dis
charge of the troops as soon as the definite treaty of peace
should arrive was promulgated in general orders, and the next
day the Southern troops were put under marching orders to
their homes. They were followed on the 6th, 8th, 9th and

15
15th by other bodies. Two brigades were made up of the men
who had enlisted for three years or shorter periods.
On the 8th June, Washington, on disbanding the army,
addressed a circular letter to the Governors of all the States, and
commended the troops to their warmest patronage and that of
the several legislatures. On the 23d June the troops broke up
the cantonment, and a part was removed to the garrison at West
Point; the remainder marched for Philadelphia, under the
orders of Major-General Howe, on the 28th. This movement was
ordered on the 24th, on the receipt of the news of the mutiny
of the Pennsylvania troops and the adjournment of Congress,
in consequence of their menaces, from Philadelphia to Prince
ton, on the 21st of that month.
Washington still maintained the army headquarters at New
burgh, leaving it only for a fortnight in July for a protracted
tour through the northern part of the State of New York. His
last general orders issued at Newburgh were on the 17th August,
the day preceding his departure for his new headquarters at
Rocky Hill, near Princeton, where Congress had engaged a
house for his use. He was summoned to Princeton by th at body.
Washington on the 2d November issued his farewell address
to the armies of the United States from Rocky Hill.
Meanwhile arrangements for the evacuation of the city of
New York had been slowly progressing. As early as April the
merchants of London, eager to resume their trade with New
York, waited on Mr. Fox, and received from him assurances
that the city would be evacuated without delay. Vessels which
had cleared for New York with the expectation of free ingress
had been refused permission to pass the posts into the Hudson,
and had discharged their cargoes in the ports of neighboring
States ; a manifest injury to New York. On the 14th of the
same month General Carleton addressed a communication to
Robert R. Livingston, Minister of Foreign Affairs, requesting
that Congress should appoint a commission to go into New

16
York to inspect and superintend the embarkation of persons
and property. On the 8th May, Washington, to whom Carle-
ton's request was referred by Congress, appointed Egbert Ben
son, William S. Smith and Daniel Parker commissioners for
this purpose. Large numbers of the loyalists were already
leaving the city. The April fleet for Nova Scotia took out nine
thousand souls. The exodus during the entire year was, accord
ing to the report of the British Commissary-General, twenty-
nine thousand two hundred and forty-four. On the other hand,
large numbers desired to remain, if assured of security against
severe treatment. Colonel Smith, one of the commissioners,
estimated the number of those thus disposed at not less than
fifteen thousand. In June the Hudson River was opened to
trade with the city, the inhabitants of Albany resolving, in
meeting at the City Hall, that the trade should be free of all
restrictions. In the same month orders were issued by the
military authorities in New York for the restoration of all the
houses evacuated, to their owners. By the June packet from
London, Sir Guy Carleton received orders from the king to dis
band forthwith in Nova Scotia all the British-American corps
(Provincial) and those of the regulars whose time had expired.
On the 21st of July the Mercury packet arrived with the definitive
treaty of peace, which had been signed on the 27th of May, and
the information that the day appointed in England for the
evacuation of the city was the 21st July — the day of the arrival
of the Mercury.
On the 12th of September Carleton informed the Govern
ment that the Provincial corps had all been embarked. On the
26th October he wrote to Lord North that the loyal inhabitants
were gone, the British-American regiments had also sailed for
Nova Scotia, and all the artillery and stores, except those im
mediately necessary, transported, and that he only waited return
of the vessels to take off what remained. On the 16th November
he further informed the Minister that the Hessians, under

17
Lieutenant-General de Losburg, were embarked on board the
transports, whose return had been delayed by boisterous weather.
The commissioners appointed to arrange for the outgoing of
the British and the ingress of the American troops continued
their arrangements during the summer months. On the 23d
October Sir Guy Carleton verbally informed Washington, who
was still at Rocky Hill, that he expected to evacuate the city by
the 2d November, and that he would fix the day of his depart
ure on the return of the transports from Nova Scotia. The
same day Washington, fearful that he might not receive timely
notice, wrote to General Knox, desiring him to confer with
Governor Clinton concerning every necessary arrangement for
taking possession of the city the moment the British should
quit it, and directing him to place all the American troops who
should move toward the city under the direction of the Gov
ernor. Of these arrangements he also informed the Governor
at once. Early in November the Commander in Chief went to
West Point, where, on the 14th, he received definite information
from Sir Guy Carleton, and, in an interview with Governor
Clinton, concerted arrangements for taking possession of the
city. On the 15th November Governor Clinton issued a pro
clamation giving notice of the day appointed for the evacuation,
viz., on Friday, November the 21st, summoning the several
members of the Council constituted by the Legislature for the
temporary government of the State to meet at Guyon's Tavern,
Eastchester, on the 21st, and enjoining the inhabitants to the
preservation of the public peace and good order.
On the 18th November, John Doughty, of the Second New
York Artillery, Fort Major of the West Point garrison, by
orders of General Washington, gave notice of a celebration of
the peace at New York on the 1st December by a display of
fire-works and an illumination. This exhibition was originally
intended to have been made at West Point, but had been
postponed. 2

18
The New York papers now begin to contain various
patriotic announcements. The officers of the American army in
the city are requested to appear in their union cockades, in
compUment to General Washington and " our great and good
ally, Louis XVI." Every real friend of the American nation is
requested to observe that steady, decent behavior so strongly
recommended by the illustrious Washington. The returned
exiles met at Cape's Tavern, on the Broadway, on Tuesday, the
18th November, and with Col. Henry Bicker as moderator, and
appointed a committee of thirteen to meet at Simmons' Tavern
to adopt a badge of distinction, to be worn on the day of evacu
ation, and arrange for the reception of his Excellency the
Governor. Sir Guy Carleton, on the 19th November, informed Wash
ington of the details of his movements. Retirement would be
made from Kingsbridge and McGowan's Pass on the 21st, and
from New York and Brooklyn on Tuesday, the 25th.
On the 20th an adjourned meeting of the officers met at
Cape's Tavern, Colonel Frederic Weissenfels in the chair,
adopted as the badge of distinction a union cockade of black
and white ribbon, to be worn on the left breast, and a laurel in
the hat, and resolved to meet at the Bull's Head Tavern, then
kept by Mrs. Varian, on Saturday, the 22d, at nine in the morn
ing. It was recommended that the Governor and General
Washington should be received by the citizens drawn up in the
form of a square, and in that manner conducted to his quarters,
the field and other officers forming on the flanks of the
square ; the colors of the United States to be carried on the
occasion. Meanwhile the American troops had been moved down the
river. On the 18th Washington, after informing the President
of Congress of the final arrangements, crossed the river with his
staff to Cortlandt House, the residence of Mr. Frederick Van
Cortlandt, near Yonkers, where he was met by Governor Clin-

19
ton. An extract from the memoranda left by Lieutenant-Gov
ernor Pierre Van Cortlandt supplies some interesting details
of the movements of the civil and military authorities. He
wrote :
"N. B. — I went from Peekskill, Tuesday the 18th of November, in com
pany with his Excellency Governor Clinton, Colonel Benson and Colonel Camp-
hell. Lodged that night with General Cortlandt at Croton River, proceeded
and lodged Wednesday night at Edward Couenhowen's, where we met his
Excellency General Washington and his aides. The next night lodged with
Mr. Frederick V. Cortlandt at the Yonkers, after having dined with Mr. Lewis
Morris. Friday morning we rode in company with the Commander-in-Chief as
far as the Widow Day's at Harlem, where we held a council. Saturday I rode
down to Mr. Stuyvesant's ; stayed there until Tuesday, then rode triumphant
into the city with the Commander."
On the 19th Washington, as here appears, held a council at
Harlem at Day's tavern (near the junction of 125th Street and
8th Avenue), while a portion of the American troops proceeded
to take position some distance below. From this point to re
assured Sir Guy Carleton as to the measures taken for the pro
tection of the city from violence. On Monday the 24th the
British Commander gave final notice that he would with
draw from New York at noon of the following day, at which
time he presumed the American troops would be near the
" barrier." This was a part of a fortified line across the island,
originally made in 1775, and later strengthened by the British ;
it crossed the Bowery on the line of the present Grand Street.
The American pickets were already stationed near the Dove
Tavern, on the old post road within five miles of the city, near
the present Sixty-fifth Street. The commander appointed he
conduct the order of reception issued a notice the same day
inviting the honorary escort to assemble on horseback at the
Bowling Green, near the lower end of the Broadway, where
Major-General Knox would request them to accompany him to
meet the commanders at the Bull's Head on the Bowery ;

20
the citizens on foot to assemble at or near the Tea Water
Pump. At eight o'clock on the morning of the memorable 25th
November the troops which had been stationed at McGowan's
Pass, the light infantry acting as main guard, were marched to
the Bowery Lane in the upper ward, and were then halted until
one o'clock, when the British troops left their post at the
barrier, and the Americans, consisting of a corps of dragoons,
an advanced guard of light infantry, a corps of artillery, a
battalion of light infantry, a battalion of Massachusetts troops
and the rear-guard, Major-General Knox commanding, entered
the city, and marching through the Bowery to Chatham, then
through Queen, now Pearl Street, to its junction with Wall
Street, thence through Wall to the Broadway, where the main
body was drawn up in line in front of Cape's Tavern (later
the City Hotel, now the Boreel Building), while a detail of in
fantry and artillery proceeded to Fort George at the Bowling
Green, where the last British colors were hauled from the flag
staff and the act of occupation was finally completed.
The pageant of the day was now opened. General Knox
with the honorary escort of citizens rode back from the Bowling
Green to the Bull's Head Tavern, which stood near the site of
the late Bowery, now the Thalia Theatre. Here the ^citizens
were gathered about the old Tea Water Pump, which stood at
the corner of Orange (now Baxter) and Chatham Streets, and
the General and Governor with the civic procession made their
public entry in the following order :
1. A corps of Dragoons.
2. Advance Guard of Light Infantry.
3. A corps of Artillery.
4. Battalion of Light Infantry.
5. Battalion of Massachusetts Troop.
6. Rear Guard.
The General and Governor with the Civic Procession made
their public entry in the following order :

21
1. Their Excellencies the General and Governor, with their suites, on
horseback.
2. Lieutenant-Governor and the members of the Council for the tem
porary government of the Southern district, four abreast.
3. Major-General Knox and the officers of the army, eight abreast.
4. Citizens on horseback, eight abreast.
5. The Speaker of the Assembly and Citizens on foot, eight abreast.
Washington and Clinton were escorted by a body of West
chester light-horse under the command of Captain Delavan.
Tranquillity and order prevailed throughout the day.
In the evening Governor Clinton gave a public dinner at
Fraunces' Tavern, still standing at the corner of Broad and
Pearl Streets, at which the Commander in Chief and other gen
eral officers were present. After dinner the following toasts
were drank :
1. The United States of America.
2. His Most Christian Majesty.
3. The United Netherlands.
4. The King of Sweden.
5. The American Army.
6. The Fleet and Army of France which have served in America.
7. The Memory of those Heroes who have Fallen for our Freedom.
8. May our Country be grateful to her Military Children.
9. May Justice support what Courage has gained.
10. The vindicators of the Rights of Mankind in every Quarter of the
Globe.
11. May America be an Asylum to the persecuted of the Earth.
12. May a close Union of the States guard the Temple they have erected
to Liberty.
13. May the Remembrance of This Day be a Lesson to Princes.
Washington and Clinton were the recipients of many con
gratulatory addresses from returning exiles and citizens. In
reply to one of these Washington, on the 20th of November,
gave expression to the following sentiments :
"May the Tranquillity of your City be perpetual ; may the Ruins soon be
repaired, commerce flourish, science be fostered, and all the civil and social

22
virtues be cherished, in the same illustrious manner which formerly reflected
so much credit on the Inhabitants of New York. In fine, may every species
of Felicity attend you, gentlemen, and your worthy fellow-citizens."
Festivities continued throughout the city. Cape's * Tavern
was the scene of uninterrupted enthusiasm for several days.
On the 28th an entertainment was there given to the Governor
and Council and also to General Washington and the army.
About three hundred gentlemen were present.
On December 2d, another entertainment was given at the
same place by the Governor to His Christian Majesty's am
bassador, the Chevalier de la Luzerne. Washington and about
one hundred gentlemen were present. In the evening there
was a grand display of fireworks on the Bowling Green in cele
bration of the Definitive Treaty of Peace, the first being pre
ceded by a dove descending with the olive branch, which com
municated the fire to a marron battery.
On Thursday, the 4th of December, Washington bade his
officers farewell. Those who had remained in the city assembled
that day at Fraunces' Tavern t to take final leave of their illus-
* Cape's Tavern, which stood on the site of the present Boreel Building,
corner of Thames Street and Broadway, was the famous public house of the
city before and during the Revolution. It had been the city residence of Gov
ernor De Lancey, and with its large stables, proximity to the ferries and to
the great eastern highway, was an admirable tavern site. Here, in 1754, a
noted host, Edward Willett, opened with the sign of the Province Arms, and
under the name of the York Arms, the City Arms, and later the State Arms, it
was well known. It must be remembered that in the old days taverns were
known by their signs, which accounts for their various designations. At the
beginning of the Revolution it was kept by one Hicks, who was succeeded by
Roubalet and Cape. After the war the famous City Hotel was here erected.
The Boreel Building now occupies the site.
f Fraunces' Tavern, now called Washington's Headquarters, stands at
the junction of Pearl and Broad Streets, and is at present kept by Jacob Etzel.
Built about 1710, by one of the De Lanceys, it was afterward purchased by
Fraunces, and has since 1762 been without interruption a house of entertain
ment. The house was originally two and a half stories high. In olden times
a handsome staircase led to the principal room. The Exchange was close
by, and from the records of that day we find that the tavern was frequented
by business men, and that sales of real estate were made there in addition to
transaction of other matters of general public importance. On the second

23
trious commander. The event was as impressive as the gather
ing was remarkable. " The passions of human nature," says a
writer, " were never more tenderly agitated than in this inter
esting and distressful scene." His Excellency, having filled a
glass of wine, thus addressed his brave colleagues : " With a
heart full of love and gratitude I now take leave of you : I most
devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and
happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable."
I This utterance was received in solemn silence. Having
drank, he added : " I cannot come to each of you to take my
leave, but shall be obliged if each of you will come and take
me by the hand."
Fervent wishes were expressed for the General's future. In
a letter published on the 6th of December of that year in the
Pennsylvania Packet, the following additional details of Wash
ington's leavetaking are thus given : " General Knox, who stood
nearest to him [General Washington], turned and grasped his
hand, while the tears flowed over the cheeks of each. The Com
mander in Chief kissed him. This he did to each of his officers,
while tears and sobs stifled utterance." Soon after, in most
affectionate terms, the Governor, the Council, and a large num
ber of citizens of distinction also bade his Excellency adieu. A
corps of light infantry was drawn up in line about two o'clock,
and Washington soon afterwards passed through them on his
way to Whitehall, where he embarked in his barge for Powles'
Hook, N. J., now Jersey City. With this act, Washington's
military career in the Revolution ceased. In due course, he
arrived at Annapolis, resigned his commission as General of the
United States Army, and retired to his home at Mount Vernon,
carrying with him the proud encomium of being " first in war,
first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."
floor, in what was known as the "long room," Washington took leave of his
officers. In this room the New York Chamber of Commerce was organized in
1768. It has five windows overlooking Broad and Pearl Streets.

24
Such were the interesting events which the citizens of New
York commemorated on Monday the 26th November, 1883, under
the direction of a joint Committee of the Common Council, the
Historical Society, and the Chamber of Commerce, whose report
is contained in the following pages.

PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS

PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS

The New York Historical Society
At the meeting of the first of November, 1881, the attention of
the Society was called to the subject of an appropriate celebration
by the Society of the Centennial Anniversary of the Evacuation of
New York by the British, and the Executive Committee was
charged with its consideration.
At the meeting of the second of May, 1882, the Executive
Committee reported the following resolution, which was unanimously
adopted by the Society :
Resolved, That a communication be addressed by the Society to
the Mayor and Common Council of this city, calling attention to
the approach of the Centennial Anniversary of the Evacuation of
the City of New York by the British troops, November 25, 1783,
reciting the historic importance of that event, as closing the War of
Independence, and expressing the desire of the Society to co-oper
ate with the public authorities in a suitable celebration of its cen
tennial anniversary.
On the ninth of May Mr. Edward F. De Lancey, the Domestic
Corresponding Secretary of the Society, transmitted an attested copy
of this resolution to the Corporation of New York City, with the
following letter : May 9, 1882.
To the Hon. William B. Grace,
Mayor of the City of New York :
Sir : I have the honor to lay before you herewith an attested
copy of a resolution unauimously adopted at the stated meeting of
the New York Historical Society, held on May 2, 1882, calling the
attention of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the City of
New York to the approaching Centennial Anniversary of the Evac
uation of New York by the British army on the 25th day of No
vember, 1783 ; and directing a communication on the historic im
portance of that event, and expressive of the desire of the Society to
co-operate in an appropriate celebration of it, with the Mayor and

28
Common Council, to be addressed to your Honor and the City au
thorities. The striking event of the Evacuation of New York marked the
end of Great Britain's power in all the colonies she had founded in
North America, as well as in the Colony and City of New York.
That colony and city wrested by Great Britain from the Dutch in
1664, was, after a possession of one hundred and nineteen years save
a few months, wrested from her by descendants of the same Dutch,
and the French and English who had made New York their home,
in consequence of her denying them those inherent rights and privi
leges as English subjects under which they had become prosperous
and strong, and undertaking by force to compel obedience to the
unconstitutional and tyrannic acts of her Sovereign and her Parlia
ment. From July 9, 1776, the day New York, by vote of her Provin
cial Congress at White Plains, accepted the Declaration of Inde
pendence, until July 26, 1788, when she ratified the Constitution
of the United States, New York existed as a free, sovereign, and in
dependent State, and as such united with the other independent
American States of British origin, in resisting British oppression,
and struggling for true Anglo-Saxon liberty.
The united and heroic efforts of these thirteen sovereignties, un
consciously favored by the inertness, corruptions and jealousies of
the British commanders which transformed friends to enemies, and
aided by the great fleets and armies of France, were crowned with
complete success, and the power of England in America south of the
St. Lawrence and ancient Acadia was extinguished forever.
While a portion of the British Empire, no part of it was truer to
the Crown than New York ; while an independent State, no sover
eignty was more loyal to her own people and to her sister sovereign
ties than New York ; when she became one of the United States,
and up to this houi', not one of them, in peace or in war, whether
foreign or civil, has been more loyal to the Union and given to it
greater and more unstinted support than New York.
Happy for America, and as time has shown, happy for England,
was the establishment of the independence of the thirteen North
American provinces. The former has become a nation of imperial
power and one of the greatest of the earth. The latter, freed for
ever from the questions settled by the American war, has become
the mistress of the grandest and richest colonial empire the world
has ever seen, while her home power and influence has grown
greater and more consolidated than it ever was before.

29
These two Anglo-Saxon nations, practically one in language,
law and liberty, wield now the snpremest power in Christendom, and
their capitals, New York and London, greatest of modern cities,
each the heart of a hemisphere, dominate the intelligence, the
finances, and thecommerce of the world.
It is fitting, therefore, that New York, which, in her infancy a
century ago, witnessed the great final event of that protracted con
test, the issue of which has been of such untold benefit to the con
querors and the conquered, should now, in this day of her imperial
grandeur and influence, celebrate the hundredth anniversary of that
event in a manner worthy of the occasion — of herself, of the State,
and of the nation — and which shall also be expressive of her grati
tude and her pride. It will fitly and gracefully close the series of
centennial celebrations of the memorable events of the American
Revolution, which begun at Boston and at Philadelphia, have con
tinued at different places throughout the land, and will terminate
most appropriately at New York.
The Historical Society, in accordance with the objects of its in
stitution, and in furtherance of the object of this communication,
expresses its desire to co-operate with the Mayor and Common
Council in a proper celebration of the 25th of November, 1883, and
respectfully ask that such action be promptly taken as will be
effective and insure the end proposed.
By order of the Society,
Edward F. De Lancey,
Domestic Corresponding Secretary.
At the meeting of the sixth of February, 1883, Mr. De Lancey
submitted the following report: New Yokk, February 6, 1883.
Mr. President:
Since the last meeting of the Society I have received through
Francis J. Twomey, the Clerk of the Common Council, a certified
copy of the preamble and two resolutions adopted by the Board of
Aldermen in response to the communication addressed by me, by
order of the Society, to the Hon. William R. Grace, Mayor of New
York, on the ninth of May last, and reported to the Society at its
June meeting, calling the attention of the Mayor, Aldermen, and
Commonalty to the importance of the approaching centennial
anniversary of the evacuation of this city by the British army on
the 25th of November, 1783, and covering an attested copy of the
resolution adopted by this Society on the second of May, 1882,

30
expressive of the desire of the Society to co-operate with the Mayor
and Common Council in a proper celebration of that event.
The communication and resolution were transmitted by the
Mayor on the sixteenth of May, 1882, to the Board of Aldermen,
who ordered them printed in full on_ their minutes and in the
City- Record, and referred to a Special Committee.
Owing to the long summer vacation, and the important business
necessarily incident to the autumnal elections, the Committee were
unable to act prior to the expiration of the term of the Board in
December last. On the organization of the new Board in January,
1883, Alderman John Cochrane, of the Twenty-first District, re
ported the preamble and resolutions above mentioned, which, on his
motion, were adopted, with only a single dissenting vote.
Subsequently to the above-stated action of this Society, the
Chamber of Commerce also asked the city authorities to celebrate
the Evacuation, which explains the reference to that body in the
resolutions, which are as follows:
[These resolutions appear in the Proceedings of the Common
Council.] It is now necessary for the Society to appoint a Committee to act
with the civic authorities on the subject, and the following resolu
tion is herewith offered :
Resolved, That the President of this Society be authorized to
appoint a Committee of thirteen, to consist of himself and twelve
other members of the Soeiety, of which he shall be the Chairman, to
co-operate with the Committee of the Common Council, of which the
Hon. John Cochrane is the Chairman, in arranging for a proper
centennial celebration, on Monday, November 26, 1883 (the 25th
falling on Sunday), of the evacuation of New York by the British
army and the taking possession of the city by the American army,
on the 25th of November, 1783.
Edward F. De Lancey,
Domestic Corresponding Secretary.
This resolution was adopted, and the following Committee ap
pointed : Augustus Schell, Chairman,
Edward F. De Lancey, Robert E. Livingston,
Hamilton Fish, Cornelius Vanderbilt,
Royal Phelps, Rutherfurd Stuyvesant,
George H. Moore, John McKesson,
John A. King, James M. Varnum,
Andrew Warner, Cornelius N. Bliss.

31
Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York
At a meeting held on the second of November, 1882, the follow
ing communication was read from Mr. John Austin Stevens, calling
the attention of the Chamber to ¦ the steps taken by the Municipal
authorities for the Centennial Celebration of the Evacuation of the
City by the British troops at the close of the Revolution, on the 25th
November, 1783 : New Yokk, November 1, 1882.
Mr. George W. Lane,
President of the Chamier of Commerce.
Dear Sir : It is my agreeable duty, by request, to invite your
attention to the approaching anniversary of the crowning event of
the American Revolution — the evacuation of this City by the Brit
ish troops, on the 25th November, 1783.
For seven years New York had been in the occupation of the
enemy ; for seven years her patriotic sons had followed the varying
fortunes of the war. On this eventful day the victorious American
troops, headed by their illustrious chief and accompanied by the
civil authorities, marched into the City to receive the formal sur
render of the British commander.
In their ranks were many of the members of this Corporation,
who had abandoned their peaceful pursuits and taken arms in de
fence of their constitutional rights; and with them others who,
after many years of exile and privation, returned to find their homes
injured or destroyed and their occupations gone. Behind them
was a past of suffering and distress ; before them a scene of ruin and
desolation — a city stripped of its trade ; sections swept away by de
vastating conflagrations ; a population in utter destitution of even
the necessaries of life. Yet, these brave men counted the material
loss as nothing in consideration of the freedom they had gained.
With the same untiring energy which had brought the war to a
glorious close, they set themselves to the task of restoration and re
pair. Freed from the shackles with which the policy of the mother
country had encumbered trade, the commerce of the young nation
developed with astonishing rapidity, and before the close of the
century New York had asserted her supremacy as the chief com
mercial city of the country, and had established permanent relations
with every quarter of the globe.
It has been the habit of this Chamber to join in such public
proceedings as have marked or celebrated important events in our
history. It had distinguished representation in the Federal Proces
sion of 1 789 ; at the Canal Celebration in 1825 ; the introduction

32
of the Croton in 1842; the Ocean-Cable Jubilee in 1858 ; all of
peculiar concern to commerce. Nor has it been less earnest in its
sympathy with the national movements in our subsequent history.
The evacuation of 1783 will be celebrated on the 25th Novem
ber, of the coming year, with the ceremony due to its importance,
by the Nation, the State, and the City, and New York will be the
scene of a patriotic and civil pageant unequaled in its annals. It
is fitting that this ancient Corporation should be represented on the
occasion. I beg leave, Mr. President, to submit the following resolutions :
Whereas, The Mayor and Common Council of New York have
taken preliminary proceedings for a suitable commemoration of the
evacuation of this city by the British troops on the 25th day of
November, 1783, the final act of the long struggle for American
Independence ; and,
Whereas, It is eminently fitting that the Chamber of Commerce,
instituted in the Colonial period and reorganized immediately after
the peace by its patriotic members, many of whom were actors as
citizens and soldiers in the scenes of the Revolution, should take a
becoming part in the celebration of an event of such interest in the
history of the nation and of the commerce of the United States ;
therefore, Resolved, That a Committee of thirteen, of which the President
of the Chamber shall be Chairman, be appointed to confer and co
operate with the municipal authorities in the proposed celebration.
Very truly yours,
John Austin Stevens.
The preamble and resolutions were referred to the Executive
Committee, and reported back at the meeting of the seventh of De
cember by Mr. Charles S. Smith, their Chairman, as having received
unanimous approval of the Committee. They were thereupon
unanimously adopted by the Chamber, and the following Committee
appointed : George W. Lane, Chairman,
A. A. Low, William H. Fogg,
William E. Dodge, John Austin Stevens,
Samuel D. Babcock, Cyrus W. Field,
S. B. Chittenden, Charles S. Smith,
James M. Brown, Frederick L. Falcott,
Solon Humphreys, A. Gracie King.

33
Common Council of City of New York
At the stated session of the Board of Aldermen of the sixteenth
of May, 1882, the following message from his Honor the Mayor was
laid before it by the President: Mayor's Office, New Yobk, May 16, 1882.
To the Honorable the Board of Aldermen:
I herewith transmit a communication received from the New
York Historical Society, relative to a celebration on the 25th of
November, 1883, of the centennial anniversary of the evacuation of
New York by the British army.
W. R. Grace,
Mayor.
This communication appears in the proceedings of the Society,
ante, pp. 27-29.
The communication was to be printed in the minutes of the
Board and published in full in the City Record, and on motion of
Alderman Waite the subject was referred to a special committee.
Mr. Saner, the President, appointed a Committee of seven, of
which Mr. Charles B. Waite was named chairman. The Committee
was never called together, and expired with the Board of 1882.
At the stated session of the Board of Aldermen of the ninth
of January, 1883, the Hon. John Cochrane, Alderman, introduced
the following preamble and resolutions, which were adopted :
Whereas, The City of New York, at the outbreak of the Revo
lution, the Capital of the Province of New York, and the fourth
commercial city of the thirteen colonies was, in the summer of
1776, the second year of the war, after the disastrous battle of Long
Island captured by the British together with the remainder of the
island of New York — notwithstanding a temporary check opposed in
the gallant action at Harlem and the defence of Fort Washington —
whereupon the entire territory became the fortified headquarters of
the British standing forces in America ; occupied by a large army
and protected by a formidable fleet ; and
Whereas, The City of New York was, at the time of its capture
by the British, a well-ordered and well-built city with elegant public
edifices, commodious dwellings and warehouses ; the home of an in
dustrious and thriving population ; and
Whereas, The seven years of British occupation was one uninter
rupted period of disaster, during which the sufferings incident to a

34
military occupation were aggravated by conflagrations which de
stroyed nearly one-third of the city, including churches and public
buildings, which were left to smoulder in their ruins, while large
numbers of dwelling-houses which escaped the flames, deserted
by their patriotic owners, were defaced and injured beyond repair;
and Whereas, The City of New York has ou many and critical occasions
shown her devotion to the cause of liberty, and resisted British op
pression — among others, namely : When her citizens, refusing to
submit to the Stamp Act, forced the Royal Governor to surrender
the stamps to the keeping of the city authorities ; when, in opposi
tion to the acts of Parliament restrictive of colonial commerce, she,
alone, of the cities which entered into the Non-Importation Agree
ment, adhered to the compact ; in the determination of her people
in public mass meeting to prevent the unloading of the tea ship,
which on its arrival was compelled to return with unbroken cargo ;
in the instantaneous uprising of her citizens in April, 1775, upon
the news of the battle of Lexington, when they seized the arms and
munitions of war, set aside the Royal authority, and appointed a
Committee of Safety for their own government ; in their hearty ad
hesion to the Declaration of Independence, ratified by the Provincial
Convention, and proclaimed in the streets of the city, under the
guns of a British fleet which covered the bay, and in hourly expec
tation of an attack by land and water ; and, finally, by the extensive
and voluntary enlistment of her sons in the Continental army,
where they served in rank and file from the beginning to the close
of the war ; and
Whereas, The simultaneous evacuation of the City of New York
by the British troops on the 25th day of November, 1783, and its formal
occupation by the army of the United States with General Wash
ington, the Commander in Chief, attended by General George
Clinton, the Governor of the State of New York, at its head — was to
the city the final act of release, as it was to the nation the final
act in its struggle for independence ; and
Whereas, By the beneficent freedom from the oppressive and
restrictive legislation of Great Britain which that independence
assured, and the consequent enormous development of the commerce
of the United States, the City of New York has been enabled to
realize its great natural advantages and to become not only the
metropolitan city through which seven-tenths of the entire com
merce of the country passes, but the chief commercial port of the
world; therefore,

35
Resolved, That New York holds in grateful memory the illus
trious men who secured the independence of the States by their coun
sel and their arms, and cherishes with measureless attachment the
Union that brought together the discordant fragments of the Sea
board Confederation, and welded them into a national empire whose
power and population now stretch from sea to sea across the con
tinent ; and, therefore, in public acknowledgment of that gratitude
and attachment, it is hereby
Resolved, That the City of New York will duly celebrate Mon
day, the twenty-sixth day of November, 1883 (the 25th falling on
Sunday), as the Centennial Anniversary of the day of municipal
deliverance and the beginning of an era of cosmopolitan grandeur,
and that it respectfully requests the Legislature of the State to de
clare it a legal holiday ; and invites the citizens, as individuals and
in such corporate capacities as the State has conferred upon them,
to make preparations to join in the ceremonies which may be here
after appointed for the occasion, and that a Committee of Nine be
appointed by the President of the Board with authority to prepare,
direct, and take charge of the same, to accept the offered co-opera
tion therein of the Historical Society and the Chamber of Com
merce of the City, and to invite other bodies elsewhere, private or
corporate, civil or military.
The President appointed the following Aldermen as such Com
mittee : John Cochrane, Chairman,
William P. Kirk, Robert E. De Lacy,
Edward T. Fitzpatrick, Edward Duffy,
Hugh J. Grant, Henry W. Jaehne,
Charles B. Waite, John C. O'Connor, Jr.
These resolutions were returned by the Mayor, on the eleventh
January, 1883, without approval or objection, therefore, as provided
in Sect. 11, Chap. 335, Laws of 1873, the same became adopted.
Note. — It will be observed, that while the Historical Society and
Chamber of Commerce appointed committees of thirteen, that of
the Board of Aldermen was limited to nine. This inequality was
corrected by the formation of a Committee of Fifteen, composed of
five delegates from each body. This Committee was entitled the
General Committee.

MINUTES AND REPORTS

MINUTES AND REPORTS

GENERAL COMMITTEE OF FIFTEEN
Common Council — Historical Society — Chamber of Commerce
First Meeting
On Friday, the ninth of February, 1883, pursuant to the call
of Hon. John Cochrane, Chairman of the Committee of the Common
Council, delegates from the three Committees, namely, of the Com
mon Council, the Chamber of Commerce, aud the Historical Society,
met at the rooms of the Chamber of Commerce, No. 63 William
Street, at 3 o'clock p.m.
General Cochrane was called to the chair, and John Austin
Stevens was requested to act as Secretary.
Alderman Cochrane presented the names of the gentlemen
delegated by the Committee of the Common Council to act in their
name. They were — Cochrane, Fitzpatrick, Grant, Duffy, O'Connor.
Mr. Royal Phelps presented the names of the gentlemen delegated
by the Committee of the Historical Society, viz., Phelps, De Lancey,
King, Varnum, Bliss.
Mr. George W. Lane presented the names of the gentlemen
similarly delegated by the Committee of the Chamber of Com
merce, viz., Lane, Humphreys, Fogg, Stevens, King.
The roll was called, and the following answered their names :
Common Council — Cochrane, Fitzpatrick, Grant, Duffy, O'Con
nor. Historical Society — Phelps, De Lancey, Varnum, Bliss.
Chamber of Commerce — Lane, Fogg, Stevens.
Twelve of the delegates being present, a permanent organization
was formed.
On motion, the Hon. John Cochrane was chosen permanent
Chairman, and John Austin Stevens, permanent Secretary.
The Chairman presented a letter from the New York Command-

40
ery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States,
dated the eighth of February, 1883, covering the following resolution :
Resolved, That a Committee of Five be appointed by the Commandery to
confer with the appropriate Committee of the Common Council, and arrange
the necessary preliminaries for a participation by this Commandery, and report
the same in sufficient season for definite action.
The Committee of Five named consisted of :
Judge-Advocate Major Asa B. Gardiner, U. S. A.
Brevet Major-General Martin T. McMahon, U. S. V.
Brevet Major-General Alexander S. Webb, late U. S. A.
Captain Henry Erben, U. S. N.
Major-General Henry E. Davies, II. S. A.
The offer of the Commandery was accepted, and, on motion,
the Committee were appointed honorary members of the General
Committee. Of this Committee, Messrs. Gardiner, McMahon and Erben ap
peared. On motion, it was resolved to invite the New York Society of
the Order of the Cincinnati to participate in the celebration, and
that honorary membership be extended to such Committee of Five
as they may delegate.
On motion, it was resolved that eight members of the Commit
tee of Fifteen constitute a quorum.
The followiug Standing Committees were appointed:
Executive Committee of Nine
Common Council — Cochrane, O'Connor, Fitzpatrick.
Chamber of Commerce — Lane, King, Stevens.
Historical Society — Schell, Varnum, Bliss.
Finance Committee of Five
Cochrane, Lane, Schell, Vanderbilt, Stuyvesant. '
Sub-Committees of Detail
To consist of three members, with power to add two to their num
ber from the General Committee.
Committee on Legislature — Cochrane, De Lancey and Varnum.
Committee on Congress — Fogg, Humphreys, John A. King.
Committee on Co-operation of Citizens of the State and City —
A. G. King, Cochrane, Stevens.
Committee on Arrangements — Varnum, Stevens, Smith.

41
Ordered, that the General Committee of Fifteen meet at the call
of the Chair.
Ordered, that the Executive Committee of Nine meet on the first
Monday in each month, or at the call of the Chairman of each of
the sub-committees.
Ordered, that the Secretary publish the minutes of this Com
mittee. The Committee then adjourned.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF NINE
First Meeting
Monday, May 7, 1883.
The Executive Committee met at the rooms of the Chamber
of Commerce, at three o'clock. Present :
mon Council — Cochrane.
Chamber of Commerce — Lane, King, Stevens.
Historical Society — Phelps, Varnum, Bliss.
General Cochrane in the Chair. Mr. Stevens, Secretary.
The minutes of the Committee of Fifteen were read for informa
tion. Mr. Phelps announced that he appeared at the request of Mr.
Schell, who had recently sailed for Europe, and in behalf of the
New York Historical Society.
Mr. Cochrane reported from the Sub-Committee on the Legis
lature, that they had prepared a Memorial, of which the following
is a copy :
Memorial to the Legislature
To the Legislature of the State of New. YorTc in Senate and As
sembly convened :
This Memorial of the Common Council of the City of New
York, the New York Historical Society and the Chamber of Com
merce of the State of New York, respectfully showeth :
That the Honorable the Common Council of the City of New
York, on the ninth day of January, 1883, by a vote of all its members,
with one exception, adopted the following resolution for a com
memoration of the one hundredth anniversary of the Evacuation of
the City of New York by the British army:

42
"Resolved, That the City of New York will duly celebrate Monday, the
twenty-sixth day of November, 1883 (the 25th falling on Sunday), as the Cen
tennial anniversary of the day of municipal deliverance, and the beginning of
an era of cosmopolitan grandeur, and that it respectfully requests the Legis
lature of the State to declare it a legal holiday ; and invites the citizens, as in
dividuals and in such corporate capacities as the State has conferred upon thein,
to make preparations to join in the ceremonies which may hereafter be appointed
for the occasion.''
The New York Historical Society adopted and communicated a
resolution, in May last, to the Mayor and Common Council, express
ing its desire to co-operate with the civic authorities, in a centennial
celebration of the Evacuation of New York ; and the Chamber of
Commerce of New York having, in December last, also expressed its
desire to co-operate in such a celebration, the assistance of these two
old and well-known corporate bodies was accepted by the Common
Council, and a Joint General Committee, composed of a Speoial
Committee of the Common Council, of which the Hon. John Coch
rane is Chairman, and Special Committees of the Historical Society
and the Chamber of Commerce, of which the Presidents of those
corporations respectively, the Hon. Augustus Schell and Mr. George
W. Lane, are the Chairmen, was appointed to prepare, direct, and
take charge of the proposed celebration. By the authority of this
Joint General Committee your memorialists respectfully represent
that the day which it is proposed to celebrate is of peculiar interest
in the history of the State ; it witnessed the deliverance of the soil of
New York from the occupation of the British army ; the completion
of its independent sovereignty; the restoration to its possession of its
ancient capital, and was, moreover, the final and triumphant day of
the heroic struggle for independence which made America a nation.
Your memorialists respectfully and warmly desire the co-opera
tion of the Supreme Government of the State in the proposed cele
bration, and hereby earnestly request the presence and participation
of His Excellency the Governor, His Honor the Lieutenant-Gov
ernor, and the two Honorable Houses of the Legislature, in order
that the ceremonies of the day may comport with the greatness of
the occasion and the dignity, grandeur and honor of this imperial
State. Your memorialists therefore pray your Honorable bodies that
there may be passed an act designating Monday, the 26th day of
November, 1883, as a public holiday in the City and County of
New York, an act empowering the proper authorities of the City of
New York to provide the means and defray the expenses of the pro-

43
posed celebration under proper safeguards, and any further act in
the premises that to your Honorable bodies may seem meet.
And your memorialists will ever pray, etc.
New Yoke, February 6t7i, 1883.
This Memorial was presented to the Assembly, with an enacting
bill, by Colonel Murphy, and reported favorably. Before the final
passage of the bill, the clause appropriating a sum for the expenses
of the celebration was stricken out. In this form it went to the
Senate, where it was passed, and it has received the approval of the
Executive.* By this action the State simply authorizes that Mon
day, the 26th November next, be considered a legal holiday for the
City and County of New York.
General Cochrane also reported, on behalf of the Committee on
Congress, that information being received that all the bills were
made up, any effort to secure an appropriation from that body was
of necessity abandoned.
The Committee on Arrangements were directed to apply to the
proper authorities to secure a military parade of the First Division
of the New York State Militia, and to invite the co-operation of the
military and naval authorities of the General Government therein.
The Committee adjourned to the third Monday in September,
at three o'clock.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF NINE
Second Meeting
Monday, October 15, 1883.
The Executive Committee met at the Rooms of the Chamber
of Commerce, at three o'clock. Present :
Common Council — Cochrane, O'Connor.
Chamber of Commerce — Stevens.
New York Historical Society — Varnum, Bliss.
The Hon. John Cochrane in the chair. Mr. Stevens, Secretary.
The Chairman announced that as no definite answer had been
received to the communication addressed to the military officials of
the State, in reference to a review of the military by the Governor,
the meeting ordered for the third Monday in September, at said
date, he had postponed the same.
* This announcement was erroneous. See Minutes of next meeting.

41
The minutes of the first meeting of the Executive Committee
were read and approved.
General Cochrane informed the Committee that though correct
as to record, the minutes were incorrect as to fact. That he had
been misinformed as to the action of the Legislature upon the Me
morial addressed to it. That the Legislature had not declared the
26th November next a public holiday, as requested. He had pre
viously reported that they had failed to make any appropriation for
the purposes of the celebration ordered by the Common Council.
The Chairman announced the resignation from the delegation of
the Chamber of Commerce, of Mr. A. Gracie King.
The Chairman appointed Mr. Wm. H. Fogg, of the Chamber of
Commerce Committee, to the vacancy on the Executive Committee
caused by Mr. King's resignation.
The Committee of Arrangements reported as follows :
In obedience to the directions of the Executive Committee at its
first meeting, Col. Varnum Chairman, on the sixth of September
addressed a letter to the Adjutant-General of the State, asking the
intentions of the Governor with regard to a review of the National
Guard in the City of New York on the 26th of November, to which
the following reply was received :
General Headquarters, State op New York,
Adjutant-General's Office, Albany, September 12, 1883.
Colonel James M. Varnum, New York City.
Colonel : Your letter of the sixth instant, asking if the Governor
would not decide to hold a review of the First Division of the Na
tional Guard in the City of New York on the 26th of November
next, the day selected for the Centennial Celebration of the Evacu
ation of that City, has been received and laid before him, and in re
ply I would state that, although he feels disposed to act in accord
ance with your request, he cannot at this early date positively prom
ise to do so. After the Governor has had an opportunity to more
fully consider his future official engagements I will give you a more
definite answer. I have the honor to be,
Very respectfully yours,
J. G. Farnsworth,
A djutant- General.
No further communication having been received from the Gov
ernor or the military authorities, the Committee of Arrangements,
in the name of the Joint Committee, on the third October, addressed
the following Memorial to His Excellency the Governor :

45
Memorial to the Governor
May it please your Excellency :
This Memorial of the Joint Committee of the Common Council,
the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York and the New
York Historical Society on the Centennial Celebration of the
Evacuation by the British of the City of New York, November 25th,
1783, respectfully represents :
That the simultaneous evacuation of the city by the British and
its formal occupation by the army of the United States, with General
Washington, the Commander in Chief, attended by General George
Clinton, the Governor of the State, at its head, on the day afore
named, was to the State and City of New York the final act of re
lease from foreign occupation, and to the Nation the closing scene
in the struggle for Independence.
That to the beneficent freedom then secured, the United States
owes the enormous development of its industry and commerce ;
the State of New York the realization of its advantages as the
natural highway between the interior and the seaboard, and the City
of New York its prosperity as the commercial metropolis of the
continent. Moved by these considerations and mindful of its municipal
duty, the Common Council of the City of New York, on the ninth of
January last, resolved to celebrate on Monday, the 26th of Novem
ber (the 25th falling on Sunday), the Centennial Anniversary of
this memorable event, and invited the citizens as individuals and in
such corporate capacities as the State has conferred upon them,
and in their several organizations, civil and military, to join in such
ceremonies as should be appointed for the occasion.
The Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York and the
New York Historical Society, which had already declared their
purpose to commemorate the event, appointed Committees from
their respective bodies to co-operate with the Committee of the Com
mon Council.
These several Committees uniting together on the 9th February
last, addressed a Memorial to the Legislature of the State, praying
its honorable bodies to declare the day a public holiday ; invited
your Excellency and themselves to be present at such ceremonies
as might be ordered; and in accordance with the law of the State,
governing municipal expenditures, also prayed for the passage of
an act to empower the proper authorities of the City of New York
to provide means for and to defray the necessary charges incident
to the proposed celebration. No appropriation of money was asked

46
from the State, although your petitioners were aware that sums had
been appropriated by the Legislature from the General Fund of the
State for similar purposes in other localities. Your memorialists
regret to say that the Legislature did not see fit in its wisdom to
grant their petition, and have disregarded the patriotic desires of
the representative bodies of the chief city of the State within whose
limits and suburbs reside one-third of its population.
Failing in this effort to secure the countenance and support of
the Legislature of the State, but still unwilling to disappoint the
just expectations of their fellow-citizens, your petitioners now ap
peal, in their behalf, to your Excellency for such action as lays
within the scope of the powers of the Executive — civil and military.
With all of its civil significance, the event to be celebrated was
a military event, and it is fitting that a chief feature of its com
memoration should be military. A parade of the First and Second
Divisions of the National Guard of the State of New York, and their
review by your Excellency, will, in the opinion of your petitioners,
admirably comport with the dignity of the occasion. If your
petitioners can be assured that your Excellency will order such
parade and grace the same with your presence, they will cheerfully
proceed with the proposed arrangements.
On the sixth September last, a letter was addressed to the Ad
jutant-General of the State, requesting to know the pleasure of your
Excellency upon this matter, and on the twelfth a reply was received
from him, that, while disposed to act in accordance with the re
quest, your Excellency was not, at that time, prepared to give a
definite answer to it, but would so do at a later period.
Your petitioners now respectfully pray that your Excellency
will grant their request and acquaint them with your decision at
your earliest convenience, to the end that no further time may be
lost in making preparations for a celebration worthy of an event
which opened an era of imperial power to this State and of cos
mopolitan grandeur to this city.
And your memorialists will ever pray.
John Cochrane,
Chairman of General Committee.
John Austin Stevens, Secretary.
James M. Varnum, \ Committee
John Austin Stevens, j- of
Charles S. Smith, ) Arrangements.
New York, October 3, 1883.

47
To this memorial the following reply was received on the
eighteenth of October : .
General Headquarters, State of New York,
Adjutant-General's Office, Albany, October 8, 1883.
General John Cochrane,
Chairman of General Committee on the Celebration
of the Evacuation of New York City.
General : I am desired by Governor Cleveland to acknowledge
the receipt of the Memorial of your Committee, relative to the ob
servance of the Centennial Anniversary of the Evacuation of the
City of New York by the British, on the 26th of November next, and
to state, in reply, that the Governor, fully realizing the importance
of the event you propose to celebrate, has decided to review, with
his staff, on the day mentioned, a portion of the troops of the
National Guard, who, it is understood, are to parade in New York
City, and consisting, at least, of the First Division. Will you have
the goodness to inform me as to the details of the arrangements for
the celebration when completed ?
I am, General, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
J. G. Farnsworth,
Adjutant- General.
The Committee of Arrangements further reported that, in ac
cordance with the instructions of the Executive Committee, they
had addressed letters to the Honorable the Secretaries of War and
of the Navy, inviting their co-operation in the Celebration, request
ing that each arm of each branch of the service be represented
and salutes be ordered.
The Committee of Arrangements further reported the draft of a
letter of invitation to the President of the United States, as follows:
Centennial Celebration of the Evacuation by the British
of the City of New York, November 26, 1883.
Rooms of the Chamber of Commerce,
No. 63 William Street, New York, October 15, 1883.
To the President of the United States :
The Joint Committee of the Common Council of the City of New
York, the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York, and the
New York Historical Society, severally appointed to prepare, direct,
and take charge of the celebration with due ceremony of the one

48
hundredth anniversary of the evacuation of the city by the British,
on the 25th day of November, 1783, have -the honor to inform the
President that Monday, the 26th day of November next (the 25th
falling on Sunday), has been selected for such celebration ; that the
Governor of the State of New York has signified to the Committee
his intention to be present on the occasion, and personally to review
the National Guard of the State of New York.
The day which it is proposed thus to commemorate is significant
in the history of the United States as the final act in the liberation
of its territory from hostile occupation and the beginning of national
prosperity. On that day General George Washington, Commander
in Chief of the Continental Army, and General George Clinton,
Governor of the State of New York, entered the city at the head of
the American troops.
In remembrance of these interesting circumstances, and to the
end that the proceedings taken may be iuvested with the highest
dignity, the Committee respectfully request the presence of the
President on the occasion. The historio fitness of the presence of
the Chief Magistrate of the Nation needs no demonstration. Future
generations will look back upon this celebration as the solemn re-
assertion by our own of the joy expressed by our fathers a century
ago at the consummation of their freedom.
The Committee request an early intimation of the pleasure of
the President, and are, with profound respect,
John Cochrane, Chairman.
John Austin Stevens, Secretary.
The letter to the President was approved, ordered to be signed
and forwarded.
Drafts of letters of invitation to the Cabinet officers, the Presi
dent of the Senate, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the
United States, the United States Senators for the State of New
York, the Members of Congress representing the City of New York
and vicinity, 1st to 12th Districts, both inclusive, were submitted.
The drafts were approved, ordered to be signed and forwarded.
Drafts of letters of invitation to the Governors of the thirteen
original States, inviting them to be present with their respective
staffs, were submitted, approved, and ordered to be signed and for
warded. Drafts of letters to the chief officials of the State of New York,
viz., the Lieutenant-Governor, the Secretary of State, the Treasurer,
Comptroller, Attorney- General and the Chief Justice of the Court

49
of Appeals were submitted, approved, ordered to be signed and for
warded. Drafts of letters to the General and Lieutenant-General of the
United States Army and their staffs, to the Admiral and Vice-
Admiral of the United States Navy, the General commanding the
Department of the East, and the Commandant at the Navy Yard,
New York, and their staffs, were submitted, approved, ordered to
be signed and forwarded.
Drafts of letters to the several commercial associations of the
City, viz., the New York Produce Exchange, New York Stock Ex
change, New York Cotton Exchange, Maritime Association of New
York, New York Coffee Exchange, New York Petroleum Exchange,
New York Mining and National Petroleum Exchange, New York
Metal Exchange, and the New York Mercantile Exchange, request
ing to know whether it would be their pleasure to take part in the
celebration, were submitted, approved, ordered to be signed and for
warded. Drafts of letters to the New York Marine Society, the Tam
many Society or Columbian Order, the Geographical and Statisti
cal Society and the Archaeological and Numismatic Society, to
similar effect, were submitted, approved, ordered to be signed and
forwarded. The Secretary informed the Committee that a communication
had been received from the Hon. Hamilton Fish, President of the
New York Society of Cincinnati, naming Messrs. John Schuyler,
William H. Crosby, William Linn Keese, Alexander J. Clinton and
Matthew Clarkson, as delegates to represent the Institution. These
gentlemen are, in accordance with the resolution of the General
Committee of Fifteen, honorary members of the same.
The Secretary laid before the Committee a communication, dated
this day, from Judge- Advocate Asa Bird Gardiner, Chairman of a
stated meeting of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the
United States, held on the sixth of October, announcing the nomina
tion of Rear- Admiral Henry Walke, United States Navy, in place
of Captain Henry Erben, United States Navy, ordered to sea, and
of Major-General Alexander Shaler, United States Volunteers, as
an additional member. The letter was ordered on file.
The Committee further reported the result of an interview
held with Major-General Shaler, commanding the First Division,
N. G. S. N.Y., and an outline of a programme for the procession.
After some discussion, the report was ordered to be printed, and
its consideration postponed until the sense of the General Com-
4

50
mittee could be had. [The Report follows the Minutes of this
Meeting]. On motion of Colonel Varnum, Major-General Shaler was added
to the Executive Committee.
Letters were read from General H. A. Barnum, Chairman of the
Headquarters Committee of the Grand Army of the Republic, De
partment of New York, for the Centennial Celebration of Evacua
tion Day, with the names of the same ; General Henry A. Barnum,
Chairman, M. A. Reed, General James McQuade, Major Willard
Bullard, William McEntee, requesting a conference. Also a letter
from M. A. Reed, Secretary of the same organization, dated Octo
ber the twelfth, 1883, requesting that the Chairman be invited to
attend the next meeting of the Executive Committee.
The Chairman announced that he had invited the presence of
the entire Committee, and they were introduced ; whereupon Gen
eral Barnum explained the purpose of their Society, and engaged
full co-operation on their part.
On motion, the co-operation of the Grand Army was heartily
accepted, and the Committee on Arrangements was instructed to
•confer with the Committee of the Grand Army.
The subject of financial aid was discussed, and postponed until
the sense of the General Committee could be had.
Letters were read from Mr. Ringold W. Lardner, on behalf of
the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry, J. C. Kinney, Major
commanding the Governor's Foot Guard of Hartford, Connecticut,
and Mr. Francis D. Clark, on behalf of the Veterans of the Mexican
War, proposing to take part in the celebration.
Also a communication from the Hon. Algernon S. Sullivan, with
information of the appointment of a Committee by the Numismatic
and Archaeological Association to co-operate in the celebration, and
proposing the striking of a commemoration medal.
These communications were referred to the Committee on
Arrangements, with power.
On motion, the Chairman was requested to summon a meeting
of the Committee of the Whole for Wednesday, the seventeenth of
October, at three o'clock, and the Executive Committee adjourned
to the call of the Chair.
Report of the Committee of Arrangements
New York, October 15, 1883.
Your Committee of Arrangements, under your special instruc
tions at the last meeting of the Executive Committee, addressed a

51
memorial to the Governor asking information as to his intentions
with regard to a review of the National Guard on Evacuation Day.
In reply they were informed by the Adjutant-General of the
State that there would be a parade of the National Guard, includ
ing at least the First Division, on that day, and that the Governor
would, be present in person to review the same.
On receipt of this information your Committee prepared invita
tions to officials, national, State, and city, and also to various socie
ties, corporate and incorporate, requesting information as to whether
they proposed to take part in the ceremonies of the day.
These draft letters are herewith submitted for your action
thereon. Communications have also been received from several organiza
tions, military and civil, without the State, proposing participation
in the Celebration, which are also submitted herewith.
Your Committee have also had an interview with Major-Gen
eral Shaler, commanding the First Division, National Guard, who
expressed his desire and intention to further the purposes of the
Committee in every possible way.
A rough draft of the proposed order of procession, as prepared
after such consultation with him, is herewith submitted.
Your Committee will observe that this programme includes the
participation of visiting military. Major-General Shaler strongly
urged such participation, and suggested that invitations be ex
tended by you to the Second Division, National Guard, and the mili
tary of neighboring States. In this connection your Committee
beg leave to say that they have prepared letters (drafts of which
they submit) to the Secretaries of War and of the Navy of the
United States, requesting a representation of each branch of service
in their respective arms. If the military display be confined to the
First Division, Major-General Shaler will act as Grand Marshal of
the day, and appoint his own aids. If, however, other military or
ganizations attend, the appointment of a Grand Marshal will de
volve upon you ; and General Shaler intimated that the selection of
your honorable Chairman, General Cochrane, a veteran of the late
war, would be most acceptable to himself, his officers, and his com
mand. The participation of the visiting military, urged by General
Shaler, can only be invited by you ; and your Committee here beg
to observe that some courtesies must be extended to such as accept,
which will naturally involve some expenditure of money on the
part of the Joint Committee.

52
In this connection your Committee are assured that the exten
sive armory of the Seventh Regiment will be placed at your disposal
without charge for an evening reception to distinguished military
and civil guests ; and General Shaler gave the assurance that the
officers of the First Division would, if desired, assume its entire
management. The invitation, however, must be extended by or in
the name of the Joint Committee, and all the expenses incident
thereto must be provided for by such Joint Committee.
With regard to the desirability and expediency of such invita
tions and reception, your Sub-Committee have no opinion to ex
press, as the subject requires more consideration than they have
been able to give, and involves financial and other points which have
not yet been determined by you.
Should such invitations and reception' be decided upon, your
Committee respectfully request that inasmuch as their time will be
fully occupied with the details committed to them, a Special Com
mittee be appointed to take charge of this subject in all its forms,
financial and other.
In conclusion, your Committee beg to say that the ceremonies
incident to the unveiling of the Statue of Washington have not
been overlooked, and that it being represented to General Shaler
that the hour of one p.m. is fixed for that ceremony, he assured your
Committee that the review would be held at a point on Broadway in
close proximity to the Suh- Treasury, and would conclude in ample
time for participation in such ceremonies.
The line of march of the procession will be that taken by the
American Army in 1783.
Respectfully submitted. James M. Varnum, \ Committee
John Austin Stevens, l on
Charles S. Smith, j Arrangements
Celebration of the Evacuation of New York by the
British
Order of Procession
Grand Marshal.
Aides.Honorary Marshals.
Escort to the Marshals, on horseback.
The President.
The Governor.

"53
The Lieutenant-Governor of New York.
The President of the United States Senate.
The Chief Justice United States Supreme Court.
The Chief Justice New York Court of Appeals.
Members of the Cabinet.
State Officers of New York.
Governors of Original Thirteen States, and their Staffs.
General, Lieutenant-General, and General Hancock and Staff.
Admiral, Vice-Admiral, and Commandant of New York Navy
Yard, and Staff.
Members of the Joint Committee of the Celebration.
II.
Military
First Division National Guard, State of New York, under com
mand of Major-General Shaler.
Second Division National Guard, State of New York, or such
portion thereof as may be- present.
Visiting Military Organizations.
United States Army and Navy (on school or training ships).
III.
Military — Civic
Society of the Cincinnati.
Veterans of the War of 1812.
Veterans of the Mexican War.
Military Order of the Loyal Legion.
Grand Army of the Republic.
Veterans of the Civil War.
Sons of the Revolution. (Civic.) IV.
Civic
The Mayor.
The Common Council.
The Heads of City Departments.
The Judiciary — State, City and County.
Members of Senate and Assembly.
The Tammany Society or Columbian Order.
The New York Historical Society.
The Long Island Historical Society.

54
The Geographical and Statistical Society.
The Chamber of Commerce.
The Marine Society.
The New York Produce Exchange.
The New York Stock Exchange.
The New York Cotton Exchange.
The Maritime Association.
The New York Coffee Exchange.
The New York Petroleum Exchange.
The New York Mining and National Petroleum Exchange.
The Metal and Mining Exchange.
The Typographical Society.
Other Social, Political and Historical Clubs and Associations.
V.
Trades
Trade Associations in the order of their seniority.
Representatives of Trade generally.

FIRST MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
Wednesday, October 17, 1883.
In pursuance of the directions of the Executive Committee, a
meeting of the Committee of the Whole, consisting of the nine mem
bers appointed by the Common Council, the thirteen members ap
pointed by the Historical Society, and the thirteen members appointed
by the Chamber of Commerce, was held Wednesday, October the
seventeenth, at three o'clock.
The Hon. John Cochrane in the Chair. Mr. Stevens, Secretary.
Present :
Common Council — Cochrane, O'Connor.
Chamber of Commerce— Lane, Fogg, Stevens, Field.
New York Historical Society — Phelps, Varnum, Bliss.
{Honorary Members,) Society of the Cincinnati — Schuyler.
Loyal Legion — McMahon, Webb.
Letters of excuse for non-attendance, from Messrs. John A.
King, E. F. De Lancey, F. L. Talcott, S. D. Babcock and William
L. Keese, were read.
The call for the meeting was read and the following report sub
mitted.

55
Report of the Executive Committee to the Committee of
the Whole
The Common Council of the City of New York, in January last,
resolved to celebrate, on Monday, the 26th November next, the One
Hundredth Anniversary of the Evacuation of the City by the Brit
ish, and appointed a Committee to prepare, direct and take charge
of the same, and to accept the offered co-operation therein of the
Historical Society and the Chamber of Commerce of the City, and
to invite other bodies elsewhere, private or corporate, civil or mili
tary. The Committee appointed under this resolution consisted of
nine members. In response to this resolution the Chamber of Com
merce and the New York Historical Society, respectively, named
Committees of thirteen. In view of the inequality of these three
Committees, and in order to reduce them to a working number, the
Chairman of the Common Council Committee, after consultation
with those of the Chamber of Commerce and Historical Society,
summoned five delegates from each body to a meeting, which was
held on the ninth of February. This permanent General Committee
of Fifteen organized, with the election of General Cochrane as Chair
man, Mr. Stevens as Secretary, and appointed an Executive Com
mittee of Nine, a Finance Committee of Five, and Sub-Committees
on the Legislature, Congress, the Co-operation of the Citizens of the
State and City, and on Arrangements. At this meeting a Commi ttee
of five from the Loyal Legion were appointed honorary members, and
an invitation to the same to participate in its deliberations was ten
dered to the New York Society of the Cincinnati. This was later
accepted, and a Committee of five named by them. Later the Ex
ecutive Committee assumed the authority of inviting Major-General
Shaler, the officer who will command the New York troops on the
day of the celebration, to take part in their proceedings.
The several Committees thus appointed proceeded at once to
carry out the purposes confided to them. A memorial was addressed
to the Legislature, inviting their co-operation in the proposed cele
bration by the presence of the Governor and themselves, the designa
tion of the day as a public holiday, and the passage of an Act
empowering the authorities of the City of New York to provide the
means and defray the expenses of the celebration under proper safe
guards. You will remember that the municipal authorities of New
York are debarred by statute from appropriations of money for such
purposes without the authority of the Legislature first obtained.
The Executive Committee felt justified in their appeal for such

56
legislative enactment because they asked for no appropriation from
the general fund, though aware that appropriations from that fund,
one-third of which is raised by taxation from the inhabitants of this
city and vicinity, have been voted by the Legislature for similar
purposes in other localities of the State.
The Legislature failing to respond to this request, the Executive
Committee addressed a memorial to the Governor of the State, pray
ing him to take such action as lies within the power of the Execu
tive, civil and military, and as would comport with the dignity of
the occasion.
Information having been received from the Adjutant- General of
the State that the Governor will review the First Division of the
National Guard on Evacuation Day, the Executive Committee ad
dressed the President of the United States, the members of his Cabi
net, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States,
the United States Senators from the State of New York, the Mem
bers of Congress from New York City and vicinity, the chief State
officers of the State of New York, the Governors of the thirteen
original States, and the high officers of the Army and Navy, invit
ing their presence at the appointed ceremonies.
They also addressed letters to the various commercial and other
associations in the City of New York, asking whether they propose
to take any part in the celebration, in order that in such case a con
ference, with a view to a harmonious plan, may be had with the
associations thus disposed.
The proffered co-operation of the Veterans of the Mexican War
and of the Grand Army of the Republic has been accepted, as also
that of the City Troop of Philadelphia and the Governor's Foot
Guard of Hartford, both celebrated military organizations prior to
the Revolution.
The Committee of Arrangements have had a conference with
Major-General Shaler, and the general outlines of a programme were
discussed. Some of the suggestions of Major-General Shaler involve
questions, the solution of which the Executive Committee neither
feel competent or willing to assume. Presuming that the General
Committee of fifteen delegates would be equally unwilling to incur
such responsibility, or make further delay, the Executive Committee
directed the Chairman to summon the Committee of the Whole for
consultation. The points are these : A sum of money will be required for the
reception and care, for a single day, of the individual guests invited.
The Banquet of the Chamber of Commerce, and other similar enter-

57
tainments already arranged, preclude any elaborate festivities.. The
moneys necessary for this reception and care, and the expenses in
cident to the day, insignificant in amount, can be easily provided.
The plan suggested by Major-General Shaler includes the invita
tion of the Second Division of the National Guard and the militia of
ueigboring States. If such or any part of such military be invited,
they must be invited by the Joint Committee of the Municipality,
the Chamber of Commerce and the New York Historical Society ;
that is, by yourselves and in your name. Usage and common courtesy
require that such invited military should receive some hospitality.
No other way has suggested itself, than that of an evening military
reception. For this the Seventh Regiment Armory is tendered, and
Major-General Shaler engages that the officers of the First Division
will manage the details of the reception. But such invitations must
also be issued by the Committee of the Whole, or in their name, and
all the expenses must be provided for by yon. This will involve a large
expense, which cannot well be set at less than ten thousand dollars.
Assistance will also be asked by other military or semi-military
bodies desiring to parade on the occasion.
These remarks concern the military branch alone. What action
the several trade associations may take is as yet uncertain, but if
they, or any of them, determine to take part in the procession, ap
plication for pecuniary aid will be made to an amount certainly
large, but which cannot be estimated. The question then arises,
whether it be just or expedient for you to confine your pecuniary
assistance to military purposes.
These subjects are now submitted for your consideration and
decision. It should be prompt and final, in view of the near ap
proach of the day we propose to celebrate.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
John Cochrane,
Chairman.
John Austin Stevens,
Secretary.
New York, Wednesday, October 17, 1883.

Mr. Stevens submitted the following resolutions in connection
with the report :
Resolutions of the Committee of the Whole
Resolved, That in view of the failure of the Legislature to make
the necessary appropriation for the due celebration of Evacuation

58
Day, it is in the opinion of this Committee neither requisite nor
expedient for it to extend invitations to any military organizations
within or without the limits of the State.
Resolved, That the co-operation of all associations or organ
izations, civil or military, will be cheerfully accepted by this
Committee, but that no appropriation can be made by it to
any such bodies, either for music, entertainment or other
purposes. Resolved, That the Committee of Arrangements be requested
to estimate, and the Finance Committee to raise a fund by subscrip
tion to provide for the expenses incidental to the reception of the
individual invited guests, as reported by the Chairman, and the
expenses incidental to the proceedings of the day, such as carriage
hire, reviewing platform, etc., and such other purposes as may be
deemed expedient by the Executive Committee.
Resolved, That the report of the Executive Committee and the
foregoing resolutions be printed and transmitted to each member of
the Committee, and if signed by a majority thereof, be considered
the will of the said Committee; otherwise the Secretary is directed
to call a further meeting of the Committee of the Whole for further
consideration of the subject.
New York, October 17, 1883.
The report and resolutions were unanimously adopted, and the
Secretary was directed to take the sense of the absent members and
report to the Executive Committee at its next meeting, which the
Chairman announced would be held on Monday, the twenty-second
of October, at three o'clock.
A delegation from the Veterans of the Old Guard appeared, and
were introduced by the Chairman.
Major McLean tendered the co-operation of the Veterans of the
Old Guard, which was unanimously accepted.
On motion, the delegation were elected honorary members of the
General Committee of Fifteen.
Major George W. McLean ; Colonels E. 0. Hotchkiss, Twenty-
third Regiment Veterans ; George W. Laird, Twenty-second Regi
ment Veterans ; W. Powell, Thirteenth Regiment Veterans ;
William Scott, Ninth Regiment Veterans ; L. W. Winchester,
Seventh Regiment Veterans ; C. W. Duston, Seventy-first Regiment
Veterans. And the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.

59
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF NINE
Third Meeting'.
Monday, October 22, 1883.
The Executive Committee met at the call of the Chairman,
Monday, the twenty-second of October, at three o'clock.
Present :
Common Council — Cochrane, O'Connor.
Chamber of Commerce — Fogg, Stevens, Smith.
New York Historical Society — Varnum, Bliss.
General Shaler.
The Hon. John Cochrane in the Chair. Mr. Stevens, Secretary.
The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved.
The Chairman stated the special business to be to receive the
report of the action of the General Committee of the Whole on
the questions referred to it at the last meeting of the Executive
Committee. The Secretary read the resolutions, which were unanimously
adopted by eight members of the Committee of the Whole at their
meeting of October 12, and announced that he had since received
the approval of twelve additional members, in all twenty, a majority
of the thirty-five members. The resolutions, therefore, stand as
the will of the Committee of the Whole. [For the resolutions, see
preceding Minutes of the Committee of the Whole.]
They were approved by the following :
Common Council — Cochrane, 0'Connor,Kirk, Fitzpatrick, Jaehne,
Grant, De Lacy, Waite. Chamber of Commerce — Lane, Low, Chitten
den, Fogg, Smith, Babcock, Field, Stevens. Historical Society —
Phelps, Moore, Varnum, Bliss.
The Secretary reported that the sum necessary to be raised for
the due reception and entertainment of the guests invited, and
carriage hire, and for a reviewing stand and decorations, could not
exceed twenty-five hundred dollars, viz.: —
Entertainment  $500
Carriage hire  500
Stand and decorations  1,000
Printing and advertising, and contingencies  500
$2,500
Letters were read from the New York Marine Society, the

60
New York Metal Exchange, and the American Numismatic and
Archasological Society, stating their intention to take part in the
celebration, and expressing a desire to co-operate with the Joint
Committee. Also from the President of the New York Cotton Exchange,
stating that the subject would be laid before the Board of Man
agers at their regular meeting of the fifth of November next.
Letters were read —
From J. Madison Drake, Brevet Brigadier-General, commanding
the Veteran Zouaves, of Elizabeth, N. J., stating that his command
would participate in the commemoration, and would parade sixty-
five men, besides a band of forty musicians.
From the War Veteran Association of the Fourteenth Regiment
N. Y. S. M., Brooklyn, stating their resolve, to parade on Evacua
tion Day, and their desire to consult with the Committee.
The co-operation of these Associations was accepted, and the Com
mittee of Arrangements was directed to communicate with them.
On motion of the Secretary, it was resolved that, in accordance
with the recommendation of Major-General Shaler, who will com
mand the military on Evacuation Day, General Cochrane be ap
pointed Grand Marshal.
The Chairman reported that the Mayor had approached him on
the subject of the Celebration, and had offered the use of his name
as Mayor of the city in connection with a call for contributions ;
that he had thereupon conferred with members of the Finance
Committee of the Celebration Committee, but found that in view
of the indifference shown by the Legislature, they were unwilling to
take any present action.
General Shaler stated that the sum of $8,000 would be neces
sary for the music of the National Guard, $10,000 for a general re
ception of the military at the Seventh Regiment Armory, or for
entertainment of the invited military at the several Armories. He
thought that the sum of $20,000 would be needed.
General Cochrane stated that it was his intention at the next
meeting of the Board of Aldermen, Wednesday, the twenty-fourth
instant, to make a request to the Board of Estimate and Apportion
ment for a supplement to the Estimate for 1884 of a sum sufficient
for the general purposes of the celebration ; and to request his Honor
the Mayor to recommend to the citizens the observance of the day
as a public holiday.
On motion, the Committee adjourned to Monday, the twenty-
ninth, at three o'clock, or at the call of the Chair.

61
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF NINE
Fourth Meeting.
Monday, October 29, 1883.
The Executive Committee met by adjournment, Monday, Octo
ber the twenty-ninth, at three o'clock.
Present :
Common Council — Cochrane, O'Connor.
Chamber of Commerce — Lane, Stevens.
New York Historical Society —
Major-General Shaler.
The Hon. John Cochrane in the Chair. Mr. Stevens, Secretary.
A telegram from Col. Varnum, from Washington, asking ex-
puse for non-attendance, was read.
The minutes of the last meeting of the twenty-second of October,
were read and approved.
The minutes of the Committee of the Whole, containing its ac
tion upon the questions referred to it, and the resolutions adopted in
reference thereto-, were read by the Secretary for information.
The Chairman reported that, in conformity with his statement
at the last meeting, he had moved a resolution in the Board ol
Aldermen, requesting the Board of Estimate and Apportionment to
appropriate the sum of $20,000 for the purposes of the Celebration,
to be expended under the joint warrants of the three Chairmen of
the several Committees of the Joint Committee, and a resolution re
questing the Mayor to issue a proclamation to the citizens to close
their places of business on the day of the Celebration.
In response thereto, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment,
etc., on the twenty-fifth of October, appropriated the sum of $20,000,
and directed that it should be expended at the discretion of the
Mayor. As the Board of Estimate and Apportionment is confined
to appropriations to be expended in 1884, this sum cannot be reached
until after the first of January next.
The Chairman added, that the Mayor had informed him un
officially, that he should make no disbursements except by the
advice of himself and Major-General Shaler.
Major-General Shaler said that, from what he understood of the
intentions of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, the sum
voted by them was for the purposes of the military.

62
On motion of Mr. Stevens, the following letter to the Mayor was
unanimously adopted.
Letter to the Mayor
New York, October 29, 1883.
Sir: The Executive Committee of the Joint Committee of the Com
mon Council, the Chamber of Commerce and the New York His
torical Society have this day directed me to request of your Honor
information as to your intention with regard to the application and
disbursement of the fund which, it is understood by the Commit
tee, has been appropriated by the Board of Estimate and Appor
tionment to defray the expenses of the Celebration of the approach
ing Anniversary of the Evacuation of the City of New York by the
British, as ordered by resolution of the Common Council on the ninth
January last. I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
John Austin Stevens,
Secretary.
To the Honorahle Mayor of New York,
Franklin Edson, Esq.
The Secretary was directed to summon a meeting of the General
Committee of Fifteen (consisting of delegations from the three
Committees), for Wednesday, October the thirty-first, at noon, to
hear the answer of His Honor the Mayor.
The Committee then adjourned to the call of the Chair.

GENERAL COMMITTEE OF FIFTEEN
Second Meeting.
Wednesday, October 31, 1883.
The General Committee met, at the call of the Chairman, for a
conference with the Executive Committee, at noon.
Present :
Common Councils- Cochrane, O'Connor.
Chamber of Commerce — Lane, Smith, Stevens.
New York Historical Society — Phelps, Barnum, Bliss.
Major-General Shaler.
The Hon. John Cochrane, Chairman. Mr. Stevens, Secretary.

63
The reading of the minutes was dispensed with.
The Chairman reported the action of the Executive Committee
at its fourth meeting, held Monday, October twenty-ninth instant,
with regard to the position of the Joint Committee in reference to
the appropriation voted by the Board of Estimate and Apportion
ment to defray the expenses of the Celebration.
The Secretary read the letter to the Mayor, adopted by the Ex
ecutive Committee at its last meeting. [See preceding Minutes of
Executive Committee.]
His Honor the Mayor of the City was introduced, and made a
verbal response to this communication.
He stated that the Board of Apportionment was addressed by
Major-General Shaler and Major McLean, and that the arguments
used by them were essentially directed toward a military display ;
and that he considered that the appropriation was intended to be
expended in that direction. He strongly urged the necessity of a
harmonious co-operation between the Joint Committee and those
who would have charge of the military on that day. He said that
he was of the opinion that all of the plans of the Joint Committee
should be carried out, and that he would be guided entirely by their
wishes in his disbursement of the fund.
On motion of Mr. Bliss, Major-General Shaler and Colonel Win
chester were added to the Committee of Arrangements.
Colonel Varnum resigned his position as Chairman of the Com
mittee of Arrangements, and on his motion, seconded by Mr. Stevens,
General Shaler was unanimously chosen Chairman.
The following resolutions of instruction were unanimously
adopted : Instructions to Committee of Arrangements
In view of the appropriation of the sum of $20,000 (twenty
thousand dollars) by the Board of Estimate and Apportion
ment —
Resolved, That a cordial invitation be extended to such military
organizations of this and other States and counties as the Committee
of Arrangements may judge proper, to visit this city on November
26th, and to take part in the celebration of the Centennial Anniver
sary of the Evacuation of New York.
Resolved, That the whole matter of arrangements for the
celebration be left to the Committee of Arrangements, with
power.

64
Resolved, That the appropriation should, in the judgment of
this Committee, be generally expended about as follows :
1st. Towards the necessary expenses of the Committee.
2d. Towards the expenses of entertaining distinguished civil and
military guests, including, if the Committee of Arrangements shall
deem best, a military reception in the evening at the Seventh Regi
ment Armory.
3d. Towards the necessary expenses of the National Guard and
of the Grand Army of the Republic, for music, etc.
Resolved, That under no conditions shall the Committee of
Arrangements incur any liability in excess of the amount appro
priated by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment.
Resolved, That the Committee of Arrangements be and hereby
are instructed to enter into no contract without a written accept
ance on the part of the contractors of payment subsequent to the
first day of January next, and that the Mayor be requested to obtain
from the Counsel to the Corporation a written opinion of the
validity of the appropriation.
The Chairman announced that he had filled the vacancy in the
delegation of the Chamber of Commerce caused by the resignation
of Mr. A. Gracie King, by the appointment of Mr. Charles S.
Smith. [Mr. Smith by this appointment became member of the
Executive Committee of Nine.]
On motion of Mr. Bliss, his Honor the Mayor was unanimously
elected a member of the General Committee of Fifteen.
On motion of Colonel Varnum, his Honor the Mayor was unani
mously elected a member of the Committee of Arrangements.
His Honor the Mayor accepted both the positions tendered him,
and engaged his co-operation.
On motion of Mr. Bliss, the Secretary was requested to receive
any voluntary subscriptions that might be tendered to the Com
mittee. Mr. Stevens accepted the trust, with the understanding from
the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Committee that the
custody of such sums would be undertaken by the Treasurer of the
Chamber. The Chairman, on behalf of the Committee of the Common
Council, tendered to his Honor the Mayor his official thanks.
On motion of Mr. Stevens, the thanks of the General Com
mittee, for his personal presence and courtesy, were unanimously
tendered to his Honor the Mayor.
The Committee then adjourned, to the call of the Chair.

65
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF NINE
Fifth Meeting
Wednesday, October 31, 1883.
The Executive Committee met at the rooms of the Chamber
of Commerce, at two o'clock, at the call of the Chair.
Present :
Common Council — Cochrane, O'Connor.
Chamber of Commerce — Lane, Stevens.
Neio York Historical Society — Varnum, Bliss.
General Shaler.
The Hon. John Cochrane in the Chair. Mr. Stevens, Secretary.
The minutes of the , fourth meeting, of the twenty-ninth of
October, were read and approved.
The following letters, in reply to the invitations extended by the
Committee, were read and ordered on file, namely:
Regrets
From the Private Secretary of the President of the United
States, expressing the regrets of the President at his inability to
attend, because of " public duties in connection with the prepara
tion of his annual message to Congress."
From the Postmaster-General, because of "public duties."
From the Secretary of the Interior, because of "engagements,"
From the Chief Justice of the United States, because of " official
engagements." From the General of the Army, because of his " engagements at.
St. Louis, Missouri," on that day.
From the Governor of Pennsylvania, because of " public engage
ments." From the Governor of South Carolina, because of the session of
the Legislature of the State.
From Major-General Hancock, because of his proposed " absence
in the West." Acceptances
From the Secretary of the Treasury, "if in New York or vicinity
on that day."
From the Governor of Rhode Island, for himself and Staff.

66
| From the Governor of Connecticut, for himself and Staff, and
announcing that he would be escorted by the " Governor's Foot
Guard." [A military organization from the colonial period.]
From the Vice-Admiral of the Navy of the United States.
From Rear-Admiral Cooper, commanding the North Atlantic
Station, for himself and his squadron, "if in this neighborhood."
From the Attorney-General of the State of New York.
These letters were ordered on file, and the Secretary was directed
to communicate their contents to the Committee of Arrangements.

Je"-

Tenders of Co-operation
The following communications tendering co-operation in the
celebration were laid before the Committee :
A letter tendering the co-operation of the pupils of the male
department of Grammar School No. 68, in West 128th Street, Twelfth
Ward of this city.
A letter from Brevet-General Dury6e, proposing the organiza
tion of a Division of the Grand Army of the Potomac, and enclosing
a plan of organization.
A letter from Benjamin Richardson, tendering the use of Wash
ington's coach and his personal services as coachman.
A letter from Samuel B. Stafford, proposing to carry the flag of
the " Bonhomme Richard " the revolutionary man-of-war com
manded by John Paul Jones, in the procession.
A letter from Mr. Henry Hentz, suggesting the propriety of the
appearance in the parade of the old and new Fire Departments.
A letter from Colonel George W. Laird, Veteran Corps, Twenty-
second Regiment, suggesting an invitation to the " Paterson Light
Guard of New Jersey," which proposes to act as a special escort to
the Governor of that State.
' A letter from Detwiller & Street, Pyrotechnists, New York,
proposing fire-works on the occasion.
A letter from George A. Rowe, proposing a medal in commem
oration of the occasion, and requesting permission to estimate on
the same.
A letter from Major-General Duryee, commending General
Hiram Duryee and Major Churchill J. Cambreleng as competent
Organizing officers, and asking place for one of these gentlemen as
escort to the Grand Marshal on account of his own present inability
to ride a horse.

67
A letter from the Railroad Age, an American journal, proposing
the publication of a paper containing an account of the important
events connected with the Evacuation of New York, and asking for
a copy of the programme, was read.
A letter from Henry Mone.tt, General Passenger Agent of the
New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway Company, stating that,
if the Committee should resolve to invite organizations out of the
city, the said Company would be glad to co-operate with the Com
mittee, with a view of securing a general participation on the part
of the citizens of New York State, was read.
The Chairman stated that E. T. Burrill, Passenger Agent on
this road, who handed him this communication, had informed him
verbally, that the Company would make a pecuniary contribution
to the Celebration Fund, if desired.
The Chairman called attention to the proposition made by
Algernon S. Sullivan, on the part of the Numismatic and Archae
ological Society, proposing to strike a medal worthy of the occasion,
and inviting a contribution in aid of this purpose.
The Secretary stated that Mr. Sullivan suggested the sum of five
hundred dollars, the entire expense being estimated at twelve
hundred dollars.
These several communications were severally referred to the
Committee on Arrangements, for file and action, and the Secretary
was ordered to give the same direction to communications of a
similar nature.
The Secretary was directed to address a communication to his
Honor the Mayor of the City, requesting him, at as early a day as
possible, to issue the contemplated Proclamation, inviting the citizens
to a general suspension of business on Evacuation Day, and im
mediately, on the publishment thereof, to bring the same to the
notice of the several Commercial organizations of this City.
On motion, it was unanimously voted, that the Executive Com
mittee transfer to the Committee of Arrangements entire power
over the subjects committed to their charge, as requested this day
by the General Committee.
The Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.

68
The Municipal Appropriation
On Wednesday, the twenty-fourth of October, 1883, on motion of
Alderman Cochrane, it was
Resolved, That the Clerk of the Common Council be, aud is
hereby directed to add as a supplement to his estimate already sub
mitted to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, the sum of
twenty thousand ($20,000) dollars towards defraying the expenses
of celebrating the Centennial Anniversary of Evacuation Day, here
tofore ordered by the Common Council, the same to be disbursed
upon the vouchers jointly of the Chairman of the Municipal
Committee, the Chairman of the Co-operative Committee of the
Chamber of Commerce, and the Chairman of the Co-operative
Committee of the New York Historical Society, having such
celebration in charge ; and the immediate action of said Board of
Estimate and Apportionment on said supplemental estimate is here
by respectfully requested.
Resolved, That the Mayor is hereby respectfully requested to
issue his timely proclamation of the celebration of the Centennial
Anniversary of Evacuation Day, and to recommend its observance
by the citizens of New York as a holiday.
This resolution of the Board of Aldermen was communicated hy
their clerk to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment on the
twenty-fifth of October, when Major-General Shaler, commanding
First Division N. Y. S. N. G., Colonel Locke W. Winchester, com
manding the Seventh Regiment Veterans, and Major McLean, com
manding the Old Guard, New York State, N. Y., appeared and
urged the appropriation, whereupon, on motion of Messrs. Hastings,
Grant, the Comptroller of the City, it was
Resolved, That the sum of (twenty thousand) be appropriated,
and the same be included in the Provisional Estimate for 1884,
toward defraying the expenses of celebrating the anniversary of
Evacuation Day, on November 26, 1883, and that the same be dis
bursed under the direction of the Mayor.
Some doubt being entertained as to the validity of the appropri
ation, the Secretary of the Committee, on the sixth of November, ad
dressed a letter to the Mayor, requesting him to obtain and transmit to
the Committee the opinion of the Counsel to the Corporation relative
thereto, and on the thirteenth received from his Honor the reply of
the Counsel. By his advice, the following resolution, drafted by
himself, was on nineteenth November adopted by the Board of

69
Aldermen. After the repetition in a preamble, the action of the
Board of the twenty-fourth, and that of the Board of Estimate on
the twenty-fifth, the following was
Resolved, That the Mayor be, and hereby is authorized to
disburse the twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) so appropriated as
he may see fit toward defraying the expenses of celebrating the
Centennial Anniversary of Evacuation Day on November 26th, 1883.

GENERAL COMMITTEE OF FIFTEEN
Third Meeting
Friday Evening, November 23, 1883.
The General Committee met pursuant to the call of the Secre
tary for a conference with the Committee of Arrangements at eight
o'clock. The Secretary stated that he had issued the call under the in
structions of the Committee of Arrangements.
Present :
Common Council — Duffy, O'Connor.
Chamber of Commerce — Lane, Stevens, Smith.
Historical Society — De Lancey, Bliss.
Honorary Member — Veteran of the Old Guard — Col. Locke
W. Winchester.
In the absence of the Hon. John Cochrane, Chairman, Colonel
Locke W. Winchester was called upon to preside ; Mr. Stevens,
Secretary. The Secretary stated that the object of the meeting was the con
sideration of an informal verbal report of the action of the Commit
tee of Arrangements under the general power intrusted to it by the
General Committee at its meeting of the thirty-first of October.
The reading of the minutes of the last (second) meeting of the
General Committee, the thirty-first of October, 1883, was dispensed
with except as called for.
Mr. Cornelius N. Bliss reported a letter to himself from Mr.
Phillips, Private Secretary of the President of the United States,
with the information that the President would be present.
Mr. John Austin Stevens, Jr., Secretary to the Treasurer of the
Citizens' Fund, reported that over thirteen thousand dollars ($13, 000)

70
had been subscribed in response to the Appeal for Fifteen thousand
1 dollars to the Citizens of New York.
On motion of Mr. Stevens, it was therefore
Resolved, That an additional sum of fifteen hundred dollars
($1,500), or as much thereof as may be necessary, be, and is hereby
appropriated for the expenses of Entertainment of visiting Military
at Madison Square Garden. [The sum of twenty-two hundred and
fifty dollars ($2,250) was appropriated to this purpose on the sixteenth
of November.] Resolved, That the sum of fifteen hundred dollars ($1,500), or as
much thereof as may be necessary, be, and is hereby appropriated
for the expenses of Entertainment of the President of the United
States and visiting Governors.
Resolved, That one thousand dollars ($1,000), or so much thereof
as may be necessary, be, and is hereby appropriated in addition to
the sum already appropriated for the Reception at the Seventh Regi
ment Armory. [The sum of twenty-five hundred dollars ($2,500)
had been previously appropriated. One thousand dollars ($1,000)
on the twelfth, and fifteen hundred dollars ($1,500) on the sixteenth
of November.] Resolved, That the sum of seventy dollars ($70) be, and is hereby
appropriated to pay the hire of drummers and fifers of the Wash
ington Continentals who will escort the Washington Coach.
Resolved, That the request for an appropriation by the Wash
ington Continentals to entertain the Newburgh Continentals be
laid on the table.
Resolved, That the Mayor of Newburgh he invited to attend the
celebration. After a verbal statement by Mr. Stevens,
Resolved, That in the judgment of the General Committee, it is
inexpedient to make any further appropriations this evening.
Resolved, That the Secretary express the thanks of this General
Committee to the New York StockExchange for their liberal action
in ordering that their Exchange be closed, and for their generous
contribution of twelve hundred dollars ($1,200) in response to the
Appeal of the Committee.

71
The Secretary reported a letter from the American Express
Company stating that the charge for the hire of the liveries for
the postilions and extra trappings for the horses of the Washington
Coach will not exceed the sum of twenty dollars ($20).
Resolved, That the Secretary address the thanks of the General
Committee to the American Express Company for their generous
action in everything relating to the Celebration.
Resolved, That Messrs. Bliss, Smith and Stevens be a Committee
to wait upon the President of the United States at the railroad
station Sunday night.
Resolved, That the Grand Marshal he requested to order that
the Committee of Arrangements in one carriage lead the procession
on the extreme right and be followed by the General Committee of
Fifteen, namely : Delegation from the Common Council, Chamber
of Commerce and New York Historical Society in three Commit
tees, each Committee in one carriage in advance of the general body
of the procession ; as ordering the procession and the ceremonies of
the day.
The Committee then adjourned to the call of the Secretary.

COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS
FINAL REPORT

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS

The Secretary of the Committee of Arrangements respectfully
submits the following report of their action under the power trans
ferred to them by the Executive Committee, by direction of the
General Committee, on the thirty-first of October. The Committee
of Arrangements had previously, on the fifteenth October, submitted
a preliminary report with an Order of Procession, which received
approval. [See Minutes of Executive Committee of fifteenth of
October.] Order of Grand Marshal
On the first of November, the Grand Marshal issued his first
General Order announcing the establishment of the Headquarters
of the Centennial Procession, by the courtesy of the Board of Com
missioners, in the court-room of the Police Department, 300 Mul
berry Street.
General Order No. 1.
Headquarters Centennial Procession, 300 Mulberry St.,
New York, November 1, 1883.
The undersigned having been appointed by the Joint Committee
of the Common Council of the City of New York, of the Chamber
of Commerce of the State of New York, and of the New York His
torical Society, Grand Marshal of the Day for the coming Centennial
Celebration of the Evacuation of New York by the British troops
in 1783, respectfully announces that his quarters for the purposes of
the Celebration have been established in the court-room of the
Police Department, No. 300 Mulberry Street. Colonel Edward' M. L.
Ehlers has been appointed Adjutant-General and Chief of Staff, to
whom all correspondence relating to assignment of position to all
organizations in the general column should be addressed.
John Cochrane,
Grand Marshal.

At a meeting held at the office of Major-General Shaler, Health
Department Building, No. 301 Mott Street, on the second of Novem-

76
ber, numerous tenders of co-operation and applications for position in
line were presented, and it was at once apparent that the celebration
would exceed all expectations. Liberal offers of pecuniary assistance
were also made by the railroad and transportation companies, and
reduced passenger rates were promised.
The following broadside was adopted by the Committee and dis
played through the city : Invitation
The Committee appointed to make arrangements for the
Centennial Celebration of the Evacuation of New York by the
British troops in 1783, beg leave to announce that there will be a
Grand Military Parade of the National Guard of this and other
States on the 26th November instant, which will be reviewed by
His Excellency the Governor of New York, and other distinguished
representatives of the thirteen original States. The Committee
desire to make the celebration popular, and cordially invite all
veterans and exempt military organizations, all Grand Army Posts,
and all civic societies, in uniform or regalia, having quarters in this
vicinity, to take part in the demonstration. General John
Cochrane has been designated as Grand Marshal of the day, with
headquarters at court-room, Police Department, 300 Mulberry
Street, to whom responses to this invitation should be addressed by
those desirous of participation. Alexander Shaler, Chairman.
Colonel Edward M. L. Ehlers was appointed by the Grand
Marshal; his Adjutant-General and Chief of Staff, and here it may
be said that to the admirable organizing faculty and the untiring
energy of this officer, the order and harmony of the procession was
in a great measure due. Colonel Ehlers called together his colleagues
of the General Staff at the Procession Headquarters on the twelfth
of November, where they were thereafter in constant, almost per
petual session.
In addition to the general and public notice of the Chairman,
special invitations were addressed to the Order of the Cincinnati in
the thirteen original States, to the several colonial and revolutionary
military organizations, and to the Select Corps existing in each of the
said States. Letters of invitation were also addressed by the Secretary
to the Governors of these States, inviting the presence of their
veteran military organizations, and the cadets of their military
schools, to the Secretary of the Navy, asking the participation of

77
the United States Marines, to Commodore Upshur, requesting that
of the Marine corps at the Brooklyn NaYy Yard, and to the Secretary
of War, that of the United States Military Academy. Special invita
tions were also addressed to the old and new Fire Departments.
At the same meeting a tender was received from the Seventh
Regiment N. G. S. N. Y., of the use of their Armory for a military
reception and evening promenade on the day of the celebration.
Colonel Winchester suggested the engagement of the Madison Square
Garden as a general rendezvous for the invited military organiza
tions, a suggestion which, happily carried out, was one of the most
grateful additions to the comfort of the visitors, and the hospitalities
of the city.
The preliminary arrangements for the procession being thus
inaugurated, it Avas resolved that in addition to the daily sessions at
the Grand Marshal's headquarters, the Committee would hold daily
evening sessions at the Victoria Hotel.
It will be observed that the participation of the Trades as a
feature of the procession had not been sought for. The expense to
these bodies of a representation, in the manner usual in civic pro
cessions, and in the uncertainty of weather at this usually inclement
season, seemed inexpedient.
From this time forward the rooms of the Committee of Arrange
ments were open every day. Sessions were held every evening.
At the Marshal's Headquarters, Aides were kept busy with constant
applications, for position in the line of procession. The daily ex
tensive correspondence was carried on from the rooms of the
Chamber of Commerce, the permanent office of the General Com
mittee of Fifteen.
Acceptances came in large numbers, and it was soon evident that
if the hospitality and courtesy of New, York were to be extended in
a manner correspondent to the historic interest of the occasion and
the dignity of the participants, a large increase of the fund beyond
that voted by the corporation of the city was required.
On the sixth of November the Chairman submitted and the
Committee ordered an Appeal to the Press requesting their editorial
co-operation.
Appeal to the Press
To the Press :
The Committee of Arrangements appoin ted by the representa
tives of the Common Council, the Chamber of Commerce of New
York> and the New York Historical Society, to make the necessary

78
arrangements for a suitable celebration of the approaching Cen
tennial Anniversary of the Evacuation of New York by the British
troops in 1783, desire to give the demonstration a popular character,
and to that end solicit your friendly offices. Our people are a
money-making and money-loving people, but are also patriotic and
liberal. They only require to be reminded of the importance of
this Anniversary to assure a universal participation in it. Until
the events which are about to be celebrated transpired, it could not
be said that freedom and independence were absolutely established.
This is, therefore, the most important of the many anniversaries
of our revolutionary period. The Committee will labor to make
the celebration worthy of the event and creditable to the city, but
it realizes how unavailing its best efforts will be unaided by the
influence of an enlightened pres?.
Alexander Shaler,
Chairman.
The appeal was cordially received by the entire press of the city,
and the success of the arrangements for the celebration was largely
promoted by its intelligent comments.
On the sixth November, the Committee ordered, and on the
eighth November the Secretary reported, an Address to the citizens
of New York, inviting contributions.
Address to the Citizens
To the Citizens of New York :
The municipal authorities, with the concurrence of his Honor
the Mayor, the Chamber of Commerce and the New York Historical
Society, aided by the military orders of the Society of the Cincin
nati, the Veterans of the Mexican War, the Loyal Legion, the
Grand Army of the Republic, and the Veterans of the Old Guard,
National Guard of New York State, and with the co-operation of
various civic and military organizations, have in charge the Cele
bration of the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Evacuation of
New York by the British in 1783, on Monday, the 26th day of
November instant, the day appointed therefor.
His Honor the Mayor has issued a proclamation requesting
citizens to close their places of business and join in the ceremonies
ordered. The Board of Estimate and Apportionment have authorized the
expenditure of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) under the direc-

79
tion of his Honor the Mayor for the purposes of this celebration.
This sum will be required for the military display. A further sum
will be needed for the proper reception and entertainment of invited
guests, official dignitaries and military organizations of this and
other States visiting the city and participating in the ceremonies.
For this additional sum the Committee appeal to your patriotism
and liberality.
Your contributions will be received by the Chamber of Com
merce, be held in its Treasury, and disbursed only on the order of
the Chairmen of the three Committees composing the Joint Com
mittee, namely, the Hon. John Cochrane, of the Common Council,
Mr. George W. Lane, President of the Chamber of Commerce,
and Mr. Augustus Schell, President of the Historical Society.
If an immediate and sufficient response be made to this appeal,
it is contemplated to hold a grand reception at the Armory of the
Seventh Regiment, kindly tendered by that patriotic organization
for this purpose. A display of fireworks may be added, and a medal
be struck in commemoration of the occasion, if the amount of the
fund warrants this further expense. For these named purposes,
the sum' of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) is requisite.
The historic significance of this commemoration needs no ex
tended comment. The event it celebrates, the final deliverance of
the soil of the United States from the British occupation, was of
equal importance with the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
It assured the independence which was then declared, and com
pleted the long chain of civil and military incidents of the Revolu
tionary struggle.
The Nation will take part in the commemorative ceremonies by
the presence of its high officers and the participation, in the proces
sion ordered, of each arm of the military and naval service ; the
thirteen original States, by the presence of their Governors
and their ancient military corps ; the State of New York by the
presence of its Governor, of its high officers, and the National
Guard. The Nation and State contribute nothing to the expenses of this
celebration. These fall wholly upon this City. New York must
show herself equal to the occasion. We appeal to you as citizens
to maintain her ancient renown for hospitality and courtesy.
To New York has fallen a large share of the prosperity and
wealth which are the fruits of American Independence. Her part
in the vast commerce which followed freedom from the restrictions
on trade imposed by the British Government has been immense.'

80
Her port has been the great gateway of American commerce, and
the canals and railroads of the State are the main highway to the
populous West.
Let us show the honor in which we hold those brave men who
under Washington and Clinton, our first Governor, made tri
umphant entry into our City one hundred years ago, and planted
their victorious standard on the last inch of ground occupied by the
British army, and, in the words used on the occasion of that entry,
made the " memory of this day a lesson to princes."
Citizens of New York, shall we appeal in vain ?
Give and give quickly. John Cochrane,
Chairman of Joint Committee.
Alexander Shaler,
Chairman Com'tee of Ar'gem'ts.
James M. Varnum,
John Austin Stevens,
Charles S. Smith,
Locke W. Winchester,
. Committee of Ar'gem'ts.
Checks to be drawn to the order of
Solon Humphreys, Esq.,
Treasurer of the Evacuation Day Fund,
Chamber of Commerce.

Copies of this Address, commended to perusal by special letters,
were forwarded by the Secretary to all of the mercantile and
financial associations and institutions of the city, and personal
appeals were made to the representatives of the various important
interests of the city ; Colonel Winchester calling upon the Express
and Transportation companies ; Mr. Charles S. Smith upon the dry
goods and other commercial houses, and Mr. Stevens upon the
several hotels. Mr. Cornelius N. Bliss assisted each with his counsel
and presence. The result was entirely satisfactory. The sum called
for was nearly subscribed, and could no doubt have been brought
up to the full figure named had it been imperatively needed. But
it will be seen in the account of the ceremonies of the day, that the
sum thus obtained by no means represented the measure of the
hospitality of our patriotic and generous citizens.
On the ninth, the steam-vessel owners and representatives of
the Port of New York, of which the Hon. John H. Starin was chair-

81
man, tendered their co-operation in the celebration by a Grand
Steamboat Parade in the harbor ; the presence of one of their num
ber was requested at each of the meetings of the Committee. Mr.
A. C. Cheney later represented this organization.
On the tenth of November, the Mayor issued the following
proclamation :
Proclamation to the Citizens of New York
The Centennial Anniversary of that act which finally separated
the American Colonies from Great Britain, will occur on Sunday,
the 25th of November instant. The ceremonies which were ob
served in this city on the 25th day of November, 1783, were practi
cally the ceremonies of laying the corner-stone of the brotherhood
of States which to-day extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and
is the home of fifty millions of united, industrious, and prosperous
people. On that day the last great obstacle to the establishment of
the government and the institutions which have made possible our
marvelous growth and prosperity disappeared as the British fleet
weighed anchor and sailed away. A just appreciation of that event
would lead to the observance of each recurring anniversary of the
day as one of rejoicing, not only among those whose ancestors par
ticipated in the momentous events of the war, of which the military
ceremonies of the 25th of November, 1783, formed the closing scene,
but among those, and the children of those, who have since then
found upon these shores a refuge from exactions and acts of oppres
sion by rulers of foreign countries. But when our government and
our institutions, reared upon these foundations, which were laid amid
the ceremonies of that day, have been found to withstand the tests
of a century, and to have grown stronger and to have spread their
beneficent influence wider with each succeeding year, it seems most
eminently fitting that we mark this hundredth anniversary by such
a joyous commemoration as will evince our heart-felt appreciation
of the wisdom and patriotism of the noble men through whose sac
rifices we hold and enjoy these inestimable blessings.
In order that suitable preparations should be made and appro
priate ceremonies arranged for the celebration of this anniversary,
Committees have been appointed by the Board of Aldermen repre
senting the municipality, and by the Chamber of Commerce and
the Historical. Society, representing through these two time-hon
ored institutions the wealth and intelligence of this metropolis.
These Committees acting in unison will give timely notice of the

82
nature and order of the ceremonies which will take place on
Monday, November 26th instant.
I, therefore, earnestly recommend that business be suspended on
that day, and that all public and private offices and places of busi
ness in this city be closed, in order that all the people of the City
of New York may participate in the celebration of this Hundredth
Anniversary of the culminating event of the Revolution.
Franklin Edson,
Mayor.
New York, November \Qth, 1883.

A proclamation similar in effect was issued by the Mayor of
Brooklyn, on the seventeenth of November.
The moneys coming in gradually, the Committee proceeded
with caution in their promises of assistance. At the meeting of the
tenth, it was resolved that no appropriation of money should be
made except for specific sums and for specific objects, as in that man
ner only vouchers could be controlled. This general rule was in
flexibly adhered to. The city fund was to be disbursed by the Comp
troller, by the direction of His Honor the Mayor upon recommenda
tion made by the Chairmen of the three Committees. The fund of
the citizens was to be disbursed by the Treasurer of the Chamber of
Commerce, the custodian of the fund, only on the joint warrants of
the said three chairmen.
The first specific appropriations were for the necessary expendi
ture incident to the procession, music for the military and other
organizations and for the erection of stands of observation and a
stand for review.
The three stands of observation were ordered at Madison Square,
Union Square, and City Hall Square, and set apart by tickets of
invitation, for the accommodation of civilians, the military and the
friends of the municipal authorities. The reviewing stand, at the
Bowling Green was reserved for the exclusive use of the Committee
and their guests, with special accommodation for the Press.
As the fund increased, provision for shelter in case of stormy
weather and of suitable food for the thousands of visiting military
became the first imperative thought of the Committee. Madison
Square Garden was secured for this purpose by Colonel Winchester,
and to his experience and prescience the Committee owe their grate
ful acknowledgment. Special arrangements were also made for the
entertainment of the Hartford City Guard, the Escort of the Gov-

83
ernor of Connecticut ; of the United States troops from Willet's
Point and of the Veterans of 1812.
This prior claim upon the attention of the Committee being dis
posed of, arrangements were made for the reception and entertain
ment of the President of the United States and the Governors of
the several States and their military and civil suites in the largest
manner. The Fifth Avenue Hotel was selected for the lodging of these
distinguished guests. The proprietors of this establishment ex
tended the greatest liberality in their accommodations and opened
their spacious drawing-rooms without charge.
The commercial and financial corporations societies provided for
the expense of their carriages, but that of all other delegations and
invited guests were met by the Committee. Sufficient funds re
maining, a large appropriation was made for the proposed prom
enade reception at the hall of the Seventh Regiment Armory. A
sufficient sum was set apart for a display of fireworks from the
Battery, on the evening of the celebration or the first fair evening
thereafter, upon notice, and five hundred dollars was contributed
to the American Numismatic and Archaeological Society of New
York, toward the cost of a suitable desirable medal commemorative
of the occasion.
The Windsor Hotel was selected as the Headquarters of the
Grand Marshal on the day of the celebration. The large parlors and
adjoining rooms on the first floor were placed at his disposal by the
liberal proprietors of this hotel without charge.
On the nineteenth of November, public notice was given of the
latest date which applications for places in line could be received.
Final Notice to Organizations
The Committee of Arrangements give Notice that proposals to
take part in the Procession must be made before or on Tuesday
night, November 20th, after which time no organization civic or
military can be assigned place in line.
Alexander Shaler,
Chairman.
John Austin Stevens, *
Secretary.
On the nineteenth of November the Committee were informed
by Mr. H. T. Penrod, Sergeant Signal Corps, and observer in charge
of U. S. Signal Office at the Equitable Building on Broadway, that

84
he would order that signals for the salutes to the vessels in the
Harbor, be hoisted from the Flag-staff' on that building— -viz. : 1st.
The International Hoist, C. V. D. T., signifying " Evacuation," to
be run up on the morning of the day of celebration ;¦ 2d; At the
Unveiling of the Statue of Washington the same to be lowered, and
made to signify " Let go the dogs of war."
On the evening of the same day (nineteenth of November),
Colonel Varnum, in accordance with the request of the Committee
of the sixteenth, submitted a Budget. BUDGET
Resolved, That this Committee hereby make appropriation of
the sum of Twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), voted by the Board of
Estimate and Apportionment for the celebration of Evacuation Day
in the manner following, and recommend the same to His Honor
the Mayor of the City of New York for his approval. Viz. :
$5,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for music for the
First and Second Divisions N. G. S. N. Y., to be expended
under the general direction of Major-General Shaler.
1,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for music for organ
izations of Veterans of the N. G. , to be expended under
the general direction of Col. Locke W. Winchester.
1,500 or so much thereof as may be necessary for music for the
Grand Army of the Republic, to he expended under the
general direction of the Committee.
600 or so much thereof as may be necessary for music for the
Fire Department, to be expended under the general di
rection of Mr. Smith.
256 or so much thereof as may be necessary for music for the
Police Department, to be expended under the general
direction of Mr. C. S. Smith.
1,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for the erection and
decoration of stands of observation, to be expended under
the general direction of Major-General Shaler.
4,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for the Entertain
ment of Visiting Military at the Madison Square Garden,
under the general direction of Col. L. W. Winchester.
2,500 or so much thereof as may be necessary towards the ex
penses of an evening Military and Civic reception in the
Seventh Regiment Armory, to be expended, under the
general direction of General Shaler.

85
250 or so much thereof as may be necessary to Veterans of late
war (Duryee's Command).
104 or so much thereof as may be necessary to Mexican Vet
erans.
3,790 being the balance, together with such further amount as
$20 000 may De realized, from the failure of any of the above speci-
== fied appropriations, to be fully expended for the purpose.
for which they were made, to the general expenses of
this Committee for the entertainment and reception of
guests, carriage hire, printing and engraving, rent,
labor and services, and other miscellaneous expenses.
No bills will be certified by this Committee to the Mayor for
payment except upon detailed vouchers furnished, and after due
audit by the Auditing Committee.
This Committee, and the individual members thereof, assume
no personal responsibility for the payment of any portion of the
moneys so appropriated, the same being payable from the Treas
ury of the City of New York, after January 1, 1884, upon the
audit or approval of His Honor the Mayor, as the Committee are
advised by His Honor the Mayor and by the Counsel to the Corpora
tion. The Budget was read3 accepted, and ordered on file for the guid
ance of the Committee.

On the twentieth of November, the following broadside was
printed in Red, White and Blue colors, and distributed at all the
hotels and other public resorts and posted at the Elevated Railroad
Stations.:
Request to Citizens to Illuminate
Citizens of New York ;
On Monday next, twenty-sixth November instant, The One
Hundredth Anniversary of the Evacuation of New York by the
British, the entrance into the city of the American troops under
General Washington and Governor Clinton, and the return from
exile of its patriotic citizens, will be commemorated with, public
rejoicing. The day is memorable as that of the regeneration of our
city and the beginning of an era of unexampled prosperity.
Decorate your Houses by Day. Illuminate them at

86
Night. Take Each your Part in this Memorable Anni
versary. John Cochrane,
Chairman Joint Committee.
Alexander Shaler,
Chairman of Com. of Arrangements.
John Austin Stevens,
Secretary of Joint Committee and
of Committee of Arrangements.

On the twenty-first of November, the Society of the Cincinnati
issued a General Order assigning a rendezvous at Delmonico's on
the morning of the celebration. [See close of Official Order of
Procession.] On Friday, the twenty-third of November, the Order of Procession
being definitely arranged, the Staff of the Grand Marshal met at the
Procession Headquarters to receive their insignia of office and to
take their instructions. [For Order of Procession, see close of this
Report.] On Saturday the twenty-fourth of November the Admiral com
manding on this station issued his Naval General Order for salutes.
[See close of Official Order of Procession.]
In the course of the sessions, invitations were ordered to be ex
tended to the general Society of the Cincinnati and its several State
branches, and Messrs. Cochrane and Varnun, both of whom are
members of the Order, were charged with this duty. Special invi
tations were also extended to the National Guard of the neigh
boring States of Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and
to the military organizations of the thirteen original States, a list of
which was kindly provided by Major McLean of the Old Guard, one
of the honorary members of the Committee of Fifteen. Invitations
were also addressed to the descendants of revolutionary officers resid
ing in the city, among whom were representatives of officers of the
Continental troops who escorted Washington in his formal taking
possession of the city in 1783.
In the last days of preparation, the Committee were gratified by
the courteous action of the Secretary of War in ordering a repre
sentative of the famous old New York Artillery Company (the
Alexander Hamilton Battery), now Light Battery F, Fourth United
States Artillery, and the formal notification that they were on their
way from Fort Snelling, Minnesota. This battery was one of the

87
companies of the Second (New York) Continental Artillery which
entered the city with Washington in 1783. \
To Major-General Shaler was assigned the direction of salutes,
which he ordered to be fired simultaneously from McGown's Pass
and the Battery.
The Grand Marshal was charged with the notifications, through
his aides, to all military organizations of the places assigned them
in line, and the secretary with similar notifications to all civic
organizations. The last meeting of the Committee of Arrangements prior to
the celebration, was held on the evening of Saturday, the twenty-
fourth inst., and the final arrangements were consummated.
The increase of subscriptions during the day, and the state of
the unappropriated funds warranting the expense, the Committee
ordered an aerial display of fireworks from the Battery on the night
of the celebration, or the first fine night thereafter, and the contract
for the same was allotted in equal portions to the three chief pyro
technic firms in the city. With this order, arrangements were com
pleted for every feature of the celebration contemplated by the Com
mittee, and promised to the citizens in the appeal to their liberality
for financial aid. Words cannot express the gratification felt by the
members of the Committee for the cordial sympathy in their efforts
and their arrangements by the great public they had the honor to
represent, the municipality and the citizens of New York.
The Committee then adjourned to the call of the Secretary.
An Official Pamphlet containing an Historical Outline and the
Order of Procession was compiled under the supervision of the Sec
retary, and distributed gratuitously among the news-stands on the
line of march, for sale for the benefit of the news dealers and boys
at the nominal price of five cents. An Official Programme was also
prepared by the Secretary to accompany the Official Order of Pro
cession published by the Grand Marshal, through Colonel Ehlers, his
Adjutant-General. The publication of the information was delayed to
the last moment in order to allow of the mention of the latest addi
tions to the marching body, and between the hours of five and seven of
the morning of the celebration ten thousand copies were distributed
at the hotels from the Central Park to the Battery, and by special
messengers at each of the observation stands. As the steam presses
are not put in motion until midnight on Sundays, these were only
received by the Secretary at four o'clock on the morning of the
celebration, an incident recorded to show the pressure upon the
Committee in the last hours of a preparation of detail, which, from

88
the second to the twenty-fifth November, had engaged the continual
service of some of their number, and the attention of each and
every member for a considerable part of the day or night. This
Official Programme and the Official Order of Procession are appended
to this report together with the Order of reception of invited guests.
The entire sum asked for from the citizens not having been sub
scribed, the Secretary, on the twenty-ninth of November, issued the
following notice in the daily newspapers :
Notice to the Citizens
To the Citizens of Neiv York:
While the Committee charged with the celebration of theEvacu-
tion of New York by the British have no doubt whatever that the
sum contributed in response to the appeal for money to entertain
visiting military organizations, the reception at the Seventh Regi
ment Armory, a display of fireworks and the striking of a com
memorative medal is sufficient to defray every expense incurred by
them for these named purposes, they hope that further contributions
may be made. The amount already received does not reach the limit
of the appeal made. It is the purpose of the Committee to publish
an official account of the ceremonies of the day, in which the
names of all organizations participating therein and of all contribu
tors to the success of the demonstration will appear. To this pub
lication such surplus as there may be of the fund, and additional
subscriptions will be applied. The style of this record should be
worthy of the occasion and will, of course, depend upon the sum
at the disposal of the Committee. Therefore the Committee hopes
that the. response to this appeal will enable them to issue such record
without application to the municipal authorities for a further appro
priation. Address cheques to the order of Solon Humphreys, Treasurer.
John Austin Stevens,
S&CT *&tCLVU
' New York, November 29, 1883.

Final Session of the Committee of Arrangements
The several bills incurred by the Committee, under authority
reposed in them, having been called in by the Secretary and duly
approved by the members of the Sub-Committee charged with their
contraction, the same were submitted to the Auditing Committee,

89
viz., Messrs. Smith, Varnum and Winchester, and received their
unanimous written approval in open meeting.
All preliminaries being completed, the Committee of Arrange
ments was called together by the Secretary on the seventh of Jan
uary, 1884, at noon, at the rooms of the Chamber of Commerce.
The Secretary informed the Committee that the fireworks' or
dered had been displayed from the Battery on the evening of Tues
day, November 27, under the superintendence of Mr. John Austin
Stevens, Jr., the Committee on the same being engaged in escorting
the Governors remaining in the city to the Anniversary Celebration
at the New York Historical Society.
The Secretary submitted, for the information and guidance of
the Committee, the resolution of power to the Committee of Arrange
ments by the General Committee of the thirty-first of October, the
resolution of transfer of power of authority by the Executive Com
mittee to the Committee of Arrangements, and also the instructions
of the General Committee of the same date as to the order of appro
priation. The Budget was also admitted for further guidance.
The Secretary then submitted a list of the Sub-Committees of
the Committee of Arrangements charged with disbursements, and
copies of the resolutions of appointment. He also laid before the
Committee the resolutions of appropriation by the Committee, and
a list of the appropriations made under such resolutions.
The Secretary reported to the Committee —
The sum appropriated by the City  $20,000 00
The sum subscribed by the citizens  14,476 00
Total at the disposal of the Committee  $34,476 00
[For summary of subscriptions and names of subscribers, see
close of this Report, Schedules A and B.]
Mr. Charles S. Smith, Chairman of the Auditing Committee,
reported a complete list of all the bills approved by the Committee,
amounting to $33,249 .88, the same duly stamped by the Secretary, as
examined and found correct as to details, certified to by the Chair
man of the Sub-Committee charged with the expenditure under each
separate appropriation, and severally signed by every member of the
Auditing Committee.
Written reports accompanying bills incurred were submitted by
the several sub-committees charged with expenditure under the
appropriations, viz.: (1) the Secretary of the Joint Committee for
general expenses; and the Committees (2) on hotel accommoda-

90
dations for the President, Governors, etc.; (3) on Madison Square
Garden and entertainment of visiting military generally ; (4) on
Reception at Seventh Regiment Armory ; (5) on Review and Ob
servation stands; (6) on Carriages ; (7) on Invitations to Stands,
Cards and Badges; (8) The Fireworks Display; (9) on the Pro
gramme — Order of Ceremonies; (10) on au Historical Pamphlet;
(11) on Entertainment of the Veterans of 1812 ; (12) on the Wash
ington Coach ; (13) on Commemorative Medals.
These several reports were accepted and unanimously adopted,
and ordered to be inscribed on the minutes.
A schedule of the bills was submitted under their general heads.
[For list of bills, see close of this Report, Schedule C]
They amounted to  $33,249 88
Leaving in the hands of the Treasurer after payment of
the same  1,226 12
Total sum  $34,476 00

Mr. Charles S. Smith, Chairman of the Auditing Committee,
also submitted recommendations of apportionment of the said bills
for payment from the $20,000 fund voted by the city and the
$15,000 fund subscribed by the citizens.
The recommendations were as follows :
Bills recommended to His Honor the Mayor for payment
from the Fund appropriated by the City  $20,000 00
Bills recommended for payment by the Treasurer from
the Fund subscribed by the citizens  13,749 79
$33,249 88
Leaving balance in the hands of the Treasurer, at this
date  1,226 12
Total  $34,476 00

The warrants on the Treasurer of the Committee were imme
diately prepared and the signatures of the Chairmen obtained. They
were immediately honored and the bills paid in full. [For list of
these warrants, see close of Report, Schedule E.]
The recommendations to His Honor the Mayor were also at once
prepared in the manner prescribed by the Comptroller of the City,
together with a letter of explanation from the Secretary.
The Secretary was directed to submit the vouchers for these

91
recommendations for the approval of the Chairmen of the three
Committees of the Joint Committee, to obtain their signatures, and
to procure payment.
These vouchers and recommendations were delivered to his
Honor the Mayor in person on the fourteenth January with the
letter of explanation ordered. This letter and the reply of his
Honor the Mayor are hereto appended.
[For list of the recommendations to His Honor the Mayor and
of warrants drawn on the Treasurer of the Citizens' Fund, see close
of this Report, Schedule D.]
An examination of the schedules will show that the Committee
bore in mind the statement made that it was the intention of the
Board oi Estimate and Apportionment that the sum voted by
it was to be chiefly expended on the military. A sum exceeding
the entire amount of the City Fund was applied to the military.
The total sum directly expended on them was $21,660.61, against
$12,089.27 for all other purposes.
The Secretary reported letters of thanks to the Chamber of
Commerce of the State of New York for the use of their rooms as
the offices of the General Committee ; to the Messrs. Hawke and
Witherbee, of the Windsor Hotel, for the free use of their rooms
for the Headquarters on the day of the celebration ; to the proprie
tors of the Sturtevant House, for their gratuitous entertainment of
the Veterans of 1812; and to the American Express Company, for
their generous arrangements for the appearance of the Washington
coach in the procession, and to Mr. J. H. Swinarton, the general
Superintendent of the stables of the Company, who personally
directed the equipment and himself drove the historic coach.
The Secretary here records his thanks to Mr. George Wilson,
Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, and his assistant, Mr. Will
iam Kiernan, for uniform and numerous courtesies ; to Mr. Will
iam Kelby, of the New York Historical Society, for aid in the prep
aration of the Historical Pamphlet, and to Messrs. C. Van E.
Gallup and S. D. Crafts, descendants of Major-General Heath of the
Continental Army, the worthy Commander of the Northern De
partment during the Revolution, for valuable assistance rendered in
the arduous closing hours of preparation for the Celebration.
On the suggestion of the Secretary, it was resolved to apply so
much of the sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000), more or less as
should be necessary, for the publication of a Memorial Pamphlet,
reciting the Proceedings of the Joint Committee and the ceremonies
, of the Celebration, and for the erection of a Memorial Tablet at the

92
Barge Office (at the Whitehall), on behalf of the Municipality and
Citizens of New York, and in commemoration of the departure of
General Washington from that point after his Farewell to his officers,
on the fourth December, 1783.
The Secretary was charged with the preparation of the pamph
let ; the erection of the tablet was referred to a Committee consist
ing of Messrs. Cochrane, Varnum and Stevens, with full power.
The Secretary was requested to perfect the Record of the Pro
ceedings and authorized to employ clerical assistance in the same,
and on its completion to deposit the minutes, letters and documents
of the Celebration in the collections of the New York Historical
Society. The Committee having thus finished the labors intrusted to
their charge, adjourned sine die.
John Austin Stevens,
Secretary.
February 22, 1884.
Subsequent to this adjournment, the Committee of Arrange
ments, at the request of Major-General Shaler, made a further spe
cial appropriation of five hundred dollars from the sum remaining
in the custody of the Treasurer of the fund subscribed by the citi
zens toward the payment of bills incurred by the Battery compa
nies of the First Division N. G. S. N. Y. for horses in the parade.
A warrant for this sum, signed by the Chairmen of the three
committees of the Joint Committee, was duly honored and the sum
transferred to His Honor the Mayor for the purpose named. The
sum remaining in the hands of the Treasurer of the Citizens' Fund
was thereby reduced.
Correspondence! with his Honor the Mayor and the Comptroller
Committee on the Celebration op the
Evacuation of New York by the British,
Rooms of the Chamber of Commerce,
New York, January 14, 1884.
To His Honor the Mayor
op the City op New York.
Sir — I am desired by the Committee of Arrangements, appointed by the
" Joint Committee of the Common Council, the Chamber of Commerce and the
New York Historical Society," and intrusted with the details of the Celebra
tion of the One Hundreth Anniversary of the Evacuation of the City by the
British, to inform your Honor that the financial work of the Committee is now
completed, and to submit a Schedule op the Bills which they recommend
to your Honor for payment from the Fund of $20,000 (Twenty thousand dol-

93
lars), voted by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, under Resolution of
the Common Council, for the purpose of the Celebration.
Together wiih the Schedule I also submit Statements op the Several
bills especially numbered as Recommendations, 1 to 94, to each of which state
ments original vouchers are attached with certificate of correctness and the
audit of the Auditing Committee.
These statements are upon the Department forms supplied by the Comp
troller of the City, and each bears the written Recommendations of the Chair
men of the three Committees, viz.: The Hon. John Cochrane, Chairman of the
Common Council Committee, James M. Brown, Acting President of the Chamber
of Commerce, and Augustus Schell, President of the New York Historical
Society, the same being in accordance with the arrangements made by your
Honor in person with the Joint Committee at its meeting of October 31st last.
I have further the pleasure to inform your Honor, that upon the payment
of these bills now presented, every obligation, incurred by the Committee on
the Celebration, will have been discharged in full; the sum subscribed by
the Citizens, nearly $15,000 (Fifteen Thousand Dollars), having been also ap
propriated and disbursed under the similar authority of the Chairmen of the
Joint Committee hereinbefore named : each and every of these obligations
having also been discharged in full.
A sum sufficient for the publication of a simple Record of the Celebration
and the Erection of a Memorial Tablet at the Whitehall where Washing
ton took barge when he left the City after his Farewell to his officers in 1783,
has been reserved.
In accordance with an understanding had with the Comptroller the claim
ants for the sums recommended to your Honor, for payment from the $20,000
(twenty thousand dollar) fund, have been this day notified that they may receive
from him warrants on the Treasurer (of the city) upon personal application at
his office on and after Monday the 21st instant.
With grateful acknowledgment of the courteous facilities extended to the
Committee by your Honor and the Comptroller in this the final discharge of
their trust, I am, with respectful regard,
Your obedient servant,
John Austin Stevens,
Secretary of General Committee and of Committee of Arrangements.

New York, January 14, 1884
To the Hon. S. Hastings Grant,
Comptroller of the City of New York.
Sir : — In conformity with the verbal understanding had with yourself and
your Chief Clerk, I have prepared the Recommendations to his Honor the Mayor
for payment of bills incurred by the Committee on the Celebration in the fol
lowing manner: Each bill has an original Voucher, bears, 1st, the attest of the
Secretary of its correctness, and 2d, the certificate of the Auditing Committee.
These original Vouchers are attached to the Department Forms of Statement,
kindly supplied by yourself, upon which the bills are stated. These Forms of
Statement, specially indorsed as Recommendations, are numbered from 1 to 94,
and correspond with a numbered schedule, all of which I have to-day handed

94
to his Honor the Mayor for his approval. I have also this day notified each of
the claimants by printed circular, copy of which I hand you, to appear at your
office on or after the 21st instant, and apply for their Warrant under the num
ber of the Recommendation which the said circular carries with it in each case.
Sincerely thanking you in the name of the Committee and personally for
the kindness with which you have met its wishes in this the completion of
their trust, I am very respectfully yours,
John Austin Stevens,
Secretary of General Committee and of Committee of Arrangements.
Mayor's Opfice,
New York, January 17, 1884.
John Austin Stevens, Esq.,
Secretary.
Sir: — I have received your favor of the 14th inst., together with the accom
panying documents, and would say that the latter have all been approved by
me and are now in the Comptroller's possession. I desire to express to you
and through you to the other members of the Joint Committee my thanks for
the exceedingly satisfactory manner in which the affairs in charge of the Com
mittee have been conducted, and my appreciation of the comprehensive way in
which the matter of expenses has been presented. I congratulate the Commit
tee upon the successful completion of the various and intricate duties devolving
upon them. I have the honor to remain,
Yours very truly, Franklin Edson, Mayor.
Form op Notice to Claimants
Committee on the Celebration op the Evacuation
op the City op New York by the British
New York, January 14, 1884.
Sir: — By direction of the Committee of Arrangements, I hereby notify you
that your claim for services, etc., on Evacuation Day has been recommended to
his Honor the Mayor of the City for payment. Upon presenting yourself on or
after the 21st instant at the office of the Comptroller (County Court Room),
applying for Waruant under Recommendation No.  , and making the
required affidavit, you will receive the same. Please present this notice.
Respectfully yours, John Austin Stevens, Secretary.
On the fifteenth of January, 1884, the Secretary made inquiry as
to the disposition of the United States authorities to permit the
erection of the proposed Memorial Tablet at the Barge Office. The
correspondence explains the present situation of this question :

95
Correspondence with U. S. authorities with regard to Memorial
Tablet. New York, January 15, 1884.
J. L. Benedict, Esq.,
Surveyor of the Port of New York.
Sir: — The Committee on the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary
of the evacuation of the city by the British have resolved, if the consent of the
United States authorities be obtained, to place a Bronze Tablet in the granite
wall of the Barge Office within the gate on the land side in commemoration of
the closing events of the Revolution, the scene of which was our city. The
inscription proposed is as follows:
"Here at the White Hall General Washington took barge on the fourth day of
December, 1783, after his farewell to his officers. Erected by the Committee on
the Centennial Celebration of the Evacuation, in behalf of the Municipality and
Citizens of New York."
The Committee will be glad to know that their intention will meet the
approval of the United States authorities. An early answer is requested, as
the Committee hope to place the tablet on or before the twenty-second day of
February next. The tablet proposed will be about three and one-half feet
long by two and one-half feet wide, with some emblematic ornament.
Yours respectfully, John Austin Stevens, Secretary.
Custom House,
Surveyor's Office, January 16, 1884.
John Austin Stevens, Esq.,
Secretary, etc., etc.,
Sir: — I have to acknowledge receipt of your communication dated 15th
instant, relative to placing a Bronze Tablet in the granite wall of the Barge
Office, in commemoration of the closing events of the Revolution, etc., and to
inform you that your communication has been forwarded to the Honorable
Secretary of the Treasury, with a recommendation that the application be
favorably considered. As soon as I am advised in the matter you will be
informed. Yours respectfully, James L. Benedict,
Surveyor and Custodian of the Barge Office.

Custom House,
Surveyor's Office, January 19, 1884.
John Austin Stevens, Esq.,
Secretary, etc., etc.
Sir : — I enclose for your information a copy of a Department letter, dated
January 18th, 1884, in which I am authorized to permit your Committee to place
a commemorative Bronze Tablet in the granite wall of the Barge Office under
certain restrictions and conditions stated in the letter. If you will inform me

96
when the tablet is ready to be placed in position, I will request the Superin
tendent of Repairs to consult with you in relation thereto.
Very respectfully, James L. Benedict,
Surveyor and Custodian of the Barge Office.

Copy. Treasury Department.
Office of the Secretary.
Washington, D. C, January 18, 1884.
To the Custodian,
U. S. Barge Office,
New York.
Sir : — As recommended in your letter of the 16th instant, you are au
thorized to permit the " Committee on the Celebration of the Evacuation of
the City of New York by the British," to place without cost to the Government
a Bronze Tablet within the gate in the granite wall of the building in your
custody — the work to be done under the supervision of the Superintendent of
Repairs, in such a manner as to leave the wall in perfect condition.
Very respectfully,
Signed, H. E. French, Assistant Secretary.
No further steps have been taken, but the remainder of the
fund, after the expenses of the Memorial Pamphlet are paid, will, no
doubt, he applied to the purpose as ordered by the resolution of the
seventh of January.
All of which is respectfully submitted for the information of all
concerned.
John Austin Stevens,
Secretary of Committee of Arrangements.
New York, February 22, 1885.

SCHEDULES

SUBSCRIPTIONS AND APPROPRIATIONS

A TO E

SCHEDULE A
SUBSCRIBERS TO CITIZENS' FUND
Receipts were sent to all Subscribers by Solon Humphreys, Esq., Treasurer.

Exchanges :
New York Stock Exchange,
New York Cotton Exchange,

$2,621

N. Y. Mining & Nat. Petrol. Ex.,
New York Petroleum Exchange.

Banks and Trust Companies :
American Exchange Bank,
Central National "
Central Trust Company,
Continental National
First National
Fourth National
Marine National
Mercantile National

2,600

Merchants National Bank,
State of New York
National City
Manhattan Banking Co. ,
National Park
Shoe and Leather "
Phenix National
Seventh Ward National "

Bankers :
Brown Brothers & Co. ,
Samuel D. Babcock,
Drexel, Morgan & Co.,
Insurance Companies :
American Fire,
Commercial Mutual,
Continental Fire,
German American,
Home Insurance,

Eugene Kelly & Co.,
Corbin Banking Co.,
Woershofier & Co.

Liverpool, London & Globe,
Marine Underwriters,
Merchants' Insurance,
New York Equitable,
New York Fire.

800

725

Express Companies :
By Colonel Locke W. Winchester,

500

Railroad Companies :
New York Centra],
The Press:
New York Slaats Zeitung,
Clubs: The Union League,

500

250

150

100

Hotels :
Astor House,
Barrett House,
Brower House,
Brunswick Hotel,
Buckingham,Delmonico's,Fifth Avenue Hotel,
Gilsey House,
Grand Hotel,

$1,175

Hoffman House,
Morton House,
New York Hotel,
St. Denis,
St. James,
Stevens House,
Sturtevant House,
Victoria Hotel,
Windsor Hotel,

Business Firms :
Acker, Merrall & Condit,
Appleton, Daniel, & Co.,
Archer & Pancoast Manufa. Co.,
Arnold, Constable & Co.,
Auffmordt, C. A. &Co.,
Bliss, Fabyan & Co.,
Bogart, A. G. & Co.,
Butterfield, Fred., & Co.,
Carhart, Whitford & Co.,
Claflin, H. B. & Co.,
Collamore, Davis & Co.,
Cooper, Hewitt & Co.,
Daniel, John & Son,
Denny, Poor & Co.,
Dunham, Buckley & Co.,
Dunlap, R. & Co. ,
Eastman, Bigelow & Dayton,
Faulkner, Page & Co.,
Hendricks Brothers,
Hodgman & Co.,
Hornthal, Whitehead & Weissman,
Ivison, Blakeman & Taylor,
Jaffray, E. S. & Co.,
Johnston, J. & Co.,
Joy, Langdon & Co. ,
Juillard, A. D. & Co.,

3,255

Lane, J. H. & Co.,
Lawrence, Taylor & Co.,
Lesher, Whitman & Co.,
Liebenroth, Von Ann & Co.,
Low, Harriman & Co.,
MacLea, Austin & Willington,
Macy, R. & Co.,
Mali, Henry W. T., & Co.,
Megroz, Portier, Grose & Co.,
Miller, Kastor & Co.,
Mitchell & Vance,
Park & Tilford,
Phelps, Dodge & Co.,
Richardson, George C, & Co.,
Sloane, W. & J.,
Solomons, B. L., & Sons,
Stern Bros.,
Strong, W. L., & Co.,
Sweetzer, Pembroke & Co.,
Sylvester, Hilton & Co. ,
Tefft, Weller & Co.,
Tiffany & Co.,
Wendell, Jacob & Co.,
Wilmerding, Hoguet &Co.,
Woodward, Stillman & Co.,
Wyckoff, Seaman & Benedict.

Individuals :
Astor, John Jacob,
Astor, William,
Brandt, Randolph,
Butler, T. R.,
Crimmins, John D.,
Davis, Mary J.,
Delafield, M. L.,
Ewen, M. S.,

1,860

Hawes, Gilbert R.,
Hejrman, H.,
Hoffman, C. F., Jr.,
Jones, Oliver L.,
King, John A.,
Lacey, Richard,
Lyon, William H.,
Potter, O. B.,

101
Pyne, P. R., Walke, Henry,
Stone, M. A., Ward, Charles H.,
Sullivan, Algernon S., Webb, W. H.,
Tailer, Edward N, White, Alex. M.,
Vanderbilt, Cornelius, , Youmans, Danl. D.,
Vanderbilt, Wm. K., *
Chamber of Commerce :
For Carriages in the Procession, $40

Total, $14,476

SCHEDULE B
Summary of Subscriptions to Citizens' Fund
Solon Humphreys, Treasurer.
4 Commercial Exchanges  $2,621
16 Banks and Trust Companies  2,600
6 Bankers  800
10 Insurance Companies  725
4 Express Companies  500
1 Railroad Company  500
1 The Press  250
1 Club  150
18 Hotels  1,175
52 Commercial Firms  3,255
27 Individuals  1,800
1 The Chamber of Commerce, for carriages in procession  40

141 $14,476

SCHEDULE C
Summary of Expenditures of the Committee on the Celebration
Committee Expenses:
Rent, Clerk-hire, Circulars, Stationery, Messengers, Postages,
Telegrams, Engraving, Historical Pamphlet, Programme, The
WashirjgtonCoach, Headquarters Expenses, Cards.Badges, etc. $5,386 16
Hotel Accommodations :
Entertainment of the President and Governors  1,488 60
Carriages :
For reception and procession  1,501 00
Reviewing and Observation Stands  1,000 00

102
Music :
First and Second Divisions, N. G. S. N. Y  $5,042 00
Veteran Military Organizations  1,658 20
Grand Army of the Republic  2,180 06
Civic Organizations  1,148 00
 10,028 26
Grand Army of the Republic :
Carriages and general expenses of reception of guests  920 67
Entertainment of Visiting Military :
Madison Square Garden, Lyric Hall, Irving Hall, etc., (general
and special)  6,626 72
Reception and Promenade Concert at Seventh Regiment Armory :
Total expenses of the reception  3,732 96
Fire-works :
Aerial display at the Battery, Tuesday, November 27, 1883  2,000 00
Commemorative Medal :
Sum contributed to the Numismatic and Archseological Society. . 500 00

Total appropriations for Celebration as by Report
of Auditing Committee  $33,184 37

Subsequent Appropriations
Battery Horses, First Division, N. G. S. N. Y. :
Special appropriation, by request of Major-General Shaler  500 00
Remainder sum :
1, to complete the Records ;

2, to a Memorial Pamphlet Record of the Celebration ;
3, to, or toward a Memorial Tablet at the Battery, U. S. Barge
office, (say) 

791 63

$34,476 00

103
SCHEDULE D
SUMS APPROPRIATED BY THE COMMITTEE AND RECOMMENDED TO HIS nONOR
THE MAYOR FOR PAYMENT FROM THE CITY FUND OF TWENTY THOUSAND
DOLLARS.
No. of
-Vouchers. Review and Observation Stands :
1 Albert G. Bogert & Bro  $1,000 00
Carriages :
2 New York Cab Co., Ld  $960
3 Mr. Hoellerer, assignee of Van Ranst  500
4 A. S. Phinney  41
 1,501 00
Music :
5 to 16 First Division N. G. S. N. Y. favor of paymasters 3,147
Second Division N. G. S. N. Y. : ) ^ „„
17 to 22 Brooklyn Regiments  )  '
Total N. G. S. N. Y  5,042
23 to 33 Veteran Military  ,  1,658 20
Fire Department :
OldandNew  940
Police 208
34 to 57 Grand Army of the Republic, warrants to pay
masters  2,180 06
 10,028 26
Grand Army of the Republic :
58-59 Carriages for officers of Visiting Commanderies. 309
60-61 Hotel bill for same  62 60
62-75 Hotel Headquarter's Committee of G. A. R  429 76
Memorial Committee Expenses  119 31
 920 67
Reception and Promenade Concert, Seventh Regiment Armory :
76-86 Music  956
Collation  1,503
Engraving and printing  672 50
Sundries  601 46
 3,732 96
Celebration Expenses :
87-88 Invitations to stands, Cards and Badges for Com
mittee and Guests  407
89 Headquarter's First Division, printing expenses. 44 60
 451 60,

104

No. of
Vouchers.

Display of Fire-works :
90-92 Detwiller & Street  666 67
Unexcelled Fire-works Co  666 67
James Pain  666 66
 2,000 00
Visiting Military:
93 Hire of Iron Steamboat for transportation from Battery to
23d Street  300 00
94 Memorial Pamphlet Record, remainder transferred to Solon
Humphreys, Treasurer of Citizens' Fund, to be applied to
the publication of a Record of the Celebration  65 51
Total  $20,000 00

SCHEDULE E
SUMS APPROPRIATED BY THE COMMITTEE FOR WHICH WARRANTS WERE
DRAWN ON SOLON HUMPHREYS, ESQ., TREASURER OF CITIZENS' FUND.
Committee Expenses :
Offices, clerk-hire, engrossing, stationery, printing, ad
vertising, collection, messengers, postages, telegrams. $4,230 51
Historical Pamphlet :
Preparation and printing  175 00
Official Programme :
Printing  105 00
The Washington Coach :
Equipment and decoration  102 80
Grand Marshal's Headquarters :
Printing, clerk-hire  321 25
 $4,934 56
Hotel Accommodations :
Entertainment of President of the United States and
Governors of the thirteen original States:
Fifth Avenue Hotel  1,155 50
The Hoffman House  162 60
The Stevens House  25 00
Reception Committee incidentals, Fifth Av. Hotel and
reviewing stand  145 50
 1,488 60

105

Entertainment of Visiting Military :
Madison Square Garden,
Rent of general rendezvous  $500 00
Mazetti, caterer  4,598 07
Ticket-taker  25 00

At Irving Hall : 5,123 07
Mazetti, $437.25, Goldstein, $60  497 25
At Lyric Hall :
Samuel L. Terhune, caterer  300 00
At Old Guard Armory :
I. L. Jones & Co., caterers  337 50
At Military Hall :
Lunch to Veterans of 1812  10 00
At Cable's Hotel:
Lunch to U. S. Troops from Willet's Point, Capt. Wil-
lard,U.S.A  58 90
 6,326 72
Commemorative Medal :
Contribution to the Numismatic and Archaeological Society,
through the Hon. Algernon S. Sullivan  500 00
Total warrants drawn on Treasurer of Citizens' Fund,
January 7, 1884  $13,249 88
Leaving in Treasurer's hands  1,226 12
Total of Citizens' Fund  $14,476 00
Second Account
Balance in Treasurer's hands Jan. 7, 1884  $1,226 12
Warrant drawn January 14, 1884.
Transfer from City Fund  65 51
1,291 63
Battery Horses : First Division N. G. S. N. Y.
Special appropriation by request of Major-General Shaler  500 00
Balance in hands of Treasurer, January 15, 1884  $791 63

OFFICIAL PROGRAMME OF CEREMONIES

OEDEE OE PEOCESSION

109
ASSIGNMENT OF THE COMMITTEE OF AEEANGEMENTS
Fob Monday, November 26, 1883
General Cochrane will act as Grand Marshal of the procession.
General Shaler will command the Division composed of the
National Guard of the State of New York and of other States.
Mr. James M. Varnum and Mr. Charles S. Smith will have the
general charge of distinguished Federal and State guests, who will
rendezvous at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, viz. : the President and his
Cabinet, ex-President Grant, the visiting Governors and their
Staffs, and the State Officers of New York.
Mr. Smith will also represent this Committee on the Steamboat
Parade. Mr. John Austin Stevens will have the general charge of His
Honor the Mayor and of the Common Council of the City of New
York and of invited guests, viz., the Heads of Departments of the
City of New York, the Municipal Authorities of other cities and
villages, and the delegations from historical, commercial and social
organizations. Colonel Locke W. Winchester will command the veteran
organizations of the National Guard and their visiting guests.
Committees on Invited Guests
General Committee
Messrs. James M. Varnum,
John Austin Stevens,
Charles S. Smith.
Auxiliary Committees
Appointed by the General Committee on Invited Guests
For the Reception of the President and Cabinet
Messrs. Charles S. Smith, Cornelius N. Bliss and the Hon.
Daniel G. Eollins.
For the Reception of the Governor of New York
Messrs. the Hon. Francis L. Stetson, Edward Patterson, John
A. Beall, Edward L. Paris.
For the Reception of the Governor of Massachusetts
Messrs. Major T. B. Baldwin, John H. Draper, the Hon. James
Otis, General J. F. Pierson.

110
For the Reception of the Governor of Connecticut
Messrs. General Henry L. Burnett, Edmund Eandolph Eobinson,
Commander H. H. Gorringe.
For the Reception of the Governor of New Jersey
Messrs. Oliver K. King, Lawrence Wells, William A. Duer.
For the Reception of the Governor of New Hampshire
Messrs. Franklin Bartlett, the Hon. Theodore Eoosevelt, Mr. E.
Duncan Harris, Major W. B. Wetmore.
For the Reception of the Governor of Rhode Island
Messrs. J. Talmadge Van Eensselaer, Eobert G. Hone, H. S.
Eockenbaugh, Charles A. Peabody, Jr.
For the Reception of the Governor of Vermont
Messrs. the Hon. Walter Howe, Hon. J. Wilton Brooks, Colonel
E. Ely Goddard, Mr. John W. Eussell.
For the Reception of the Governor of Maine
Messrs. the Hon. J. Hampden Eobb, D. Henry Knowlton, James
G. Janeway, Eobert L. Eeade.
Instructions as to Eendezvous for Distinguished Guests
The President and Cabinet, the Mayor of the City of New
York, the Governors of States and their Staffs, and the State
Officers of this State will meet at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, in the
Gentlemen's Parlor, on the second floor, at eight o'clock on the
morning of November the 26th, and will respectively have their
presence reported to Mr. James M. Varnum, Chairman of the Com
mittee on invited guests.
Carriages will be taken at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, at 8. 30 a. m.
sharp, and the guests will be conducted to the places assigned to
them for the formation of the procession.
On arriving at the Eeviewing Stand on Broadway, near Bowling
Green, the invited guests will take places upon the stand and
witness the passage of the procession.

Ill
Instructions as to Grand Stands
Color of Badges
Grand Marshal — Eed, White and Blue — General Committee,
Eed — Committee of Arrangements, Blue — Honorary Escort, Orange
with Black and White Cockade.
Guests, White — Honorary Committee, Yellow — Aides to Com
mittee, Yellow.
Grand Stands —
Revietving Stand — Near Bowling Green
(No tickets except for the Press)
Major-General Martin T. MacMahon, of the General Committee,
will have the supervision of this Stand, which will be occupied only
by the distinguished invited guests who appear in the Procession.
Municipal Stand — City Hall Park — Tickets — Blue
Alderman Edward Duffy, of the General Committee, will have
the supervision of this Stand, which will be occupied chiefly by the
Municipal authorities of New York and Brooklyn.
Civic Stand- Union Square — Tickets — White
Hon. James W. Hawes will have the general supervision of this
Stand, which will be occupied chiefly by civic societies and the
representatives of commercial corporations.
Military Stand — Madison Square — Tickets — Red
Judge- Advocate Asa Bird Gardiner, U. S. A., will have the gen
eral supervision of this Stand, which will be occupied chiefly by
military organizations, viz. : the Society of the Cincinnati, the Mil
itary Order of the Loyal Legion, the Grand Army of the Eepublic,
and by representatives of the veterans of the war of 1812, of the
Mexican war, and of the late war.

112
OFFICIAL PEOGEAMME OP CEEEMONIES
Monday, November 26th, 1883.
I. The Mayor and Municipal Authorities, and Ex-Mayors of the
City of New York, Municipal Authorities of neighboring cities,
Senators and Members of the House of Eepresentatives of the United
States, Senators and Members of the Legislature of the State of
New York, Army and Navy Officers, Military Orders and Civic
Organizations with the exceptions hereinafter stated, rendezvous at
the Windsor Hotel, Fifth Avenue and Forty-sixth St., the Head
quarters of the Grand Marshal, where they will be received by the
Hon. John C. O'Connor, Jr., Alderman.
II. The President of the United States, Members of the Cabinet
and other National Authorities, the Governor of New York, Ex-
Governors of New York and the Governors of the Thirteen Original
States, rendezvous at the Fifth Avenue Hotel ; where they will be
received by the Hon. James M. Varnum.
III. The Commercial Associations and Historical Societies ren
dezvous at the Victoria Hotel, Fifth Avenue and Twenty-seventh
Street, where they will be received by Mr. John Austin Stevens.
IV. The Society of the Cincinnati rendezvous at Delmonico's,
Fifth Avenue and Twenty-sixth Street.
Rendezvous will be at 8 o'clock A.M.
The Officer in Command of the United States forces will meet
the Grand Marshal at Headquarters, Windsor Hotel.
The National Guard of the State of New York and Visiting
Military will report to Major-General Alexander Shaler.
Headquarters of the New York State Committee of the Grand
Army of the Eepublic are at the Fifth Avenue Hotel.
OEDEE OF PEO CESSION
The Procession will be under the command of General John
Cochrane, Grand Marshal, and will move at 9 o'clock a.m.
I. First Division of the Procession; Invited Guests, under com
mand of Brevet Brig. -General Eichard H. Jackson, will follow in
tl^ line prescribed in general orders.
II. Second Division of the Procession ; Military under command
of Major-General Alexander Shaler, will follow in the line prescribed
in general orders.
III. Third Division of the Procession ; Grand Army of Eepub
lic, under command of Major James B. Horner, will follow in the
line prescribed in general orders.
IV. Fourth Division of the Procession ; Veteran Organizations
of Volunteers, under command of General Chas. P. Stone, will fol
low in the line prescribed in general orders.
V. Fifth Division of the Procession ; Fire Department under
Command of General Lloyd Aspinwall, Assistant Marshal com
manding, will follow in the line prescribed in general orders.

113
VI. Sixth Division of the Procession ; Tammany Society and
other Civic Organizations, and the Irish Confederation ; under com
mand of General Francis J. Herron, Assistant Marshal, will follow
in the line prescribed in general orders.
Line of March
The Line of March will be from Fifty-Seventh Street, down Fifth
Avenue to Fourteenth Street, to Broadway, to Bowling Green, where
the Column will be reviewed and dismissed.
Stands
There will be three Stands of Observation on the Line of March,
viz.: at Madison Square, Union Square and City Hall Park; ad
mission by ticket only ; Eed to Madison Square, White to Union
Square, and Bine to City Hall Park.
The Eeviewing Stand will be at the Bowling Green ; no ticket
of admission, nor any person allowed upon the Stand, except the
reviewing officers, the invited guests, and the reporting Press.
The Water Parade
The Water Parade, under command of Admiral John H. Starin,
will form at 9.30 a.m. off Bedloe's Island.
The Course will be up the North Eiver to Sixty-fifth Street,
returning round the Battery, where the Flag-Ship will anchor and
the vessels be reviewed, taking course up the East Eiver to Twenty-
third Street ; returning pass Governor's Island and proceed to Bay
Eidge, where the parade will be dismissed.
Washington Statue
The Ceremonies appointed for ihe Unveiling of the Statue of
Washington on the Treasury steps, Wall Street, will commence at
1 p.m., under the directions of Mr. George W. Lane, President of
the Chamber of Commerce ; Prayer will be offered by Eev. E. S.
Storrs ; the Statue will be unveiled by the Governor of the State ;
be tendered to the Government of the United States, and accepted
by the President of the United States ; an Oration will be delivered
by the Hon. George William Curtis; Old Hundred will then be
sung, and a benediction pronounced by the Eight Eev. Henry C.
Potter, D.D. Military Eeception
There will be a Eeception and Promenade Concert in honor of
the visiting Military at the Armory of the Seventh Eegiment, at
nine o'clock in the evening.
Fireworks
There will be a display of Fireworks at six o'clock in the even
ing at the Battery. 8

114
OFFICIAL OEDEE OF THE PEO CESSION
Headquarters Centennial Procession
300 Mulberry Street, New York, Nov. 22d, 1883.
General Orders )
No. 3 j"
I. The various organizations composing the Parading Column
of the Centennial Celebration, November 26th, 1883, will form in
close column on the streets hereafter named, right on Fifth Avenue,
and when pat in motion will march in the following order :
General John Cochrane
Grand Marshal
Staff
Col. Edward M.L. Ehlers, Adjutant General and Chief of Staff.
Col. John B. Phelps, Asst. Adjt. General and Military Secretary.
Major John B. Coburn, Assistant Adjutant General.
Col. Edward Gilon, Assistant Adjutant General.
Captain William Wallace Walker, Assistant Adjutant General.
Major Joseph Forbes, Quartermaster General.
General F. Lopez de Queralta, Inspector General.
Col. Drake De Kay, Judge Advocate General.
Col. Alexander B. Mott, Surgeon General.
General Francis E. Pinto, Commissary General.
Col. William E. Van Wyck, Paymaster General.
Major Aug. P. Green, Chief of Engineers.
Lt.-Col. Edward Haight, Jr., Chief Signal Officer.
General Ely S. Parker, Chief of Ordnance.
Col. J. Fred. Pierson, Chief of Artillery.
Col. William E. Church, Asst. Quartermaster General.
Major William A. Copp, Asst. Paymaster General.
Lieut. Thomas W. B. Hughes, Asst. Chief of Ordnance.
Capt. John W. Jacobus, Asst. Chief Signal Officer.
Lt.-Col. Augustus M. Clark, Asst. Chief of Ordnance.
Lt.-Coi. 0. W. Leonard, Asst. Chief of Artillery.
Aides
Sergt. James S. Fraser, Major E. W. Bruninghausen,
Col. George F. Gardiner, Capt. Wm. N. Penny,
Major Benjamin J. Levy, Capt. L. T. Brennan,
Col. George F. Hopper, Major Joseph H. Stiner,

115
Capt. Charles Wilson, Col. N. W. Day,
Capt. Edward H. Warker, Capt. John C. Limbeck,
Capt. John C. O'Connor, Capt. George B. Colver,
Capt. Horace W. Fowler, Capt. T. G. Koroney,
Capt. Charles H. McKenzie, Capt. Hugh J. Grant,
Capt. E. Porter Mason, Capt. Herman G. Carter,
Capt. Charles A. Benedict, Major Charles Appleby,
Lieut. Warren H. Hedden, Lieut. Fred. S. Gibbs,
Lieut. Killian Van Eensselaer, Capt. Herbert H. Thompson,
Col. George M. Dusenberry, Capt. Edward Dodd,
Lt.-Col. Charles N. Swift, Capt. James C. Cooley,
Lt.-Col. James E. Gilmore, Capt. Thomas Graham,
Lt.-Col. E. W. Leonard, Lieut. Eastus S. Eanson,
Major Sidney De Kay, Lieut. Charles H. Eaymond.
Honorary Escort to Distinguished Guests
The Honorary Escort of One Hundred,
First Troop of Philadelphia City Cavalry,
Bvt. Brig. Gen. E. Burd Grubb.

FIEST DIVISION OF THE PEOCESSION
Bvt. Brig. Gen. Eichard H. Jackson,
Major 5th U. S. Artillery, Commanding.
On West 57th Street.
Special Escort of U. S. Troops to Distinguished Guests.
On W bWi Street. Battalion of Engineers,
Capt. J. H. Willard,
Foot Battalion of 5th U. S. Artillery,
Bvt. Colonel A. C. Wildrick,
Major 5th Artillery.
Battalion of Marines,
Bvt. Lt.-Col. Charles Haywood, U. S. M. C.
Light Battery F, 5th U. S. Artillery,
Bvt. Major W. F. Eandolph,
Capt. 5th Artillery.
Detachment Co. F, 4th U. S. Arty., "Hamilton Battery."

116

On East 57th Street.
Committee of Arrangements — in carriages.
The President of the United States and Members of his
Cabinet. Ex-President of the United States, General U. S.
Grant. The Governor of New York and Staff.
" Massachusetts and Staff.
" Connecticut "
" New Jersey "
" New Hampshire "
" Ehode Island "
" Vermont "
" Maine "

On East 56th Street.
Officers of the U. S. Army and Navy.
On East 55th Street.
The Mayor of the City of New York.
Members of the Common Council of New York City.
Mayor of Brooklyn.
Common Council of Brooklyn.
Mayor of Yonkers.
Common Council of Yonkers.
Mayor of Long Island City.
Common Council of Long Island City.
Civil Authorities of Flushing, Long Island.
Mayor of Newburgh.
Mayor of Hoboken.
Common Council of Hoboken.
Mayor of Jersey City.
Common Council of Jersey City.
Mayor of New Haven.

On East 5Uh Street.
Heads of Departments, New York City Government.
Federal Officials.
Members of Congress.

117
On East 53d Street.
Chamber of Commerce.
Marine Society.
N. Y. Stock Exchange.
N. Y. Produce Exchange.
N. Y. Cotton Exchange.
Maritime Association.
N. Y. Mining and Petroleum Exchange.
Mercantile Exchange.
N. Y. Metal Exchange.
Board of Trade and Transportation.
N. Y. Eeal Estate and Trades' Exchange.
On East 52d Street.
New York Historical Society.
Pennsylvania " "
Maryland " "
New Jersey " "
Ehode Island " "
Maine " "
Vermont " "
Delaware " "
Buffalo " "
Westchester " "
Archseological and Numismatic Society.
General Society Mechanics and Tradesmen.
On East olst Street.
Society of the Cincinnati.
Military Order of the Loyal Legion.
Veterans of the War of 1812.
The Washington Coach.

SECOND DIVISION OF THE PEOCESSION
Major-General Alexander Shaler, Commanding.
staff— On West 55 th St.
FIEST DIVISION N. G. S. N. Y.
Brig.-General Wm. G. Ward, Commanding.
staff — On West 54th St.

118

first brigade n. g. s. n. y.
Col. Josiah Porter, Commanding.
staff— On West 53d St.
22d Eegt. N. G. S. N. Y.— Lt.-Colonel J. T. Camp.
11th " " " Fredk. Unbekant.
12th « " " S. V. E. Cruger.
9th " " " Wm. Seward, Jr.
On West 52d Street.
1st Battery N. G. S. N. Y— Capt. Louis Wendel.
2d " " " Fred. P. Earle.

SECOND BRIGADE N. G. S. N. Y.
Brig.-General Louis Fitzgerald.
staff — On West 51st St.
7th Eegt. N. G. S. N. Y.— Colonel Emmons Clark.
69th " " " James Cavanagh.
8th " " " George D. Scott.
71st " " " EichardVose.

Connecticut National Guard.
Brig.-General Stephen E. Smith.
staff— On East 50th St.
3d Eegt. C. N. G.— Col. W. H. Tubbs.
2d " " " C. P. Graham.
2d Co. Governor's Foot Guards — Capt. E. J. Morse.
4th Eegt. C. N. G.— Col. G. S. Crofut.
5th Battalion C. N. G.— Major F. M. Welch.
Battalion 1st Eegt. C. N. G. — Maj. A. L. Goodrich.
Battalion Vets. New Haven Grays, )
" Hartford City Guards, \ U"Co1- A" °- Hondrick.
Battery A. C. N. G.— Capt. W. H. Lee.
New Jersey National Guard.
Col. Dudley S. Steele, Commanding.
staff — On West 49th Street.

119
4th Eegt. N. G. N. J — Lt.-Col. Wm. B. Shafer.
9th " " " B. Franklin Hart.
1st Battalion " Major Jos. W. Congdon.
Co. E, 3d Eegt. N. G. N. J.— Capt. H. A. Palmer.
Co. C, " " W. H. De Hart.
Gatling Gun Co. A, " Bvt. Brig. -Gen. J. Madison Drake.
19th Separate Co. N. G. S. N. Y.— Capt. Hanbenestel.

SECOND DIVISION N. G. S. N. Y.
Brig.-General C. T. Christensen, Commanding.
staff — On East 45th Street.

fourth brigade n. g. s. n. y.
Brig.-General W. H. Brownell.
stafe — On East 45th Street.
23d Eegt. N. G. S. N. Y.— Colonel Eodney C. Ward.
32d " " " Louis Finkelmier.
47th " " " Truman V. Tuttle.
3d Battery, " Capt. H. S. Easquin.
THIRD BRIGADE N. G. S. N. Y.
Col. James McLeer, Commanding.
staff — On East 44th Street.
13th Eegt. N. G. S. N. Y.— Colonel D. E. Austen.
14th " " Major Harry Nichol.
17th Separate Co. N. G. S. N. Y.— Capt. Thomas Miller, Jr.
INDEPENDENT ORGANIZATIONS.
Cn West ±5th Street.
Old Guard and Detachment of Honorable and Ancient Artillery
of Boston, Major George W. McLean.
Governor's Foot Guard of Connecticut, Major J. C. Kinney.
Albany Burgess Corps, Capt. Oscar Smith.
Utica Citizens' Corps, Capt. D. T. Everett.
Battalion Providence Light Infantry, Maj. W. H. Thornton.
Newport Artillery (as Infantry), Col. George H. Vaughan.
1st Co. Washington Continentals, N. Y., Capt. A. H. Gorringe.
Washington Continentals (Newburgh), Capt. P. J. McDonald.

120
Continental Guards, School No. 68, Col. E. Martinez.
St. Patrick's Alliance of America, Capt. Thomas Cahill.
Hibernian Eifles, Capt. William Judge.
Veteran Guards (Colored), Lieut-Col. John J. Breeman.
VETERAN CORPS N. G. S. N. Y.
On West Uth Street.
Veterans of 7th Eegt. N. G. S. N.Y.— Col. Locke W. Winchester.

71st

it

a

a

C. W. Dustan.

23d

a

n
a
E. 0. Hotchkiss.
9th
a
a
a
William Scott.
13th
a
a
a
Willoughby Powell
ltth
a
a
a
Nic. Hartman.
22d
a
i i
a
G. W. Laird.
1st
a
N.
G.
Pennsylvania
THIED DIVISION OF THE PEOCESSION
GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC, IN TEN SUBDIVISIONS
Major James B. Horner, Commanding.
staff — On West 43d Street.
Officers of Memorial Committee in Carriages.
Commander-in-Chief G. A. E. and Staff.
Dept. Commanders G. A. E. and their Staffs of New York, Maine,
New Jersey, Ehode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Massachusetts,
Pennsylvania, Vermont and New Hampshire.
Dept. Commander of Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia,
West Virginia, the Gulf, and Georgia.
1st division, g. a. r.
On West 43d Street. Marshal, August Fleischbein.
Koltes Post, No. 32, G. A. E.
Eeno Post, No. 44, G. A. E.
Jno. A. Eawlins Post, No. 80, G. A. E.
2d division, g. a. r.
On East 43c? Street. Marshal, John W. Dowling.
Jas. C. Eice Post, No. 29, G. A. E.
Wadsworth Post, No. 77, G. A. E.
121
Farragut Post, No. 75, G. A. E.
Ellsworth Post, No. 67, G. A. E.
Farnsworth Post, No. 170, G. A. E.
3d division, g. a. r.
On West 42d Street. Marshal, Samuel Minnes.
E. A. Kimball Post, No. 100, G. A. E.
Cameron Post, No. 79, G. A. E.
Eobt. Anderson Post, No. 58, G. A. E.
Van Houten Post, No. 3, of N. J., G. A. E.
4th division, g. a. r.
On East 42d Street. Marshal, Gustave Schneider.
James Shields Post, No. 69, G. A. E.
Lincoln Post, No. 13, G. A. E.
Thaddeus Stevens Post, No. 255, G. A. E.
5th division, g. a. r.
On East 41st Street, North side.
Marshal, Thomas Bogan.
Sumner Post, No. 24, G. A. E.
Geo. G. Meade Post, No. 38, G. A. E.
Jno. A. Andrew Post, No. 234, G. A. E.
6th division, g. a. r.
On East 41st Street, South side.
Marshal, David J. Mallon.
John A. Dix Post, No. 135, G. A. E.
Phil. Kearney Post, No. 8, G. A. E.
W. D. Kennedy Post, No. 42, G. A. E.
7th division, g. a. r.
On West 40th Street. Marshal, John Lake.
J. L. Eiker Post, No. 62, G. A. E.
Dahlgren Post, No. 113, G. A. E.
Sedgwick Post, No. 186, G. A. E.
Zabriskie Post, No. 38, of N. J., G. A. E.

122
8th division, g. a. r.
On East 40th Street. Marshal, Dennis Sullivan.
Judson Kilpatrick Post, No. 143, G. A. E.
Adam Goss Post, No. 330, G. A. E.
Gilsa Post, No. 264, G. A. E.
9th division, g. a. r.
On West 39th Street. Marshal, S. Dexter Bingham.
Vanderbilt Post, No. 136, G. A. E.
Oliver Tilden Post, No. 96, G. A. E.
Joseph Hooker Post, No. 128, G. A. E.
Steinwehr Post, No. 192, G. A. E.
10TH DIVISION, G. A. R., OF BROOKLYN.
On East 39th Street. Marshal, Charles Curie.
Post, No. 327, G. A. E.
Mansfield Post, No. 35, G. A. E.
Eankin Post, No. 10, G. A. E.
Thadford Post, No. 3, G. A. R.
S. F. Dupont Post, No. 187, G. A E.
Frank Head Post, No. 16, G. A. E.
Dakin Post, No. 206, G. A. E.
Kerswill Post, No. 149, G. A. R.
James H. Perry Post, No. 89, G. A. E.

SONS OF VETERANS
On East 39th Street, right on Madison Avenue.
Marshal, Dep't Commander Henry Schuchart.
Eobt. T. Lincoln Post No. 7, S. 0. V.
A. H. Dupont Post, No. 13, S. O. V.
Perry Post, No. 14, S. O. V.
C. Woerner Post, No. 15, S. 0. V.
KoltesPost, No. 17, S. 0. V.
Geo. H. Thomas Post, No. 19, S. 0. V.
E. V. Young Post, No. 20, S. 0. V.
Mansfield Post, No. 21, S. 0. V.
Eankin Post, No. 10, S. 0. V.
Seven Camps of S. 0. V.

123
FOUETH DIVISION OF THE PEOCESSION
On East 38th Street.
Veteran Organizations of Volunteers in Two Subdivisions
General Charles P. Stone, Asst. Marshal, Commanding.
STAFF
1st division
Major Churchill J. Cambreleng.
staff
Veterans of the Mexican War, Capt. Jacob E. Eiley.
Vets, of 5th N. Y. Vols., Geo. W. Campbell.
Independent Vet. Vols., Capt. Wm. Platte.
Vets, of 42d N. Y. Vols., Capt. James Casey.
Vets, of 7th N. Y. Vols., Gen'l Geo. H. Von Schaack.
Vets, of 10th N. Y. Vols., Col. John W. Marshall.
Vets, of 73d N. Y. Vols. (2d Fire Zouaves), Mathew McCullough.
Vets, of 69th N. Y. Vols., T. J. O'Donohue.
Vets, of 45th N. Y. Vols., Franz Ficke.
Vets, of 41st N. Y. Vols., Col. J. D. Krebbiel.
Vets, of 40th N. Y. Vols., Col. M. M. Cannon.
Vets, of 8th N. Y. Vols. 2d division
General James E. O'Beirne.
staff '
Veterans of 14th Eegt. N. Y. S. M., Jno. V. Eason.
Survivors of Sykes' Division.
Union Veteran Army, G. N. Tibbals.
Union Veteran Army, J. Haven.
Vets, of 164th N. Y. Vols., Gen'l Wm. DeLacy.
Vets, of 165th N. Y. Vols., Albert White.
Vets, of 103d N. Y. Vols., Col. Chas. Miller,
Vets, of 39th N. Y. Vols., Capt. Wm. Stonebrook.
Vets, of 20th N. Y. Vols., Conrad Thunges.
Veteran Singing Society, Peter Vogler.
Veteran Zonaves, Capt. T. J. Shehan.
Soldiers' and Sailors' Union, Emil C. Walter.

124
FIFTH DIVISION OF THE PEO CESSION
On West 38th Street.
General Lloyd Aspinwall, Assistant Marshal, Commanding.
STAFF
Mounted Police, Capt. McCullough.
Battalion of Police.
Superintendent Geo. W. Walling.
Brigade N. Y. Fire Dep't.
On West 37th Street.Asst. Chief Engineer Charles O'Shay.
Detachment N. Y. Insurance Fire Patrol.
On East 37th Street. Supt. M. B. Wilson,
Detachment Hoboken Fire Dept.
On West 36th Street. Chief Charles Gorman.
Eepresentatives of Old Volunteer Fire Department, N. Y. City.
On East 36th Street. Ex-Chief John W. Decker.
Volunteer Fireman's Association of Philadelphia,
Foreman, Mortimer L. Johnson.
Bell Eingers of Old Fire Department.
On East 35th Street.
Protection Engine Co., No. 1, Mount Vernon, Foreman, E. J.
Volmar. Tiger Light Hose, L. 1. City, Foreman, C. A. Lewis.
Jackson Hose, No. 5, L. I. City, Foreman, James McKeon.
Astoria H. & L. Co., No. 1, Foreman,  .
Volunteer H. & L. Co., No. 2, Staten Island, Foreman, S. W.
Decker. Waudewenock H. & L. Co., No. 1, Newton, Foreman, D. P.
Treadwell. Hope H. & L. Co., No. 1, Yonkers, Foreman, W. H. Gurnsey.

125
SIXTH DIVISION OF THE PEOCESSION
General Francis J. Herron, Assistant Marshal, Commanding.
staff on East 34th Street.
Tammany Society (Sachems in carriages).
Marshal, Thomas S. Brannan.
On West 34th Street.
Order United American Mechanics, Charles Whitmore, President.
Approved Order of Eed Men, George E. Macoy, President.
General Theological Seminary, E. 0. Hoffman.
On East 33d Street.
Irish Confederation, Edward J. Eowe, President.
St. Patrick's Alliance of America, J. H. McCarthy, President.
On West 33d Street.
Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, John Savage, President.
Central Council of United F. M. T. A. B., J. E. Feeny, Presi
dent.
Yorkville & Harlem Bakers' Association, on East 32d Street.
Charles Wagner, President.
On West 32d Street.
Journeymen Stone Cutters' Association.
Journeymen Tailors' Association.
On East 31st Street.
Young Men's Progressive Association (colored).

II. In proceeding to the streets assigned them— organizations
will march on Seventh Avenue if required to form west of Fifth
Avenue — and on Lexington Avenue if required to form east of Fifth
Avenue, and if necessary to cross Fifth Avenue, will do so south of
23d Street— or north of 57th Street— no organization will march on
Fifth Avenue in proceeding to the place of formation.
III. Governors of States and their Staffs will take carriage at
the Fifth Avenue Hotel, at 8.30 a.m., and proceed by way of Madi
son Avenue to East 57th Street, where the carriages will be formed
four abreast. The Governors' carriages on the right of each group
of four. The Staff on the left. Other invited guests, officials, and
delegations, will take carriages at the Windsor Hotel, 47th Street

126
and Fifth Avenue, at the same hour. Carriages will approach this
point by way of Madison Avenue through 46th Street to Fifth
Avenue, to 47th Street to Madison Avenue, thence to the several
streets designated as the place of formation — where they will form two
abreast. New York and other Historical Societies, the Chamber of
Commerce and other Commercial Associations and Exchanges will
take carriage at 8 o'clock at the Victoria Hotel, and proceed by way
of Madison Avenue to the streets designated for them, where they
will form two abreast.
IV. The Grand Marshal's Staff and Aides, and the First Troop
Philadelphia City Cavalry will report to him at 8 a.m. at the
Windsor Hotel. The troops forming on Fifth Avenue facing the
hotel. V. No delays are to be made in formation, awaiting organiza
tions that may be late; such organizations must take positions in
the rear of their division. All organizations not military will march
eight abreast, with interval of three yards between the sections.
VI. The Head of Column will be put in motion at 9A.M. The line
of march will be down Fifth Avenue to 14th Street, to Broadway, to
Bowling Green, where the column will be reviewed and dismissed.
When the rear of the escort has turned into Fifth Ave., the carriages
on 57th Street will move out, following the escort at a distance
of twenty yards, followed in their turn by the carriages on 56th,
55th, 54th, 53d, 52d and 51st Streets, which, as they move into the
Avenue, will form four abreast. Each group of carriages will main
tain a distance of eight yards from the preceding group. The
carriages on the right to be the guide, and each of the other
carriages of the group will keep abreast of it. Great care should be
taken not to increase the prescribed distance.
VII. The Head of each Division will move out and take its posi
tion in the General Column when the rear of the preceding division
has passed. In passing Madison Square the guide of the column
will march parallel with the Fifth Avenue curb line.
VIII. When opposite Exchange Place the Staff of the Grand
Marshal and the special escort will move into line simultaneously,
faced to the left — the artillery in column of sections or pieces along
the curb. The column of carriages will halt momentarily while the
escort is forming line, and when the formation is completed will
move forward, the guests to be saluted by the escort.

127
IX. Upon reaching the Eeview Stand the carriage on the right
of each group will successively move forward to the south end of the
stand, the other three carriages will turn to the right and follow in
the rear of the first, halting in front of the stand, permitting their
occupants to alight, and will then move forward through Whitehall
into State Street to Battery Place, forming two abreast along the
easterly curb of State Street, as closely together as practicable. The
"Washington Coach "will turn to the right into Battery Place,
through Washington Street northward.
X. On approaching the point of review a slight change of direc
tion to the left is necessary.
XI. The column will be reviewed by the Governor of the State
of New York, assisted by the Governors of the original thirteen
States. XII. After the review the U. S. Troops will march through
Whitehall Street to the Battery and embark. Organizations return
ing northward by Elevated Eailroad, march through Whitehall St.
to the South Ferry Station. All organizations marching northward
and to the east of Broadway and Fifth Avenue, march through Beaver
and William Streets ; those marching northward and to the west of
Broadway and Fifth Avenue march through Battery Place and Wash
ington Street. In passing Bowling Green the fronts of subdivisions
will be reduced by breaking files to the rear from the left. Com
manding officers are strictly enjoined to prevent a cheek in the
march past the Eeview Stand.
XIII. At the conclusion of the review the carriages will take up
the guests at the south end of the Eeview Stand, and move in a
single line, escorted by the Grand Marshal, Staff and First Troop
Philadelphia City Cavalry, through Whitehall, Beaver, William and
Pine Streets, to the rear of the Sub-Treasury Building, where the
guests will alight, thence into Nassau Street to Cedar Street, to Will
iam Street, to Pine Street, and await further orders.
By order of
Gen. John Cochrane,
Grand Marshal.
Edward M. L. Ehlers,
Adjt. General and Chief of Staff.
Official. John M. Phelps, Asst. Adjt. General.

128
NAVAL-GENEEAL OEDEE
General Order, ) North Atlantic Station, U. S. Flagship Tennessee,
No. 30. S New York Harbor, November 24, 1883.
The following instructions will be observed by the vessels under
my command in New York Harbor, on Monday, November 26th,
1883, the Centennial Anniversary of the Evacuation of New York
City by the British forces. At sunrise, each vessel will dress ship
"rainbow fashion," with the National Ensign at each mast-head,
and fire a salute of twenty-one guns. There will be a river parade
of the steam vessels of New York, at 9.30 a.m. The procession of
vessels, headed by the Flagship Sam Sloan, will start from Bedloe's
Island, steam up the North Eiver on the New Jersey side, then
down on the New York side, and thence into the East Eiver. When
the Flagship Sam Sloan passes the Tennessee, in going down the
North Eiver on the New York side, each ship will man yards, by
signal, and fire a salute of twenty-one guns. The men will " lay
in" and "down from aloft" with the Tennessee. A statue of
Washington is to be unveiled in New York City, at about 11 a.m.,
and each vessel will be prepared at this time to fire a salute of
twenty-one guns, upon signal from the Tennessee. At sunset/each
vessel will fire a salute of twenty-one guns, haul down colors, and
undress ship at the last gun. Salutes will be fired with broadside
guns, if practicable. Each salute will commence with the first gun
from the Tennessee and end with the last gun from that vessel.
Great care will be taken to prevent accidents. The uniform for
officers during the day will be " undress uniform for official visits."
The uniform for the men will be indicated by signal on the. morning
of the 26th inst. G. H. Cooper, Rear Admiral, Com. U. S. Naval
Force Nor. Atl. Station.

SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI
General Order. The Joint Committee of the Common Council,
the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York, and the New
York Historical Society, charged with the celebration of the one
hundredth Anniversary of the Evacuation of the City of New
York by the British in 1783, appointed for Monday, the twenty-sixth
of November, having invited the New York State Society of the
Order of the Cincinnati to be present at the ceremonies arranged
for the occasion, members of this and of other State Societies will
meet on that day at Delmonico's, Fifth Avenue, at 8.30 a.m.
Tickets to the stand of observation at Madison Square, and also for
the military and civic reception in the evening will be furnished on
application to the Secretary of the New York State Society at the
above time and place.
Committee of Arrangements ( Alexander James Clinton,
¦at t. oi ,L M John Schuyler,
November 21, 1883. Edward W. Tabb.

DELEGATIONS TO THE CELEBRATION

Military Orders

New York State Society of the Cincinnati. [Officers, 1883.] — Messrs. the
Hon. Hamilton Fish, President, John Schuyler, Secretary, William S. Popham,
Alexander James Stanton, Edward William Tapp, the Eev. Marcius Holmes
Hutton, Pierre Van Cortlandt, John Cochrane, Thomas W. Chrystie, Anthony
Walton, White Evans, Charles Scott McKnight, Alexander Hamilton, Matthew
Clarkson, William Henry Croshy.
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, New York Com
mandery. — Medical Director Charles Martin, TT. S. V., Senior Vice-Commander
Commanding. General Charles A. Carleton, TT. S. V., Recorder; Major
Henry C. Lock wood, IT. S. V., Mr. Edward W. Masters (2d class), Colonel
Henry M. Porter, U. S. V., Colonel Nicholas Smith, TJ. S. V., General John
B. Woodward, Major Charles J. Wilson, U. S. A., First Lieutenant Duncan
McGregor, TJ. S. V,, Passed Assistant Engineer Thomas W. Eae, U. S. N.,
Colonel John J. Slocum, TJ. S. V., and four at large.
Grand Army of the Republic — State Commanderies — E. B. Beath, Com
mander-in-Chief; J. M. Vanderslico, Adjutant-General.
Maine — E. M. Shaw, Commander ; D. Horace Hilman, A. A. G.
New Hampshire — John C. Linehan, Commander ; Samuel M. Brown,
A. A. G.
Vermont — A. B. Valentine, Commander ; C. C. Kinsman, A. A. G.
Massachusetts — George S. Evans, Commander ; A. C. Monroe, A. A. G.
Ehode Island— ^Philip S. Chase, Commander; W. 0. Bradford, A. A. G.
Connecticut — Isaac B. Hyatt, Commander; Henry E. Tainter, A. A. G.
New York — John A. Reynolds, Commander; Joseph A. Addington,
A. A. G.
New Jersey — George B. Fielder, Commander; John Eamsey, A. A. G.
Pennsylvania — E. S. Osborne, Commander; Thomas J. Stewart, A. A. G.
Delaware — Daniel Eoss, Commander; Edward H. Gregg, A. A. G.
Maryland— John H. Suter, Commander ; Charles H. Eichardson, A. A. G.
Virginia — P. T. Woodhin, Commander ; William P. Sands, A. A. G.
West Virginia — W. H. H. Flick, Commander ; H. V. Daniels, A. A. G.
Tennessee and Georgia — Edward S. Jones, Commander; A. W.Willis,
A. A. G.
Department op the Gulf — Charles A. Thiel, Commander; W. W.
Wright, A. A. G.
Potomac — Samuel S. Burdett, Commander ; John Cameron, A. A. G., 34.
Rhode Island State Society of the Cincinnati. — Messrs. Judge- Advocate Asa
Bird Gardiner, LL.D., United States Army, James M. Varnum, Henry Thayer
9

130
Drowne, David Barclay Kirby, Henry Waterman Holden, the Eev. Henry Bar
ton Chapin. Veterans op 1812. — Abraham Dalley, Commanding, J. Gould Warner
(adopted son), Adjutant, Henry Morris, George Crygier, William J. Surree,
Gardiner E. Lillibridge, Thomas Megson, Eobert W. Eyckman, Charles
Coombs, Elijah P. Jenks, Frederick E. Fowler, Thomas Bloomer, Samuel Eyck
man, Charles Oakley.
[Aeram Dalley, born New York City, 1796, served in Eleventh Regiment
Artillery, stationed at Fort Gansevoort. Pensioner of the TJ. S. Elijah D.
Jenks, born Westchester County, 1801, served in Third Regiment in New York
City. Pensioner of the TJ. S. Charles Coombs, born Oswego County, 1794,
stationed at Sacketts Harbor in 1813. Pensioner of the TJ. S. William J.
Surree, born New York City, 1801, seaman on man-of-war Erie in the War
with Algiers. Receives no pension. George Crygier, born New York City,
1798, drummer boy of the Seventy-sixth Regiment. Thomas Megson, born New
York City, 1798, enlisted as a sailor, was sent to Fort at Sandy Hook. Gard
ner E. Lillibridge, born Providence, E. I., 1802, enlisted iu 1812 as cabin-
boy on letter of marque Rapid.] Societies
New York Historical Society. — Messrs. William B. Boss, Richard L. Law
rence, John Austin Stevens, Cephas G. Thompson, Abraham T. W. Van Vech-
ten, Henry W. Bookstaver, Jacob B. Moore, T. Bailey Myers, Willard Parker,
Jr., Henry J. Scudder, John A. Weekes, Jr., Jonas Marsh Libbey, Franklin
Burdge, Thomas H. Edsall, George W. W. Houghton, William Kelby.
Buffalo (New York) Historical Society. — Messrs. W. H. H. Newman, ex-
officio President of the Society, the Hon. Solomon Sclien, James Sweeney,
Wm. H. Abell, Howard H. Baker, George W. Hayward, Colonel G. Barrett
Eich, Dr. Joseph Firmenich, George Firmenich, Colonel Charles H. Utley,
Joseph P. Dudley.
Newburgh (New York) Historical Society. — Messrs. the Hon. J. G. Graham,
T. Hervey Cook, Major E. C. Boynton, the Hon. Joel T. Headley.
Westcliester (New York) Historical Society. — Messrs. James Wood, Pres
ident, the Eev. Edgar L. Hermance, Dr. 0. H. Willis, Charles H. Tibbitts.
Rhode Island Historical Society. — Messrs. Thomas Vernon, Richmond P.
Everett, Henry T. Beckwith.
New Jersey Historical Society. — Messrs. Samuel M. Hamill, D.D., Presi
dent, Samuel Pennington, M.D., Vice-President, the Hon. John F. Nixon,
Vice-President, the Hon. J. Clements, William A. Whitehead, ex-Governor
Marcus L. Ward, Cortlandt Parker, Thomas F. Kinney, John McLean, D.D.,
LL.D., the Eight Beverend Bishop Scarborough, Barkel Gammell, General
William S. Stryker, ex-Governor Joel Parker, the Eev. Dr. Stearns.
TJie Historical Society of Pennsylvania. — Messrs. John William Wallace,
President, William Brooke Rawle, Vice-President, Gregory B. Keen, J. Edward
Carpenter, J. B. McMaster, Samuel W. Pennybacker, Francis S. Hoffman,
John Jordan, Jr., F. D. Stone.
Maryland Historical Society. — Messrs. J. H. B. Latrobe, President, Clay
ton C. Hall, Meodes Cohen, J. W. M. Lee.
Maine Historical Society.—- Messrs. Philip Henry Brown, Lewis Pierce.

131
Vermont Historical Society. — Messrs. the Hon. Hiland Hall, E. J. Phelps,
the Hon. John W. Stewart, Frederick Billings, B. F. Fefield.
American Geographical Society. — Messrs. General George W. Cullum, U.
S. Army, Francis A. Stout, Professor Theodore W. Dwight, LL.D., the Hon.
Charles A. Peabody, William Remsen, the Rev. Roswell D. Hitchcock, D.D.,
Elias F. Hall, Thomas C. Acton, Douglas Taylor, Colonel T. Bailey Myers,
Chandler Robbins, D. 0. Mills, Henry B. Hammond, Wilson G. Hunt, the Hon.
Edwards Pierrepont, Robert Lenox Kennedy, Clinton Gilbert, Joseph W.
Drexel. The American Numismatic and Archceological Society in the City of New
York. — Daniel Parish, Jr., President, Algernon S. Sullivan, Eobert Hewitt,
Jr., William Poillon.
General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York. —
Messrs. David Herbert, President, John H. Eogers, Vice-President, John H.
Waydell, Second Vice-President, James T. Burnet, Treasurer, Thomas Earle,
Secretary, Daniel D. Wright, Alexander Knox, William Bogardus, Charles B.
Tappan, Alexander Gau, Denis Hennessey, Havalah M. Smith, John C. Wan-
dell, Thomas Stetson, James Woolley.
Commercial Associations and Exchanges
From the Chamber of Commerce of the State ofNewYork. — Messrs. Francis
Baker, Hugh N. Camp, Douglas Hilger, E. Lenox Belknap, Chailes P. Bur-
dett, Edward F. Browning, John Eiley, Clinton B. Fisk, William H. Lyon,
Abraham Mills, Frederick L. Talcott, J. Lawrence McKeever, John Austin
Stevens, Jr., John H. Rhoades, James P. Wallace, William H. Webb.
The New York Marine Society. — Captains Ambrose Snow, President, G.
D. S. Trask, Treasurer, William Henry Allen, Second Vice-President, George
S. Hill, Secretary, Lauchlin McKay, Benjamin F. Marsh, Richard Luce,
William B. Hilton, George A. Dearborn, Nathaniel Putnam, James A. Walton,
J. J. Lawrence, Thomas Melville, Edward Yanny, William A. Ellis, Edward
Abeel, Frederick Bernsee, John E. Barstow, Louis S. Davis, Jeremiah Darling,
Albert Spencer, John Truaston, Stephen Whitman, James A. Chamberlain,
Benjamin T. Glover, Eobert Wheeler, John M. Gillespie. Honorary Mem
bers — Messrs. Joseph E. Clark, John Polhemus.
Maritime Association of the Port of New York. —Messrs. Charles F. El-
well, President, John P. Townsend, Vice-President, Albert H. Brown, F. W.
Houghton, John C. Smith, James S. Chew, Wm. H. Van Brunt, John W.
Parker, William A. Street, Eichard C. Veit, James H. Winchester, Henry A.
Thomas, Gustav H. Schwab, Wendell Goodwin, Wallace P. Willett, N. B.
Sinclair, Henry Stadlmaier, T. A. Cushman, J. Leacraft, Henry Beste, Gtorge
A.'SoutiiTd, William de Groot, George F. Lough, Adolphe Goepel, George
S. Scott, John D. Wing.
New York Board of Trade and Transportation. — Messrs. Josiah T. White,
Wm. .Henry Arnoux, Abraham B. Miller, Samuel Eaynor, Wm. D. Marvel,
Francis B. Thurber, Levi M. Bates, Hiram K. Miller, Benjamin Lichtenstein,
Cyrus H. Loutrel, William A. Gellatly, Morris S. Wise, Nelson Smith, Zac-
cheus Bergen, George B. Douglas, Robert B. Carpenter.
New York Real Estate and Traders' Exchange — Messrs. John W. Stevens,

132
President, Charles C. Lathrop, Vice-President, Horace Winans, George B.
Gillespie. New York Stock Exchange. — Messrs. Donald Mackay, F. K. Sturgis,
William McClure, W. S. Nichols, H. S. Wilson, L. L. White, G. A. Fanshawe,
John H. Davis, George W. Ely.
New York Produce Exchange. — Messrs. L. F. Holman, A. R. Gray,
George S. Hart, Benjamin Parr, Charles H. Smith, R. L. Engs, C. H. Han-
Dah, W. F. MartiD, 0. B. Lockwood.
New York Cotton Exchange. — M. B. Fielding, Siegfried Gruner, Mayer
Lehman, James F. Wenman, William Woodward, Jr., John H. Inman, Thomas
Scott, Henry Hentz, K. M. Murchison, James Swann, F. W. Williams, Will
iam V. King.
New York Mining, Stock and National Petroleum Exchange. — Messrs. J.
H. Tucker, Chairman, H. H. Inman, R. M. Shaw, C. F. Schramme, A. W.
Peters, G. B. Satterlee, C. F. Woods, L. V. Deforest, C. O. Morris, C. G. Wil
son, W. P. Pratt.
New York Petroleum Exchange and Stock Board. — Messrs. L. H. Smith,
W. H. Johnson, Charles Sullivan, J. D. Archibald, S. F. Strong, C. E. Orvis,
J. A. Waugh, F. D. Stead, M. Mitchill, John Copman, L. S. Morton, D. R.
Offler, H. M. Curtis, George H. Lincoln, P. 0. C. Miller.
New York Metal Exchange. — Messrs. Tallmadge Selafield, George V
Tompkins, William P. Tilton, M. M. Schwartz, Antonio Rasines.

133
THE WATER PARADE
ADMIRAL
The Hon. John H. Starin.
Vice-Admiral ^Rear-Admiral
F. W. Vosburg. A. C. Cheney.
Commodores
First Division, Isaac L. Fisher, Second Division, C. W. Woolsey,
Third Division, W. H. Hooker, Fourth Division, E. H. Coffin,
Fifth Division, Joseph Peene, Sixth Division, D. M. Munger,
Seventh Division, David Cox, Eighth Division, H. Howland,
Ninth Division, Thomas Lawson.
Committee op Reception
Admiral's Boat, J. G. Peene, S. D. Coyendall.
Vice- Admiral's Boat, Isaac L. Fisher.
General Committee op Arrangements
John H. Starin — President City, River and Harbor Transportation Com
pany. D. S. Babcock — President Providence Line.
Samuel Schuyler — President Schuyler Towing Line.
H. F. Dimock — President Metropolitan Steamship Company.
Thomas Cornell — President Cornell Steamboat Company.
E. G. Stoddard — President New England Transportation Company.
A. Van Santvoard — President Bay Line Steamers.
John Engils — President Knickerbocker Steamboat Company.
W. W. Everett — President People's Line of Steamers.
J. R. Kennedy — President Fall River Line.
Richard Peck — President New Haven Line.
George M. Snyder — President Calskill Steamboat Company.
Reed and Powell — Hudson Steamboat Company.
George R. Martin — President Empire Transportation Line.
F. R. Morris — Superintendent Bee Line Transportation Company.
L. Luckenback — Sea Towing Company.
S. A. Gardner — Norwich Steamboat Company.
James Braisted — Staten Island Ferry.
Walter N. Degraw — Union Ferry Company.
Joseph Cornell — Troy Line.
Charles E. Loew — Iron Steamboat Company.

PROGRAMME
The officers of the Parade shall be one Admiral — John H. Starin — one
Vice-Admiral, one Rear-Admiral , twelve Commodores commanding squadrons.
The Admiral to appoint such officers and such number of Aides for his per
sonal staff as he may desire.
Each Commodore to appoint such number of captains as his squadron may

134
request, which captains shall be assigned to special dispatch boats for the pur
pose of executing orders along the line.
Each officer shall fly the designating pennant of his rank.
Each squadron shall be designated by number, and the flag-ships shall fly
their respective numbers on a white color, not less than six feet square, with
numbers thereon in black not less than three feet in height.
Each Commodore shall assign the position of each vessel of his squadron
under genei'al command of the Admiral.
Line to form 9.30 A. M., sharp, from a barge anchored abreast of Bedloe's
Island. All boats to form to the southward of said barge.
Upon the arrival of the Admiral's flag-ship at the head of the line and the
firing of one gun from the flag-ship, the line will move.
The course to be up the North River to a point about opposite Sixty-fifth
Street. Turn to the eastward, move south near the New York shore, round
the Battery and pass the flag-ship, which shall anchor at that point and review
the parade, up the East Eiver to a point opposite Twenty-third Street Ferry.
Turn to eastward and proceed down near the Brooklyn shore. Pass Governor's
Island to the northward and proceed to Bay Ridge, where parade will be dis
missed. All pai-ticipators in the line are to remember that an exclusive right of way
is not to be assumed because of their position, and that the usual care must be
observed to regard to the right of ferry-boats, etc., to cross the line.
Indiscriminate blowing of whistles by boats in line is prohibited.
Each boat, however, as it comes abreast of the flag-ship in review shall
salute with three short blasts. This is regarded as necessary to prevent any
possible confusion with legitimate navigation signals.

UNVEILING OF THE STATUE OP GEORGE WASHINGTON
Erected under the auspices of the Chamber op Commerce on the Steps
op the Sub-Treasury, in Wall Street.
Monday, November Twenty-Sixth, 1883, at one o'clock.
John Q. A. Ward, Sculptor
Special Committee op the Chamber
Royal Phelps, Chairman,
A. A. Low, Morris K. Jesup,
S. B. Chittenden, Henry F. Spaulding.

PROGRAMME
1. Mr. George W. Lane, President of the Chamber of Commerce, will
take the chair as presiding officer.
2. The Rev. Richard S. Storrs, D.D., will offer prayer.
3. Mr. Royal Phelps, Chairman of the Special Committee of the Cham
ber of Commerce, will report to Mr. Lane, President of the Chamber, the
completion of the work committed to their charge.

135
4. His Excellency Governor Cleveland will unveil the Statue.
5. Mr. Lane will tender the Statue to the Government of the United
States, in whose custody it will thereafter remain, pursuant to an Act of
Congress. 6. The President op the United States will accept the Statue on behalf
of the Government.
7. The Hon. George William Curtis will deliver the Oration.
8. The assemblage will be invited to sing OLD HUNDEEDTH.
9. The Right Reverend Henry C. Potter, D.D., Assistant Bishop of the
Diocese of New York, will pronounce a Benediction, which will conclude the
ceremonies.

CENTENNIAL ADDRESS
Before the New York Historical Society
On Occasion of its Seventy-ninth Anniversary
TUESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER TWENTY-SEVENTH, 1883
Academy of Music
The Peace Negotiations op 1783
BY
JOHN JAY
Committee op Arrangements
William Dowd John Taylor Johnston
Jacob D. Vermilye Andrew Warner
Jacob B. Moore

JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE CELEBRATION

FINAL KEPOKT

FINAL EEPOET OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE
The preceding pages of this Report record the official pro
ceedings of the Common Council, the Historical Society, and the
Chamber of Commerce which led to the formation of the Joint
Committee on the Centennial Celebration of the Evacuation of
New York by the British ; the Minutes of the Joint Committee
and of the Committee of Fifteen (delegates from these three
bodies); the Minutes and Reports of the Executive Committee —
all of these in full. Also the Report of the Committee of Ar
rangements, to which the entire details of the Celebration were
confided, together with the Official Order and Programme of
Ceremonies, the Official Order of Procession, and a complete
List of the delegations appointed by the various organizations,
civic and civic-military in and out the city, to take part in the
ceremonies of the day.
The Secretary concludes the Report of the Joint Committee
with a short account of the Celebration. Following the admi
rable example of the New York Historical Society in its Report
of the Celebration of the Battle of Harlem Plains (in 1876, the
first of New York Centennial Revolutionary Celebrations), the
Secretary appends a selection from the full notices of the cele
bration which appeared during its preparation, progress, and
after its close in the daily newspapers of the city. These Press
notices, textually reprinted, form a photographic picture of the
celebration, abundant in detail and admirable in color, variety
and vivacity. No individual report could possibly compare
with this faithful portraiture, the touches upon which were
made by the master hands of the best organized reporting staffs
in the city.

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THE CELEBRATION
The sun rose on the morning of Monday, the twenty-sixth
November, 1883, the day appointed for the celebration of the
Centennial Anniversary of the Evacuation, on an unclouded sky,
and gave promise of an " auspicious day." A salute from the
Powder House at McGown's Pass, through which Washington
rode on the eventful morning a century before, and at the same
moment a salute from the Battery, the spot whence he contem
plated some hours later the vessels waiting to bear away the
hostile force, which had for seven years held strong vantage in
the port of New York, commenced the dawn of the One Hundredth
Anniversary of the crowning event of the Revolution. With the
rejoicing roar of these peaceful guns mingled the echoes of the
big mouthed cannon of the forts and of the men-of-war in the
harbor as the National colors were thrown to the breeze on land
and sea. The celebration was begun. Unfortunately the
promise of the early morning was not fulfilled, and stormy
clouds soon gave certain assurance that the city would not
escape the regulation Evacuation Day weather. Fortunate
were those of the arriving military who clung to their over
coats. On the evening of Monday, the twenty-fifth, Mr. Stevens was
at the Grand Central Depot to receive the Governor of the State
of New York and escort him to the quarters prepared for himself
and Staff. The train was several hours late, but toward mid
night made its appearance. At an early hour in the morning of
the Celebration Messrs. Bliss and Smith of the special Committee
appointed to receive the President of the United States, were
at the Jersey City Station, but it was not until half -past seven
that the special train arrived. The President was warmly wel
comed, and crossing the river amid the salutes of the gathering
vessels of the Water Parade, was rapidly driven to the Fifth
Avenue Hotel, where the suite of apartments always reserved
for the President of the United States was in readiness.

141
The members of the Committee charged with the escort of
the distinguished guests of the day were all at their posts, and
at eight o'clock the carriages were present at the several points
of rendezvous. The grand reception parlors of the Fifth Avenue Hotel,
where Colonel James M. Varnum was in attendance to welcome
and marshal the distinguished guests, among whom the Presi
dent of the United States with his Cabinet and eight of the
Governors of the original States, with their numerous Staffs,
presented an animated and brilliant scene.
The late arrival of the President, whose special train was
delayed by the numerous obstacles to rapid travel caused by
the unprecedented movement toward the city, caused some anx
iety, as in the threatening gathering of the clouds and the pros
pect of a stormy march, punctuality in the start was of more
than usual consequence to the success of the celebration. More
over, the Committee in charge had it at heart to show by the
precision of the movement the thoughtful care they had given
to every detail.
The vast numbers of people who flocked to the city and
filled to overflowing not only the hotels on the line of march
but every available house of entertainment in the vicinity,
had so blocked the lines of railroad travel that delay was un
avoidable. At the appointed hour the Committees in charge of the
other invited guests left their points of rendezvous for the places
assigned them in the streets adjacent to the line of march.
Before eight o'clock the Grand Marshal was at his post and
ready for motion, but the delay in the arrival of the President
compelled a postponement of the marching order, and it was not
until ten o'clock that the signal was given for the procession to
move. It is one of the minute but peculiar incidents of the day
that, at the moment the column was put in motion the rain
began to fall.

142
The Grand Marshal with his military staff and aides and the
Honorary Escort of One Hundred led the procession; they were
followed by the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry, com
manded by General Grubb, as a Guard of Honor. The United
States Regulars were next in order at the head of the First
Division, after whom the invited guests in carriages. The Chair
man of the Joint Committee being engaged in his duties as
Grand Marshal of the day, it fell to the Secretary of the Joint
Committee to take the right of the line, at the head of the civic
portion of the First Division, assisted by Mr. John Austin
Stevens, Jr., and Mr. Augustus Van Cortlandt, Jr.
The streets were thronged with spectators/who covered every
roof, availed of every window-pane, blocked the pavements and
every cross street on the line of the procession, and stood un
flinching through the hours of pelting storm. Indeed, the fear
of the military gentlemen of the Committee of Arrangements
that if the day had been fair the line could never have passed
the Reviewing Stand, from the difficulty of dismissal in the
narrow streets about the Battery, were not unfounded, and the
rain alone preserved the integrity of the line of march. The
President sat with his landau uncovered until the last Observa
tion stand was passed, and his example was the order of the day.
The vast column moved with scarcely a temporary halt.
The President reached the Reviewing Stand at the Bowling
Green at half-past twelve, and after his presence was formally
recognized by the officers of the day drove immediately to the
steps of the Sub-Treasury in Wall Street, where he had engaged
to officiate in the unveiling of the colossal statue of Washing
ton, erected at the expense of the Citizens of New York under
the auspices of the Chamber of Commerce, and accepted as a
sacred trust by the Government of the United States. An
account of the proceedings on this occasion, with the oration of
the Hon. George William Curtis, has been published in elegant
form by the Chamber of Commerce.

143
The Water-Parade was a striking and novel affair, but
was interfered with by the bad weather. Of interest also in
the incidents of the day was the throng which gathered about
the old Fraunces' Tavern, the scene of the celebrated Farewell
of Washington to his Officers, a commemoration of which was
originally intended as one of the ceremonies of the day, but
postponed to the centennial of that event, which was later
celebrated. One of the unusual features of the Parade was the appear
ance in line of several historic military corps, whose organiza
tions date from the Colonial and Revolutionary period. Notable
among these were a representation from Light Battery F,* 4th

* Light Battery F, Fourth Regiment United States Artillery.
' ' The Hamilton Battery. " — This is the only revolutionary unit left in the regular
army, and the only one which survived the final disbandment in 1784. It has,
despite three subsequent incorporations with batteries serving with it on army
reductions, continued to be a living unit of artillery organization since 1776.
It was organized in pursuance of a resolution of the New York Provincial Con
gress in January, 1776, for the defence of the Colony and to guard its records.
Alexander Hamilton was commissioned Captain of the New York Provincial
Company of Artillery in March of that year and placed in command of this
company. Its first parade was in the Green, now the New York City Park.
On the return of the army, from the siege of Boston, Hamilton's Company was
temporarily attached to Knox's Regiment of Continental Artillery, and did good
service at the battle of Long Island. It was present at the battle of Harlem,
and during the campaign in the Jerseys so distinguished itself as to attract the
notice of Washington. After the Declaration of Independence the Com
pany was known as the New York State Company of Artillery. In March,
1777, Hamilton, then Lieutenant-Colonel and Aide-de-camp on Washington's
Staff, requested of and obtained from the New York State Convention its trans
fer to the service of the United States, in which it has since remained. In
March, 1777, it was assigned to the Second Regiment of Artillery, of which
John Lamb was Colonel. Specially retained after the general mustering out
of the Continental Army in 1783, it re-entered the City of New York with
Washington, under the command of Brevet-Major John Doughty ; Major
Sebastian Bauman being in command of what remained of the Regiment.
The Company held the right of the line one hundred years ago ou the Evacua
tion of the City by the British as its representatives did on the occasion of the
Centennial Celebration. It served in the Wayne campaign against the Indians
of 1791, at the battle of New Orleans in 1815, in the Mexican War, and in the
campaigns of 1862 and 1863, and finally at Gettysburg. In the Centennial
Celebration they paraded dismounted, with their yellow guidon.

144
United States Artillery, now stationed at Fort Snelling, Min
nesota. It is known as the "Hamilton Battery," from its
first captain, " Alexander Hamilton," a youth of twenty, fresh
from King's College, when the echoes of the battle of Lexington
startled the continent, and begun the military contest of which
the Evacuation of New York was the close. By the courteous
permission of the Secretary of War, this ancient organization
was represented by a detachment from their distant "Western
post. Next in interest and distinguished alike for their social and
mihtary qualities was the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry,*
with their accomplished commander, General E. Burd Grubb, at
its head. .Of still older organization, came as escort to Gov
ernor Waller of Connecticut, the Governor's Foot Guard,t a fine
* The First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry. — This corps was
formed in 1774 of gentlemen of fortune, under the name of the Light Horse of
the City of Philadelphia. For their service in the severe campaign of 1776-7
in the Jerseys, during which they were engaged at the battles of Trenton and
Princeton, they received the special thanks of General Washington. In 1794
the Troop marched with the Pennsylvania contingent to tke Suppression of
the Whiskey Insurrection in the western counties. There is a graphic de
scription of their appearance at this time in the account of the insurrection
written by Dr. Carnahan, the President of Princeton College. In 1814 they
were actively employed in vidette service on the line between Philadelphia
and the Delaware and Chesapeake, and received the thanks of Major-General
Gaines on their discharge at the close of the year. In 1861 they tendered their
services to the United States Government and were mustered into the service
under the ninety day call. With horses, all belonging to the troopers, and a flag
and standard bearing the arms of the City of Philadelphia, they marched to
the front and did good picket service in the Bull Run campaign side by Bide
with the Fifth Cavalry, U. S. A. On their return a large number of the
troop joined cavalry regiments in various parts of the Union as officers. In
the campaign of 1863, which ended with the decisive battle of Gettysburg, they
had constant hard service and received the official thanks of the Governor of
the State. In the parade of Evacuation Day, with their gala uniform,
splendid mounts and martial air, they attracted general admiration. They
were commanded by their accomplished officer, General E. Burd Grubb, late
United States Volunteers.
f First Company Governor's Foot Guard (of Hartford, Connecticut).
This Company was chartered by the General Assembly of the Colony in 1771,
and has since maintained an active existence without a break. It has done
escort duty for every Governor of the State and has paraded in a Guard of

145
body of men in the uniform of the British soldier of the last
century. The older corps represented were, the Ancient and
Honorable Artillery of Boston [which dates from 1638], who
marched with their friends, the Old Guard, under the command
of Major George W. McLean. The Newport Artillery, charter
to which was granted in 1741, appeared on foot. There was
also a battalion of the Providence Light Infantry, and among
the more recent organizations of the State of New York, par
ticular mention may be made of the Albany Burgess Corps,
the Utica Citizens' Corps, and the Washington Continentals
from Newburgh.
The Washington Coach * with its correct gala equipment and
guard of honor was a picturesque feature of the Parade.
For details of incidents on the line, the reader is referred to
the subjoined extracts from leading journals.
About forty thousand persons moved in the procession. The
President rode in a landau drawn by four horses. There were
Honor for Washington, Lafayette, Eochambeau, Jackson and Grant. It
marched to join Gates at Saratoga, in 1777, but meeting at the Hudson the news
of Burgoyne's surrender, returned home under orders. The present dress uni
form, in which they appeared in the Evacuation Day parade as the escort of
Governor Waller, is the first uniform worn by the company on the occasion of
its first parade : scarlet, faced with black, with bearskin cap and velvet leg
gings, and was copied from the uniform of the Coldstream Guards, or the
Prince Eegent's Guards of England.
* The Washington Coach. — This quaint relic of the last century passed
from the possession of Lady Washington to the Powel family of Philadelphia.
After careful preservation and long storage in that city, it was finally sold and
became the property of its present owner, Mr. Benjamin Richardson, of Harlem.
It was repaired and thoroughly equipped with appropriate trappings at the
expense of the Committee on the Celebration, under the personal direction of
Mr. John H. Swinarton, the Superintendent of the Stables of the American Ex
press Company, and was drawn by six black horses of great size, in elegant
harness and with plumes on their heads, and was attended by coaohmen and
postilions attired in old style liveries, cocked hats, and with favors and bouquets.
The coach was tastefully decorated with wreaths and garlands of evergreens
and flowers, flags and streamers. The Washington Continentals, a Newburgh
Company, in the army dress of the Revolution, acted as an escort, marching
ten abreast front and rear and six on each side of the coach. The owner,
son, 10

146
two other four-in-hand landaus, one of which for the Governor
of the State and the other for the Mayor of the City, and one
hundred and fifty carriages, all of which were provided by the
Committee. In addition, numerous other carriages, estimated
at not less than thirty-five, also appeared with delegations from
the Commercial Exchanges, which provided their own con
veyances. The President was accompanied by General Grant
and attended by Colonel Varnum and General Martin T. Mc
Mahon ; The Governor of the State of New York by Mr. Smith.
During the entire day Madison Square Garden was open
for the shelter and entertainment of the mihtary, and bountiful
provision was made for the comfort of the inner and outer man.
The continuance of the rain during the evening interfered
with the proposed general illumination and caused a postpone
ment of the display of fireworks ; but the night was nevertheless
a scene of festivity unexampled in the history of the city. More
than ten thousand persons were present at the Promenade re
ception and Concert given by the Committee at the Seventh Regi
ment Armory, and entertainments were also given by the New
York mihtary to their visiting friends, viz., by the Seventh Regi
ment Veterans at Irving Hall, by the Ninth, Twenty-second and
Seventy-first Regiment Veterans at Lyric Hall, and by the Old
Guard at their Armory, to all of which contributions were made
by the Committee. It is estimated that over ten thousand of
the military enjoyed this hospitality. The President and his
Cabinet and the Governors of the thirteen original States were en
tertained at a sumptuous banquet given by the Chamber of Com
merce at Delmonico's, more than two hundred persons being
present. Eighty-three gentlemen, representatives of families
living in New York in 1783 and descendants of revolutionary
officers now residing here, dined together at the Hotel Bruns
wick, General Grubb of the City Troop of Philadelphia being
the only guest present. The entertainment was original in
character. The gentlemen present later formed themselves

147
into the Society of '83, which commemorates Evacuation day
annually by a dinner. In addition to these collations were
served at all the great clubs of the city, and the whole line of
Fifth Avenue from the Union League to the Manhattan Club
was a scene of joy and merriment.
Thus finished the proceedings of this memorable occasion.
To the Committee on the Celebration is due the credit of this
success. Undertaken without the co-operation, and prosecuted
without aid of the Legislature or State officials, it became
by the unflagging energy of the gentlemen of the Committee
the most imposing and brilliant of the Centennial demon
strations. Every portion of the programme was carried out
without hesitation or delay; even the fireworks which the
weather interfered with on the 26th were but postponed, and a
fine aerial display was exhibited at the Battery on the evening
of Tuesday, the twenty-seventh. The same evening Mr. John
Jay delivered a Centennial address before the New York His
torical Society on the Peace Negotiations of 1783.
On the fourth of December Fraunces' Tavern, in the Long
Room of which Washington bade farewell to his officers on that
day in 1783, was the scene of historic commemoration ; the
Chamber of Commerce entertained a number of guests by a
lunch in the morning, in the room where they were organized in
1768, and in the evening a number of descendants of revolu
tionary officers dined together. The room was as far as practi
cable restored to its ancient condition, and decorated for the
occasion with laurel, oak and holly, and with the Colonial and
National flags.
From this latter feast sprang the organization of the Sons of
the Revolution, whose declared purpose is to keep alive the
memories of the Revolution and collect documents bearing on
its history. Its members are limited to descendants of rank
and file of the military and of persons employed in the civil
service of the original thirteen States.

148
On Saturday the twenty-first of February, 1885, the General
Committee was called together at the Chamber of Commerce
to receive the Report of the American Numismatic and Archae
ological Society upon the Commemorative Medal struck by it.
The Hon. Algernon S. Sullivan made the presentation in an ap
propriate speech, and the Medal was formally accepted by the
Hon. John Cochrane. The thanks of the Committee were ten
dered to the Society, and Mr. Charles Osborn, the artist, was
complimented by resolution for his design. A fac-simile of the
Medal appears as a frontispiece to the present Report.
Before another year elapse the Committee will complete
the record of the Celebration by the erection of the Memorial
Tablet at the Barge Office.
In the foregoing pages the Secretary has endeavored to the
best of his information and ability to make official recognition
of each and every of the organizations, who by financial aid or
personal participation in the ceremonies of the day contributed
to the success of this memorable celebration.
The cordial and immediate response of the citizens of New
York to every call made upon their action or liberality was
conclusive proof of the patriotism which underlies the en
ergy and industry of the people of this great city, which, while
cosmopolitan in composition, is thoroughly National at heart.
The Reports and Documents of the Joint Committee on the
Celebration and of the Committee of Arrangements are pre
served in the Library of the New York Historical Society.
John Austin Stevens,
Secretary of Joint Committee and of
Committee of Arrangements.
Approved,
John Cochrane,
Chairman of Joint Committee.
February 22, 1885.

PEESS NOTICES OF THE CELEBRATION

PEESS NOTICES OF THE CELEBRATION

Evacuation Day Signal. — The International Code of Signals, which is
understood all over the world, will be hoisted on Monday by the Signal Service
Corps over the Equitable Building to indicate, first, the day, and next inform
the war ships in the harbor and the army at the forts when to fire the salute in
honor of the unveiling of the statue of Washington on the steps of the Sub-
Treasury Building. The signal consists of four flags surmounted by the Na
tional flag and spell out the letters C. V.D.J. — which in accordance with
the International Code means "Evacuation." The first signal next under the
Stars and Stripes will be a white pennant with a blue edging and a red cross run
ning cornerwise on the white ground. The next beneath will be a blue pen
nant with a white ball on the blue ground. The lowest will be a square flag
divided into three bars lengthwise, the center bar being white, the other two
blue. These signals will be kept flying from early moi-ning on the top of the
Equitable Building until the signal is received from the top of the Sub-Treas
ury announcing that the statue is about being unveiled, when they will be
promptly lowered. This will be the signal understood by both the Army and
Navy, and will be interpreted "Let loose the dogs of war," when the forts and
ships will begin firing the salute simultaneously. This arrangement with the
Signal Corps has been made at the request of the Committee of the Chamber
of Commerce, which has also sent a highly complimentary letter of thanks to
the Corps for their co-operation with the committee in mating the event one of
the most noteworthy in the annals of the history of this city. — The Evening
Post, Thursday, November 22, 1883.

The Outlook foe the Celebration. — With the exception of a few minor
details, the Committee of Arrangements in charge of the centennial celebration
of Evacuation Day has completed its programme and everything is in readiness
for the great event which will render Monday a red-letter day in the history of
the metropolis. The great procession will commence to move from Fifty-ninth
Street and Fifth Avenue, down-townward precisely at nine o'clock, and half an
hour later the immense fleet of four hundred steamboats and other river-craft
will move up the North River over the prescribed route from off Bedloe's
Island. That the celebration will be the most varied, interesting, and impos-
Jng ever witnessed in this city is universally conceded ; and it is estimated that
by Monday noon there will be fully 2,500,000 people in the metropolis. — The
Mail and Express, Saturday, November 24, 1883.

Evacuation Day Flag-Hoisting. — The Veterans of the war of 1812
celebrated yesterday [Sunday] by a general flag-hoisting. At sunrise, Adju-

152
tant J. Gould Warner (adopted son of the organization), acting under orders
of General Abram Dalley, raised the Flag on the old fort in Central Park.
At 9.30 a.m. , General Dalley, accompanied by Adjutant Warner, Samuel Bay
ard Stafford and Christopher R. Forbes, stood at the flag-pole at the Battery
surrounded by a large and eager throng. [After a short address by General
Dalley, in which he alluded to the death, within a few days, of David Van
Arsdale, who for twenty years had hoisted the flag on Evacuation Day, he in
troduced Mr. Forbes, a kinsman of the deceased patriot.] Mr. Forbes, a man
aged about thirty, was greeted with three cheers and a tiger. Assisted by Gen
eral Dalley and Samuel Bayard Stafford he hoisted the flag. * * * After
the exercises at the Battery the little party marched up Broadway to St. Paul's
Chapel, where they occupied the pew of George Washington and listened to a
sermon by the Eev. Dr. James Mulchahey. — The New York Tribune, Monday,
November 26, 1883.

The City on Sunday, the 25th November. — To a person unacquainted
with New York on Sundays, Broadway presented a very unusual spectacle yester
day. The usual Sunday religious calm was not there. From early morning
until evening troops of men, women, and children went tramping up and down.
The only way in which the day differed from the six preceding days of the
week was that all the stores were closed, and that the people appeared to be
out for pleasure. The people themselves were a study. The majority of them
were from the surrounding towns, and were out to take a good view of
the jity. The others were apparently residents of the city, who had come
out to view the decorations of the principal buildings along the line of
march. * * * The corridors of all the principal hotels were filled with
s-trangers, and inquiry at the offices disclosed that not a room has been un
occupied since Saturday, and that late-comers have been sent away by the
hundreds. At the rooms of the Committee in the Victoria Hotel everybody
was busy, and, in fact, from the amount of work which was being transacted,
it appeared as though everything would not be in complete readiness this morn
ing. Applications for positions on any of the stands were received in each mail,
and were as quickly thrown into the waste-basket. " As though at this late
hour we could have any places on the stands left," said one of the officials.
"Why, on the four stands at Bowling Green, City Hall Park, and Union and
Madison Squares, we have only given out tickets for nineteen hundred people,
which is scarcely five hundred to each stand, and it is safe to say that for these
nineteen hundred tickets we have had nearly ten thousand applications." —
The New York Herald, Monday, November 26, 1883.

Celebration Arrangements Completed. — The streets of the city yester
day gave ample evidence that to-day's celebration has attracted a great throng of
visitors to New York, and that the parade which is to mark the day will be
witnessed by probably a greater crowd of spectators than has ever before been
brought together by a procession in this city. In all the hotels the register
showed an unusual influx of guests, and in some of them no rooms could be
obtained after the arrival of the morning trains. The visitors spread them
selves over the city, going to various points of interest, but the Bridge attracted
the largest throng. With the crowds from the surrounding towns and cities,

153
which are sure to come by the trains this morning if the weather is fine, New
Yoik will be undoubtedly full of strangers. The preparations for ihe parade
were fully completed by the Committee of Arrangements yesterday. The
rooms of the Committee in the Victoria Hotel were open all day and all night.
— New York Times, Monday, November 26, 1883.

Influx to the City. — The number of people who came from out of town
to view the parade, was a subject much discussed yesterday, and estimates
made from knowledge of things put the number of visitors between 600,000
and 700,000. These," said an employee at the Pennsylvania Eailroad depot in
Jersey City, " come by this line from points as far south as Washington. On
other roads they come from Albany and Boston, and all the cities, villages,
towns, and hamlets intervening between those places and New York. I am
confident that more people have ridden over the roads running to Philadelphia
during the past week, than for any corresponding period since the Centennial
Exposition in 1876. Of course there was comparatively a small number carried
over the road to-day, as the people who could afford to, reached the city during
the past two or three days, and will stay in the city for a day or two more.
But still the crowd that passed over the ferry before noon to-day numbered
about 20,000. Of these, 16,000 were brought from points along the line by
eleven special trains. The Erie road carried about 15,000 persons on ten
special trains, and the Jersey Central road, with nine special trains, carried
about 14,000 people. At the Grand Central Depot an enormous throng passed
through the doors. Every train from any point brought car-loads of visitors,
and as by far the larger portion of them knew very little about New York, all
was confusion. Everybody was busy asking and answering questions, and the
din was augmented by the clanging of the starters' bells and the noisy shouts
of "cab, cab." The officials of the New York Central road said that a dozen
special trains from Albany, Poughkeepsie, Peekskill, Tarrytown, and Yonkers
almost depopulated those places, and that fully 30,000 people came to the city.
But it was explained that these numbers gave no idea of the actual number of
people brought down the river, since persons living at the places named had
been arriving in this city during the past week in large numbers. Five special
trains on the New York & New Haven road were crowded with people who had
come from Lynn, Lawrence, Cambridge, Boston, Holyoke, and Springfield,
Mass. Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport, Conn., sent large delegations,
and on the Harlem railroad, where four special trains were run, numbers of
people living in the towns between Chatham Four Corners and Mott Haven
were hurried into town. The New York City and Northern Eoad, running
from Brewster's and stopping at Yonkers, brought its complement of passen
gers to swell the number of visitors, and the railroads running up the Hacken-
sack valley in Jersey brought many people. At night, after the excitement of
the parade and its aftei'-shows were over, the railroad depots presented an
indescribable scene. Bain-soaked and bedraggled people surged in the entrance
of the railroad depots and filled the waiting-rooms.— The New York World,
Tuesday, November 27, 1883.
• 
Morning Salutes. — New York and the suburbs were awakened on Mon
day, November 26th, by the echoes of simultaneous salutes of twenty-one guns

154
fired from Governor's Island and the fleet of the North Atlantic Squadron in
the harbor. * * * The morning was raw and cold. The fleet, however,
promptly dressed up in " rainbow fashion," the Seventy-first Eegiment, N. Y.
State troops hoisted a flag and sounded the reveille on the Washington building,
near the Battery, and in spite of clouds and threatening storm the day was
ushered in with all the pomp due to the occasion. — Army and Navy Journal,
Saturday, December 1, 1883.
National Flag on the Washington Building. — The following letter,
dated November 13, addressed to Mr. John Lindley, President of the Wash
ington Building, explains itself: "At a regular meeting of the non-commissioned
staff, 71st Eegiment, N. G. S. N. Y., held last evening, it was moved by the
veteran color-sergeant that the Secretary address a letter to your Company
requesting permission to raise the National colors on your building on the morn
ing of November 26th, at sunrise. A similar ceremony will take place in
Battery Park at the same time. Our reason for making this request is to assist
in doing honor to the memory of the first commander of the Ameiican army,
after whom our regiment is named. Trusting this communication will be
received in the same spirit in which it is tendered, and earnestly soliciting an
early reply, I have the honor to subscribe myself, John Noble Golding,
Secretary Non-Com. Staff, 71st Eeg't Infantry.''
The following reply was sent on Wednesday last by Mr. Lindley :
" The Washington Building Company accepts with thanks the kind offerof
the non-commissioned officers of your regiment to raise the National colors on
the Company's building on the 26th instant. The old building, which was torn
down to make place for the present structure, was the last house occupied by
the British commander when he was stationed here, and he went from the
steps of that building to the vessel which carried him away on the day of the
Evacuation of New York. It seems fitting that the Stars and Stripes should be
first raised on the new building by the successors in arms of the men whose
courage forced the British to evacuate this noble city." — The Evening Mail
and Express, Saturday, November 24, 1883.

Gathering of the Crowd. — The line of march from Fifth Avenue and
Fifty-seventh Street to Bowling Green was the magnet which drew forward the
population of New York and the neighboring country. As early as seven
o'clock the usual human tide which flows down-town every day at that hour,
began to move toward the magnet. West from Fifth Avenue to the Hudson
River, and east of the avenue to the East River, the crowd began to come.
Above Fifty-ninth Street the multitude came in horse-cars and vehicles of every
description, tens of thousands passing around the point of departure, the
advertised hour of starting having been nine o'clock, finding it impossible to
get within half a mile of the starting-point, attempting further down to get
within gun-shot of the line of march. By eight o'clock the stream toward
Fifth Avenue had become continuous, and before nine o'clock Fifth Avenue,
from the Park to Fourteenth Street, was filled with a black mass of people.
Across the great Bridge came the whole of Brooklyn's population. Across the
Hudson River the ferries brought New Jersey's population. "This is the
evacuation of every place but New York," said one observer. Along the Bowery

155
the horse-cars, going down-town early, found that progress was slow, owing to
the press of people up-town, and the march of all sorts of military and civic
societies toward the head of the line. — The Evening Post, Monday, Novem
ber 26, 1883.

The Police Arrangements. — The following military titles and ranks
were distributed amongthe police officials : Superintendent Walling, Colonel of
the Police Regiment; Inspector Dilks, Lieutenant-Colonel; Inspector Murray,
Major ; Captain Copeland, Adjutant; Captain Hooser, Sergeant-Major . The
two companies will be commanded by Captains Mount, McCullagh, Clinchy,
Brogan, McDonnell, Eakins, Murphy, Webb, Williams and Allaire. Captain
Robbins will command the mounted police. The Sanitary police will be on
duty at the reviewing stands. A general order was issued yesterday by Super
intendent Campbell of the Brooklyn police. The captains' of the different pre
cincts are directed to hold their off platoons in reserve from 12 midnight on
Sunday, the 25th instant, until 12 midnight on Monday, the 26th instant, and
to cause a strict enforcement of the ordinance forbidding the building of bon
fires. — The World, Sunday, November 25, 1883.

On the Line of March. — At nine o'clock the Fifth Avenue from Fiftieth
Street and Broadway to the Battery appeared to be almost solidly packed with
sight-seers. When the police pushed, clubbed, and cuffed this vast assemblage
into compact lines from curb to house-line on either side of the way, they found a
double line of humanity, each half of which was ten feet wide and four and a
half miles long. On the west side of Madison Square alone there were 100,000
people, and nearly as many were on the west and south of Union Square. There
must have been on the side streets just off the great thoroughfare a thousand
trucks fitted with planks for seats for spectators. The big trucks held thirty-
two people, four in a row, eight rows deep, at a quarter a head. * * *
But it was not until the police hollowed out a. canal down Broadway, that
the scene was impressive. Then it became grand. Fifth Avenue, for instance,
as seen from the observation stand in Madison Square, was so crowded that
the people were banked up to the top of the high-stoop line on either side ; the
windows were crowded, the roofs were dotted with others, and yet others clung
in the trees, on the lamp-posts, on the window and door ledges, the balconies
and the church railings. It was just so down Broadway, except that there
were no stoops there to give the crowd the form of waves surging against the
buildings. * * * Fifteen thousand persons were packed about Bowling
Green three hours before the advance-guard of the parade appeared. They
stood ten and twelve rows deep on the sidewalks with upraised umbrellas,
like a huge growth of black mushrooms, Thousands more were wedged in the
windows, fringed the roofs, and clung to the awnings and the arms of tele
graph poles. The roadways were kept perfectly clear by the police, who
maintained excellent discipline in the immense crowd. The grand review
stand in front of the Stevens House was all flags and state-shields, and stood
out against a background of bright color formed by the mass of bunting that
decked the hotel front. — The Sun, Tuesday, November 27, 1883.
The Decorations. — Fifth Avenue and Broadway, along which the line of
march extended, were a mass of colors, and almost every building managed to

156
display at least a flag of some nationality or a piece of bunting. The Hotel
Brunswick was covered with bunting. Large American flags were draped
over the entrance of the Fifth Avenue Hotel. Flairs fairly hid Chickering
Hall. The building of the Old Guard, at the northwest corner of Fourteenth
Street and Fifth Avenue, was tastefully decorated with flags of all nations, and
on the roof these flags were arranged in rainbow fashion. The building on
the northeast corner was also covered with flags, and a large flag extended from
one to the other. At No. 17 West Fourteenth Street a figure of the Goddess
of Liberty was to be seen. The St. Denis Hotel, on Broadway, was decorated
with flags arranged in fan shape, and on the roof was a rainbow of flags.
Harrigan and Hart's Theatre (opposite New York Hotel) was draped with
American bunting, and the shields of the thirteen original States were fastened
to various parts of the front. Red, white and blue bunting hid the face of the
New York Hotel. The Grand Central was covered with flags and bunting.
Over the entrance were the State and City flags and a picture of Washington.
In every window of No. 636 Broadway were curtains in the National colors.
* * * The St. Nicholas Hotel was neatly draped. Across the street in
front of the hotel were hung German. English and French flags. * * *
The Manhattan House was neatly decorated. The marble front of the New
York Life Insurance Company was hidden with bunting and flags. * * *
From the roof to the first floor of No. 310 Broadway hung three strings of
Japanese lanterns. Open Japanese umbrellas were in front of each window,
and American and Japanese flags floated side by side on the roof. At the City
Hall floated the City, State and National flags. The Post Office displayed
three large National flags on the lower end and one on the roof. Three
American flags floated on the Astor House. * * * No. 4 Broad Street pre
sented a gay appearance. Drexel, Morgan & Co.'s building, opposite the Sub-
Treasury, was almost completely covered with flags, shields and coats of arms.
Over the entrance to the Stock Exchange was a bust of Washington in an
extemporised niche of 'National flags. From the Norwegian and Swedish Con
sulate floated the Swedish colors, and away over the street — oVer the tall
tower of the new Produce Exchange waved an American flag fifty feet by
thirty with a hundred feet pennant. In front of this building, which was
covered with bunting, an Irish banner was suspended across the street from a
telegraphic pole to a tree in Bowling Green. There was also an Irish flag on
the Exchange. — The Evening Telegram, Monday, November 26, 1883.
Thousands of flags waved from as many staffs and buildings along the
prominent streets, which, as well as the houses on the cross streets, were lavishly
decorated with bunting. On Broadway there were numerous tasteful designs.
A large American flag was tastefully draped over the main entrance to
Trinity Church. The Martyrs' Monument in the grave yard was decorated
with an American flag and red, white and blue bunting. From every window
of the building at the corner of Broad and Pearl Streets, which was Washing
ton's Headquarters in 1783, floated an American flag. The National flag and
the tricolor were displayed on the Western Union Building, the Mining and
Petroleum Exchange, the Postal Telegraph Company, the office of the Guion
Line and the Steven's House, which was the headquarters of George Washing
ton Post No. 103. The Washington Building, corner of Broadway and Bat
tery Place, which stands on the site of the old Washington Hotel, displayed a

157
solitary National flag. Montgomery's Monument in front of St. Paul's Church
was draped with the National Colors. The Equitable Building was fairly
covered with bunting and flags. From the flag pole of the Signal Office floated
the following flags: The Stars and Stripes; the Signal C, a white pennant
with a red ball ; the Signal V, a white flag with a red cross ; the Signal R, a
blue pennant and white ball ; the Signal J, a flag with three bars, blue, white
and bl ue (the four forming the Evacuation Signal), and the storm signal and
flag with a black square. On the northwest corner of Prince Street was a
hundred-foot sign containing pictures of Washington and Clinton, the depart
ing of the British and the entrance of the victorious Continental army. On the
building on the opposite corner were the shields of the original States. Near
the corner of Grand Street was a neatly decorated stand, erected by John
Roman, for the benefit of the Deborah Nursery and the Catholic Protectory,
and filled with boys from those institutions. On the northwest corner of
Grand Street, over the entrance of a building, were wax figures representing
a British soldier on the ground resting on one elbow and surrounded by three
boys in Continental uniform and a Continental soldier. At No. 326 Broadway,
the figure, of a Continental soldier stood with his right arm extended and his
left hand resting on his gun. — Truth, Tuesday, November 27, 1883.
The Morton and the Union Square Hotels were attractively festooned.
* * * Rogers, Peet & Co., the Broadway clothiers, were not behind their
rivals in the way of decorations, and their building presented a handsome and
attractive appearance. Sypher & Co. present in their show window a
curiosity in the shape of a chair once belonging to Washington, together with a
handsome marble bust of the Father of His Country in a frame of emeralds,
rubies and diamonds. Flags in profusion float from the Post Office, the City
Hall, the Tribune, Sun and Times office, the Custom House, and the various
commercial exchanges. On the Brooklyn Bridge towers large American flags
floated in the rain. * * * The portico of the Windsor Hotel was draped
with bunting, and flags and a large size picture of Washington were above it.
* * * The Union League Club House was decorated with half-a-dozen flags
and a sparse display of bunting. — The Evening Mail and Express, Monday,
November 26, 1883.
The Observation Stands. — About fifteen hundred and fifty tickets were
issued to the municipal, civic, and military reviewing stands. The reviewing
stand at Bowling Green is reserved for the President, Cabinet officers, Govern
ors of States and their Staffs. It is to be in charge of General Martin T.
McMahon, with Colonel Kilburn Knox, General Anson G. McCook and others
as aides. * * * The tickets for the reviewing stands will be : Municipal
stand, blue ; civic stand, white ; and military stand, red. Alderman Edward
Duffy will have charge of the municipal stand, James W. Hawes of the civic
stand, and Major Asa Bird Gardiner of the military stand. — The Sun, Tuesday,
November 27, 1883.
In Madison Square. — The stand in Madison Square, immediately opposite
the Worth Monument, presented a sea of faces and umbrellas as the head of
the column passed. It is estimated that fully five hundred persons occupied
seats, the majority of whom were officers of the National Guard of this and
other States, and of the army and the navy, with their wives and families. The
front, sides and rear were handsomely festooned with bunting. Major Asa Bird

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Gardiner, with a staff of six aides, each of whom was distinguished by a yellow
badge, was in charge, and the great crowd of spectators who pressed forward
were kept back and in order by » strong deachment of police under the com
mand of Captain Williams of the Twenty-ninth Precinct. In Union Square. —
The great stand in Union Square, immediately in the rear of the Lincoln statue,
was rendered attractive by an abundance of flags and streamers arranged hand
somely. Five hundred tickets had been issued by the Committee of Arrange
ments, but upwards of seven hundred persons, applied for seats, and many
were turned away. Here all the foreign consuls stationed in this city occupied
seats with their wives and friends, together with many prominent citizens of
this and other cities. At the City Hall- — The City Hall stand, on Broadway
facing Warren Street, which was in charge of Alderman Duffy and six aides,
if anything was draped even more handsomely than the two referred to, and
every inch of space was occupied by the Board of Aldermen, their friends, the
members of the city government, the heads of the various departments and
politicians of note from all parts of the city. It was protected on all sides by
a cordon of police from the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh precincts. Many
appeared with tickets, and demanded seats for themselves and lady friends,
but were turned away after ten o'clock, as there was no room for them. — The
Evening Mail and Express, Monday, November 26, 1833.
The Reviewing Stand. — The " reviewing stand " in front of the Stevens
House was elaborately draped with National flags, bunting and gold-fringed
drapery. At the back of the stand were thirteen flagstaffs surmounted with
pennons representing the "Stars and Stripes," and having upon them the shields
of the thirteen original States which took part in the revolution. On the upper
front corner was the flag of the State of New, York, and on the lower the flag
of this city. The stand was very large, and capable of holding a much larger
body of persons than assembled there in the rain. Entrance to the stand was
limited by ticket, and a police guard was kept in front and around the stand
to keep off the crowd which assembled at that point. The President and Gov
ernors, with their staffs, arrived at the reviewing stand at 12.30 o'clock, and
the President took the recess in advance prepared for him amid loud cheers
from the crowd, the booming of artillery, and the shrieking of whistles in the
harbor. After reviewing a portion of the procession, he was conveyed in his
carriage to the United States Sub-Treasury, to attend the unveiling of the Wash
ington statue. — New York Commercial Advertiser, Monday, November 26, 1883.
The immense reviewing stand in Bowling Green Park, fronting the
Stevens House, was almost concealed with bunting, festooned artistically along
the front,, sides and the rear. When the procession had reached this point,
the President and Cabinet, General Grant, Governor Cleveland and staff, and
the following named governors of the thirteen original States, and their brill
iant staffs, alighted, and taking the seats assigned them, reviewed the great
pageant as it passed : Governor Butler of Massachusetts and staff, Governor
Hale of New Hampshire and staff, Governor Pattison of Pennsylvania and
staff, Governor Barstow of Vermont and staff, Governor Ludlow of New Jersey
and Staff, Governor Bourn of Rhode Island and Staff, Governor Hamilton of
Maryland and Staff, Governor Waller of Connecticut and Staff, the Governors
of Delaware and Virginia, Comptroller Davenport, Secretary of State Carr,
Hamilton Fish, Senator Fair of Nevada, Senor Romero, Mexican Minister to the

159
United States, and many other distinguished people. — The Evening Mail and
Express, Monday, November 26, 1883.
Poltce Arrangements. — The whole police force of this city, includ
ing court officers, detailed men of the sanitary squad, and detective sergeants,
were on duty. One thousand men were in the line of the procession. Inspec
tor Thorne had under his command at Madison Square one hundred men, and
Captain Caffrey had three hundred men at Bowling Green. Inspector Byrnes'
force of detective sergeants and precinct men were scattered promiscuously
from Madison Square to Wall Street. In each station-bouse a few men were
held in reserve in case of emergency. — Evening Telegram, Monday, November
26, 1883.

Arrival of the President
Welcomed by a Salvo of Steam Whistles and Artillery
President Arthur, who was looked for at the Fifth A.venue Hotel at six
o'clock, did not arrive in Jersey City until 7.30 o'clock. On his alighting from
the cars at that place he was welcomed on behalf of the Committee of Arrange
ments by Messrs. C. N. Bliss, Charles S. Smith, Elihu Root, and several other
gentlemen. The President, accompanied by these gentlemen and the members
of bis Cabinet, at once proceeded aboard the ferry-boat. Here they were met by
the Hon. John H. Starin and A. C. Cheney, on behalf of the steamboat owners
in the water procession. Under the direction of these gentlemen arrange
ments had been made to tender the President a hearty welcome. Twenty-
five steamboats were gathered about the slip of the ferry-boat, and as she left
the Jersey shore the whistles of the whole fleet sounded a salute. At the
same moment a cannon on shore belched forth in thundering tones, bombs
were exploded, and the colors of the various boats were dipped in honor of the
presence of the Chief Magistrate of the nation. The President gracefully ac
knowledged the compliment, and on landing in New York the entire party en
tered carriages and were driven rapidly to the Fifth Avenue Hotel. Much
anxiety prevailed here on account of the President's fail ure to make his ap
pearance at the hour expected. The members of the Committee were growing
impatient when at 8.20 o'clock President Arthur and Secretary Folger alighted
from a carriage at the Twenty-third Street entrance. Then followed a second
carriage containing Secretary Lincoln, General Brewster, and Chief Clerk
Young of the Executive Mansion. — New York Commercial Advertiser, Monday,
November 26, 1883.

The Assembling of the Governors. — The assembling of the Governors
now followed. The first to arrive was the young Governor of Connecticut,
whose civilian attire was in striking contrast with the handsome uniforms of
his Adjutant-General and Staff. These entered the main parlor and were soon
joined by Governor Robie and the Staff of Maine. The Governor of Vermont
was the next to appear with his staff. Governor Butler of Massachusetts, in
a brilliant uniform and wearing a broad gold lace sash, was heartily welcomed
by his brother Governors when he made his appearance with his staff, promptly
at the hour agreed upon. The Governor smiled pleasantly^and indulged in an
animated conversation with his staff, occasionally puffing a cigar. Soon the

160
other State Executives were upon the scene and the magnificent parlors pre
sented a brilliant spectacle. Governor Ludlow in citizen's clothes was heartily
greeted as he entered the gorgeous apartments. Governor Hamilton of Mary
land and staff appeared next, and then a general introduction of the various
Governors and their staffs followed. At 8.30, with military promptness, Gen
eral Grant, unattended, was seen making his way through the hallway.
Escorted by General Varnum, the old hero was conducted to the Governors'
parlor, where he was introduced to them all. The ladies and guests of the
hotel flocked about the door of the parlor to gaze upon the ex- President, and
for a while the old hero was subjected to a vigorous hand-shaking. Five
minutes before nine o'clock General Varnum requested the Governors to pre
pare to leave the hotel, and a few moments later the Governors, with their
brilliantly uniformed staffs, wearing chapeaus, made their way to the Twenty-
third Street entrance, where the party entered carriages. — The New York Com
mercial Advertiser, Monday, November 26, 1883.

The Start. — At ten minutes before ten o'clock a line of carriages was
driven rapidly into Fifty-seventh Street from Madison Avenue. The first con
tained President Arthur, on whose left was seated General Grant, and in front
Mr. James M. Varnum, of the Committee of Arrangements. The carriage
was drawn by four black horses, richly caparisoned. * * * [After salutes
and conversation, in which the President expressed his regrets that he was the
cause of delay, the Grand Marshal rode up to Fifty-eighth Street and gave the
order to move.] A bugle was sounded, and the General rode forward with
portly dignity, suiTounded by his staff of twenty-one officers and several special
aides and the honorary escort. The latter were re-inforced by the first troop
of the Philadelphia City Cavalry, headed by Brevet Brigadier-General E. Burd
Grubb.

THE PROCESSION
The Grand Marshal. — General John Cochrane, the Grand Marshal, was
punctually on hand at nine o'clock at the starting point, Fifty- seventh Street and
Fifth Avenue. He rode up on a handsome chestnut charger from the Windsor
Hotel (headquarters of the Grand Marshal for the day), where he had sum
moned his staff an hour previously. The General was attired in semi-military
uniform, wearing his decoration medals, a broad gray felt hat, in the style of
army generals, and a yellow sash. Previous to the arrival of the President
he was actually, in his fine military appearance, the centra] figure of the pro
cession. Five minutes after his arrival Colonel Ehlers, Adjutant-General and
Chief of Staff, galloped up Fifth Avenue followed by other members of the
staff, and brief instructions were given by the General.
The United States Troops. — The Fifth United States and the other bat
talions of artillery marched into Fifty-seventh Street (about eight o'clock), and
occupied the entire south side of the block from the Fifth to the Sixth Avenue.
Captain Willard led in his battalion of engineers from Willett's Point, a body
of men that excited the admiration of the spectators. In their fine physique,
handsome uniforms and excellent manoeuvres, they presented the very best
model of the soldier. The honors were nearly evenly divided with them by

161
the battalion of marines, who marched and counter-marched between Fifty
seventh and Fifty-ninth Streets with the precision of machinery. * * *

Invited Guests — The President, Governors, New York State
Officials. — First Carriage — The President of the United States, General
Grant, ex-President of the United States, and Mr. James M. Varnum, of the
Committee on Arrangements.
Second — Members of the Cabinet, viz., the Secretary of the Treasury, the Sec
retary of War,and Mr. John Austin Stevens, of the Committee on Arrangements.
Third and Fourth — Attorney-General of the United States, Marshal of the
District of Columbia, Private Secretary to the President, Mr. C. A. Arthur, Jr.
Fifth — Governor Cleveland, of New York, Adjutant-General Farnsworth,
Private Secretary Lamont, and Mr. Charles S. Smith, of the Committee on
Arrangements. Sixth, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth — Staff of the Governor of New York
(fifteen persons).
Tenth — Governor Benjamin F. Butler, of Massachusetts, Adjutant-General
Dalton, and Mr. Cornelius N. Bliss, of the General Committee.
Eleventh, Twelfth, Thirteenth and Fourteenth — Staff of the Governor of
Massachusetts (ten persons).
Fifteenth — Governor Thomas H. Waller, of Connecticut, Adjutant-General
Couch and Mr. George W. Lane of the General Committee (Chairman of Cham
ber of Commerce delegation).
Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Nineteenth— Staff of the Governor
of Connecticut (eleven persons).
Twentieth — Governor George C. Ludlow, of New Jersey, Adjutant-General
Stryker. Twenty-first, Twenty-second, Twenty-third, and Twenty < fourth— Staff of the
Governor of New Jersey (ten persons).
Twenty -fifth — Governor Samuel W. Hale, of New Hampshire, Adjutant-
General Ayling and Governor William T. Hamilton, of Maryland.
Twenty-sixth, Twenty-seventh, and Twenty-eighth — Staff of the Governor of
New Hampshire (five persons).
Twenty-ninth — Governor Augustus O. Bourn, of Rhode Island, Adjutant-
General Dyer.
Thirtieth, Thirty-first, Thirty-second, and Thirty-third — Staff of the Gov
ernor of Rhode Island (eleven persons).
Thirty-fowrth — Governor John L. Barstow, of Vermont, Adjutant-General
Peck. Thirty-fifth, Thirty-sixth, Thirty -seventh and Thirty-eighth — Staff of the
Governor of Vermont (fourteen persons).
Thirty -ninth — Governor Frederick Robie of Maine, Adjutant-General
Beall. Fortieth, Forty-first, Forty-second and Forty-third— Stafi of the Governor
of Maine (nine persons).
Forty-fourth — State officers of New York : Lieutenant-Governor Hill,
Comptroller Davenport, Secretary of State Carr, Speaker of Assembly Chapin.
Forty-fifth— Ex-Governors Fenton and Clark of this State [New York]. —
Evening Telegram, Monday, November 26, 1883.
11

162
The Military
The Grand Marshal and his Aides. — Ahead of the whole rode the Grand
Marshal, General John Cochrane, in full uniform, followed by amounted corps
of staff and aides. * * * They were folio wed by the 1st Troop of the Phila
delphia City Cavalry, under the command of Bvt. Brig.-General E. Burd Grubb,
eight fours, a fine, handsomely uniformed and well mounted body of men. —
The Army and Navy Journal, Saturday, December 1, 1883.
The First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry. — First after the Grand Mar
shal came the Philadelphia City Cavalry, and nothing which came after made a
much prettier picture than did these big troopers in their red coats, white
breeches, steel helmets with black curved plumes, and mounted on spirited
horses, and carrying their sabres at their shoulders and their carbines slung. —
The New York Sun, Tuesday, November 27, 1883.
The Military Escort. — General Richard H. Jackson, U. S. A., then
appeared at the head of the First Division [of the Parade], followed by the
Regulars and Maiines, to whom on this occasion the head of the procession
was accorded as escort to the President and distinguished guests. These troops
were in full uniform, and, to the surprise of everybody, without overcoats.
* * * They marched, however, in good shape, with steady alignments and
well preserved distances. * * * There were three companies of Engineers
from Willet's Point, under Captain J. H. Willard, foot batteries A (from Gov
ernor's Island) and B, L and M (from Fort Hamilton), commanded by Brevet
Col. A. C. Wildrick, of the 5th Artillery — and three companies of Marines under
command of Bvt. Lieut.-Col. Charles Hey wood, of the Marine Corps. All these
had fronts of sixteen files and did as well as possible under the circumstances.
Light Battery F, 5th Artillery, from Fort Hamilton, under command of Bvt.
Major W. F. Randolph, with four pieces, wound up the Regular contingent.
Captain Meeker, 1st Lieutenants Robinson, Helton and Benson, commanded the
Marine companies ; 2d Lieutenant Sutton, Adjutant. The command were in
full dress uniform. The Battalion was made up from the marines at the
Navy Yard, U.S. ships Colorado, Saratoga. Jamestown and Yantic. The applause
was hearty and continuous through Fifth Avenue and Broadway, from the
immense throng that filled the houses and sidewalks. — The Army and Navy
Journal, Saturday, December 1, 1883.
The New York City Troops. — When the last of these (the carriages with
the guests) had passed, Major-Gen. Alexander Shaler appeared as commander
of the Second Division of the Parade, with his staff, followed by Brig.-Gen.
W. G. Ward with his staff, in command of the First Division N. G. S. N. 1'.
Col. Josiah Porter, of the 22d Regiment, had command of the 1st Brigade,
and when he and his staff had passed, the sound of Gilmore's Band an
nounced the approach of the 22d Regiment, commanded by Lieut.-Col. John T.
Camp, twelve companies of sixteen files, in blue overcoats and black helmets,
a military looking body of men, attentive and easily handled. The 11th, under
Col. Unbekaut, wore gray overcoats and the German helmets, with which the
regiment is equipped. * * * The 11th had eight commands with fourteen
files front. The 9th showed ten commands of sixteen files, in gray overcoats
and black helmets. They kept good alignments and distances. * * * The
12th, headed by Lieut.-Col. Jones, turned out with eight commands of sixteen
files, and marched and looked as well as possible. * * * The 2d (Gatling)

163
Battery, Capt. F. P. Earle, and the 1st Battery, Captain Louis Wendel, closed
the 1st Brigade. As volunteer organizations, and considering the limited
practice, these batteries deserve great credit for the manner in which they
manage their horses and pieces. When Brigadier-General Louis Fitzgerald, in
command of the Second Brigade, had passed with his staff, the 7th Regiment
Band, now famous through the exertions of Cappa, appeared behind the redoubt
able John Smith, who was covered with mud up to his knees. Anybody who has
once seen the picture of Col . Emmons Clark in the armory of the 7th would have
recognized him as he appeared in his blue overcoat at the head of his regiment,
a position which he has occupied on every public parade in New York for
nearlj a score of years. The 7th in blue overcoats was an immense improve
ment over the 7th in gray swallowtails, and if it had worn the helmet instead
of the shako as headgear, it would have been the best looking, as well as the
best marching regiment in the parade. * * * The turnout was immense,
there being twenty commands of sixteen files in column. The regiment marched
exceptionally well, the alignments were straight, the companies solid, the rear
ranks well closed up at all times, and the step unusually firm and even, in spite
of the discouraging condition of the pavement. The 8th, Col. George D. Scott,
at the head, turned out small, but made an unusually pleasing picture with
their red blankets rolled on the knapsacks, which set off their gray overcoats
to perfection. They were accompanied by their guests, the 4th and 11th sepa
rate companies, which turned out with sixteen files front . The appearance of
the whole command except as to numbers was very satisfactory. The 69th,
which followed the 7th, turned out well, having eleven commands of sixteen
files, and marching unusually well. Col. Cavanagh rode at the head. * * *
The 71st had only eight companies out, but made as good an appearance as is
possible in the gray overcoat. The helmet, however, was a great improve
ment. — Army and Navy Journal, Saturday, December 1, 1883.
Out of Town Organizations. Connecticut. — A great deal of credit is
due to the Connecticut troops, under Brig. General Stephen E. Smith, both for
their excellent appearance and their marching. They all wore the blue over
coat with red lined capes, and made the impression of a soldierly body of men,
well disciplined. Tbis was not an occasion that admits of fair comparisons
between different organizations, and we therefore omit criticism with that
view. The following organizations were present : 3d Eegiment, Colonel W.
H. Tubbs ; 2d Regiment, Colonel C. P. Graham ; 2d Company Governor's Foot
Guards, Captain E. J. Morse ; 4th Regiment, Colonel G. S. Crofut ; 5th Bat
talion, Major F. M. Welch ; Battalion 1st Eegiment, Major A. L. Goodrich ;
Battalion of Veterans, New Haven Grays ; Battalion of Veterans, Hartford
City Guards, Lieut. -Colonel A. C. Hendrick ; Battery A, C. N. G., Captain W.
H. Lee. They were, however, put in a somewhat different order. The com
panies generally were not equalized. — The Army and Navy Journal, Saturday,
December 1, 1883.
The Governor's Foot Guard, commanded by Major J. C. Kinney, was a
fine body of men, with the British uniform of one hundred years ago. The
high shield fronts to their caps, the white knee breeches and the leggings
brought to mind the pictures of those whose departure they were helping to
celebrate. They wore dark blue overcoats bound with red. Colt's band
of Bridgeport marched ahead of them, and played so as to win cheers

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from the drenched spectators. * * * — The Sun, Tuesday, November 27,
1883. New Jersey.— Colonel Dudley S. Steele commanded the New Jersey con
tingent. They all wore blue overcoats with red lining in U. S. Army style,
and their appearance confirmed the high reputation they made at the York-
town celebration two years ago. As a rule they marched sixteen files front
with steady step and good alignments. They as well as the Connecticut troops
were an acquisition to the parade. The following commands were represented:
4th Eegiment, Lieut. -Colonel William B. Shaffer; 9th Eegiment, Lieutenant
B. Franklin Hart ; 1st Battalion, Major Joseph W. Congdon ; Co E, 3d Regi
ment, Captain H. A. Palmer; Co. C, 3d Regiment, Captain W. H. De Hart;
Gatling Gun Co. A, Brevet-Brigadier-General J. Madison Drake. — Army and
Navy Journal, Saturday, December 1, 1883.
Poughkeepsie Separates. — One of the handsomest turnouts in the procession
was the 19th Separate Company from. Poughkeepsie, with twenty files front,
under command of Captain W. H. Haubennestel. Many of our city companies
should take pattern by this "country" company. Their marching and bear
ing compared well with the best organizations in the procession, although they
were without overcoats, and must have been drenched when they reached
Bowling Green. — Army and Navy Journal, Saturday, December 1, 1883.
The Brooklyn Regiments. — The Second Division N. G. S. N. Y., com
manded by Brigadier-General C. T. Chiistensen, with Brigadier-General W.
H. Brownell in command of the 4th and Colonel James McLeer of the 14th
Eegiment commanding the Third Brigade, followed by their staffs, then made
their appearance. First came the 23d, Colonel Eodney C. Ward, headed by its
fine band, numbering thirteen companies and sixteen files front. The regiment
was in full uniform, with helmets aud brass ornaments. They marched well and
elicited the general comment that they are a fine body of men, well instructed
and disciplined. The 47th had only eight commands of twelve files, dressed
in gray overcoats. Colonel Tuttle was in command. The regiment did as well
as possible under the conditions of the weather and the streets. The 32d had
only twelve files front, and its performance and appearance rank even with other
regiments of similar size. * * * The Third Battery (Gatling), Captain H.
S. Rasquin, with blue overcoats and red capes, was the best-looking National
Guard artillery organization in the procession. * * * Colonel Austen, al
though he stated differently at the late inspection, still rode at the head of the
13th, which showed a strength of eleven commands and sixteen files. Their
marching was excellent. The cadets manned and hauled the mountain how
itzer battery. The 14th with fourteen files front, also in gray overcoats and
white cross-belts, was the last regiment of the Second Division. It went by
in good shape, and was followed by the 17th Separate Company of Flushing,
under command of Captain Thomas Miller, Jr., with sixteen files front, in
overcoats. This little command acquitted itself very well and formed the end
of the New York National Guard in the Parade. — Army and Navy Journal,
Saturday, December 1, 1883.
Independent Organizations. — Of the Independent organizations theNew-
port Artillery Company, in four platoons of eight files, deserves special mention
for its superior military bearing, handsome appearance in blue overcoats and red
lining, and fair marching. The other independent organizations were the fol-

165
lowing : Old Guard and Detachment of Honorable and Ancient Artillery of
Boston, Major Geo. W. McLean ; Governor's Foot Guard of Connecticut, Ma
jor J. C. Kinney ; Albany Burgess Corps, Captain Oscar Smith ; Utica Citizens'
Corps, Captain D. T. Everett ; Battalion Providence Light Infantry, Major W.
H. Thornton ; First Company Washington Continentals, N. Y., Captain A. H.
Gerringe ; Washington Continentals (Newburgh), Captain P. J. McDonald ;
Continental Guards, School No. 68, Colonel E. Martinez ; St. Patrick's Alli
ance of America, Captain Thomas Cahill : Hibernian Bines, Captain William
Judge; Veteran Guards (Colored). Lieut. -Colon el John J. Breeman. This part
of the parade was under charge of Major-General W. F. Rodgers. of the Fouith
Division N. G. S. N. Y., who with ten of his staff officers had come all the
way down from Poughkeepsie, but whose name was strangely omitted from the
programme. The General is well known and was easily recognized on his
charger as he rode ahead of the bearskin hats which formed a large portion of
the contingent under his command. * * * The procession lost its military
character when the following Veteran organizations had passed : 7th Regi
ment, Colonel Locke W.Winchester ; 71st, Colonel C. W. Dustan ; 23d, Colonel
E. O. Hotchkiss ; 9th, Colonel Wm. Scott ; 13th, Colonel Willoughby Powell ;
11th, Colonel Nic. Hartman ; 22d, Colonel G. W. Laird ; 1st N. G. Penn.—
Army and Navy Journal, Saturday, December 1, 1883.
The Old Guard is always worth seeing, and it was made doubly attractive
by the presence of its noted guests, the Ancient and Honorable Artillery of
Boston. The Providence Light Infantry, in red coats and bear-skin hats, at
tracted particular attention. The Albany Burgess Corps made a fine display.
The Newport Artillery and the Colored Veterans caused the people to look at
them after they had passed by. The American Band of Troy brought to town
the biggest double brass sax-horn in the parade; it was as thick as a kitchen-
boiler and flared out to the size of a wagon-wheel. — The Sun, Tuesday, Decem
ber 27, 1883.

CIVIC SOCIETIES
The Fire Department made a notable display. The glitter, ng engines,
beautiful horses, and stalwart men were as striking as any features of the
parade. Six's big dog barked back at those who cheered him. The Phil
adelphia disbanded volunteers were only a shade different from the old New
Yorkers, though their long pearl-colored coats distinguished them from the
long line that followed ex-Chief John Decker and ex-Chief Harry Howard.
The New York Volunteer Firemen made Fifth Avenue look from a distance as
if a broad stream of blood was flowing down its roadway. John Decker, stal
wart and erect, with his silver trumpet's mouth filled with flowers, was at once
a reminder of Mose and of Edwin Forrest. Chief Howard, in plain black,
limped bravely along the whole route. Howard Decker, the pietuiesque fore
man of old Live Oak 44, and ex-Foreman Peter Everett brought out volumes
of cheering from the men on the sidewalks. Big Six proved a great curiosity,
and the tiger fastened to its brakes beautified the old machine. Twelve Hose
carried a stuffed dog. The oldest machine of all, Lafayette 19, was a valuable
contribution to the show. The red shirts of the men themselves called back
the New York of twenty years ago, and whether it was unconsciously or pur-

166
posely reproduced, even the swagger, the instinctive curl of the upper lips, or
the set of the hats was (not) omitted from, the picture they presented. The
suburban companies were some of them very like the old New Yorkers. — The
Sun, Tuesday, November 27, 1883.
Tammany Society — In carriages, on foot, and headed by the Goliath of
Commissioners, Thomas S. Brennan, and a band of Indians with their war
paint running down their necks and clothing, backed out when Fourteenth
Street was reached and turned off to their headquarters. Mr. Kelly, Captain
Rynders, Wiskinski Newman, Henry A. Gumbleton, Judge Duffy, and all the
familiar braves and sachems were in the representation. * * * The poli
ticians who waited patiently in the rain (at the reviewing stand on Bowling
Green) to cheer John Kelly and the Tammany paraders, did not get the chance.
The Tammany braves, with the white and black goat-tail cockades, had dis
appeared from the line long before. — The Sun, Tuesday, November 27, 1883.
Other Civic Societies. — The most notable feature of the Sixth Division,
which brought the procession to a close, was the great numerical strength of
the organizations in line. These are familiar to New Yorkers. There were
the Order of United American Mechanics, Approved Order of Red Men, Irish
Confederation, Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Central Council of Father Mathew
T. A. B., Yorkville and Harlem Bakers, Stone Cutters' Association, Tailor's As
sociation, and Young Men's Progressive Association (colored). — The Sun, Tues
day, November 27, 1883.
Society of the Cincinnati.— The two front rows of seats (on the obser
vation stand at Madison Square) had been reserved for the members of the
Society of the Cincinnati. Among the more prominent present were Genera]
(President of the Society) Hamilton Fish, of New York ; General Dr. William
A. Irvine, of Pennsylvania ; John Schuyler (Secretary of the New York State
Society), of New York ; Herman A. Bingin, of New Jersey ; Mr. Clifford
Stanly Sims, President of the New Jersey Society ; Francis Barber Ogden, of
New Jersey ; Richard H. McSherry, of Maryland ; Mr. William Wayne, Rich
ard Dale and Grant Weidman, of Pennsylvania ; Dr. John Sullivan, of Ehode
Island ; Colonel Oswald Tilghman, of Maryland ; Felix Worley, of South
Carolina ; Thomas Chrystie, of New York ; Judge Advocate A. B. Gardiner
(of Ehode Island Society) ; R. Adams, Charles T. Brunner, Francis Buck
McDowell, Robert Coltman, and Francis B. Caldwell, of Delaware. Mr. Hamil
ton Fish wore the diamond badge of the society, worn by George Washing
ton. * * * Major Asa Bird Gardiner, U. S. A., was in charge of the stand.
His aides were Colonel Oswald Tilghman, Charles Barber Ogden, and N. W.
Emerson, of Massachusetts. — Truth, Tuesday, November 27, 1883.
The Loyal Legion. — Among the members of the Loyal Legion on the
Madison Square stand were General F. E. Locke, General Charles K. Graham,
Colonel S. Truesdell, and Colonel J. Wilson. — Truth, Tuesday, November 27,
1883. Grand Army of the Republic. — The veterans who followed won cordial
admiration. Their gray hair, their old uniforms, their torn battle-flags, their
order in tramping through the long line of mud into which Broadway had been
transformed provoked constant cheering and hand-clapping. — The New York
Sun, Tuesday, November 27, 1883.
The Veterans of 1812 were represented by General Abraham DaUy, Henry

167
Morris, George Cregier, William I. Surre, Gardiner R. Lillibridge, Thomas
Ingson, Robert R. Ryckman, Charles Coombs, Elijah P. Jenks, Frederick
Fowler, Thomas Bloomer, Samuel Ryckman, Charles Oakley, T. Gould Warner,
Adjutant. They were accompanied by Samuel Bayard Stafford, wearing Com
modore Perry's chapeau, carrying the Commodore's sword, and guarding the
flag of the Bon Homme Richard, the vessel commanded by John Paul Jones, in
the War of the Revolution.— The Sun, November 27, 1883.
Sons of the Revolution. — An interesting feature of the procession was the
appearance in carriages of the first division of a number of lineal descendants
of revolutionary officers. There were Mr. C. Von E. Gallup, Mr. S. D. Crafts,
descendants of Major-General William Heath (of Massachusetts), of the Conti
nental army ; Mr. T. Willett Van Nest, a grandson of Colonel Marinus Willett
(of the New York line) ; Mr. Charles Bauman Marsh, Mr. Philip T. Brennan,
descendants of Major Sebastian Bauman (of. Second Continental Artillery) ; Mr.
William R. Thompson and Dr. Wellman, descendants of Lieutenant Alexander
Thompson (also of Second Continental Artillery) ; Mr. John Lacy Darlington,
Jr., a grandson of General Lacy, of the Pennsylvania line ; Messrs. Charles H.
Delavan and Christian S. Delavan, sons of Colonel Delavan, of the Westchester
Light Horse, which escorted Washington into this city in 1783 ; Mr. D. D. T.
Marshall, a grandson of Commissary Marshall, of the Connecticut line ; there
were also Messrs. Guy Carleton Dempsey, and John Ariel Dempsey, descend
ants of Mr. Guy Carleton, the British Commander at the time of the evacua
tion.— New York Telegram, Monday, November 26, 1883.

The Washington Coach. — The principal feature in the great Centennial
parade on Monday last was General Washington's coach, drawn by six noble
horses with elegant harness, and plumes on their heads, driven by Superin
tendent Swinarton, of the American Express Company, who had kindly loaned
the horses. Behind the old white coach, which was handsomely decorated
with flowers and evergreens, sat Harlem's old pioneer, Captain Ben Richard
son, as a guard of honor, in a barouche. The riders of the horses of
the guard were dressed in " ye olden style," cocked hats, red coats, knee
breeches, silk stockings and buckled shoes ; two coachmen and two footmen
dressed in like manner. Captain McDonald, with his regiment dressed in Con
tinental style, from New York, formed an escort ten abreast front and rear and
six on each side. — The Reporter and Harlem Local, Saturday, December 1, 1883.

The Review. — At 12.25 exactly the echo of booming cannon floated from
Governor's Island, and cheers ti-aveled all along the line of the crowd as »
coach, drawn by four coal-black horses with rosettes on their heads, dashed
down the roadway and wheeled round at the review stand. General James M.
Varnum, in a brilliant uniform, alighted and held out his hand to support Gen
eral Arthur as he stepped into the rain. The air was white with waving
handkerchiefs and echoed with cheers as the tall figure ascended the grand
stand and stood under General McMahon's umbrella. The President was dressed
in black and a tiny pin glittered in the figured scarf that encircled his standing
collar. He wore a high beaver, which he lifted frequently as he bowed around
him. The Governors and their Staffs clustered about him. He remained but
five minutes, chatting with distinguished friends, and then re-entered his

16$
coach and was driven to the Sub-Treasury building before the soldiery reached
the stand. Governor Butler, Secretary Lincoln, and Governor Barstow of
Vermont, reviewed the parade. The Aldermen, with their staves of office,
formed behind them. — The Sun, Tuesday, November 27, 1883.
When the procession had reached this point [Bowling Green] the President
and Cabinet, General Grant, Governor Cleveland and Staff, and the following-
named Governors of the thirteen original States and their brilliant staffs
alighted, and, taking the seats assigned them,, reviewed the great pageant as
it passed : Governor Butler, of Massachusetts, and Staff ; Governor Hale, of
New Hampshire, and Staff; Governor Pattison, of Pennsylvania, and Staff;
Governor Barstowe, of Vermont, and Staff ; Governor Ludlow, of New Jersey,
and Staff; Governor Bourn, of Rhode Island, and Staff; Governor Hamilton,
of Maryland, and Staff ; Governor Waller', of Connecticut, and Staff ; the Gov
ernors of Delaware and Virginia, Comptroller Davenport, Secretary of State
Carr, Hamilton Fish, Senator Fair, of Nevada, Senor Romero, Mexican Minis
ter to the United States, and many other distinguished people. — The Mail and
Express, November 26, 1883.
On the arrival of the Grand Marshal and staff at the reviewing stand near
Bowling Green, they formed a line to the south of the stand. The United
States Troops then formed a line on each side from the stand up Broadway
several blocks. The President, Governor Cleveland and staff, the Governors
of other States and their staffs, and all the invited guests in cai'riages drove
between the ranks. As each carriage drove up to the steps, those inside
alighted and took their places on the platform. The President and Governor
were escorted up the steps by General James M. Varnum. Ou their reaching
the positions assigned to them at the southeast corner of the stand the re
mainder of the procession which had been halting proceeded and passed byl
For a short time the President and Governor reviewed them ; then they left
for the scene of the unveiling of Washington's Statue. Before leaving, Presi
dent Arthur assigned the duty of reviewing to Secretary of War Lincoln.
The latter reviewed the remainder of those in line. Immediately back of him
stood General Butler in uniform. After the guests had taken their places the
" regulars " marched down through Battery Park, where they embarked for
their various stations. The Militia whose armories were on the west side of
Broadway passed around Bowling Green, passed the upper end of the Battery
and up through Greenwich Street. The regiments belonging to the east side
passed alternately through Whitehall and Beaver Streets. The out of town
regiments took the same course. The carriages formed a, line around Battery
Park and at the close drove up in order, and those on the stands got in them
and drove away. — The Evening Telegram, Monday, November 26, 1883.
When, at 3| o'clock, the last rank of the parade went by, the crowd swept
down and around the graud stand and gave vent to a resounding cheer and a
tiger. They kept on cheering until the Governor [General Butler] disappeared
on the corridor of the Stevens House. — The Sun, November 27, 1883.

ENTERTAINMENT OF VISITING MILITARY
Madison Square Garden. — The preparations for the great parade to-day
were concluded last evening. Colonel J. B. Phelps, Assistant Adjutant-General,

169
spent the day supervising the arrangements at Madison Square Garden for the
refreshment of the visiting military organizations. Three sets of tables, each
three hundred feet long, making a total length of nine hundred feet, extended
down the main area of the Garden, and at certain distances huge coffee urns
were erected, flanked by high pyramids of cups and saucers. The bill of fare
will consist of cold roast beef, roast turkey, roast chicken, chicken salads, celery,
pies of all kinds, Vienna rolls, hot coffee, fruits and cake and three hundred
kegs of lager beer. Three thousand five hundred men will be catered for at
once, and food has been provided forten thousand. Admission will be by ticket
presented and given up at the doors only by members of visiting uniformed
organizations. The refreshments will be served about three o'clock. — N. Y.
Herald, Monday, November 26, 1883.
The Madison Square Garden, under the supervision of Colonel John B.
Phelps, will be devoted to the refreshments of the military of all classes who
take part in the parade outside of the organizations just mentioned. In the
evening a reception for the military will be held at the Seventh Regiment
ArmoTy, and Gilmore will provide the music. Colonel Winchester, of the
Committee of Arrangements, has engaged to have an iron steamboat ready at
pier No. 1, and the moment the parade is over the whole veteran brigade will
be taken on board and carried to uptown piers nearest to Madison Square
Garden and other places used for refreshments. — The New York Herald,
Sunday, November 25, 1883.
Madison Square Garden was thronged with soldiers after the parade.
From eight o'clock in the morning until after the same hour in the evening the
tables were occupied. Militiamen from New Haven, Danbury, Elizabeth,
Brooklyn, Albany, New Brunswick, Newark, Paterson, and Staten Island came
in troops. Were they dainty ? Not a bit. The tables were filled and the
soldiers hungry. No wonder they could eat heartily. L. F. Mazzetti, the
caterer, prepared plenty of good food. It astonished the soldiers. They
expected sandwiches and coffee, but found the tables "groaning" under the
combined weight of chicken salad and beer, celery and pickles, coffee and
sandwiches, beef and ham. tongue and turkey, and — everything. The soldiers
cheered when they came in, cheered when they sat down, and cheered when
they got up. It was the best part of the parade for them. Notwithstanding
the fact that 10,000 soldiers were fed the utmost order was maintained. The
officers dined on the upper floor of the Garden. General Cochrane sat at the
head of the table, while on either side were the Committee of Arrangements
and guests. Toasts were drunk and speeches were made for fully ' an hour.
The caterer received seventy-five cents for each meal served. — New York
World, Tuesday, November 27, 1883.
RECEPTION AND PROMENADE CONCERT AT SEVENTH REGI
MENT ARMORY
The Seventh Regiment Armory was thrown open last evening to all
soldiers wearing uniforms and to civilians holding tickets of admission. About
three thousand persons took advantage of the opportunity to visit the hand
some building. Every room was illuminated, and the stock of flags and
banners belonging to the regiment was tastefully, distributed among the

170
company quarters. There was no extra ornamentation of the main drill room.
Cappa's Seventh Regiment Band occupied a gallery in the west end of the
room, while Gilmore's Twenty-second Regiment Band was stationed in the
opposite gallery on the eastern side. Each band performed a selection of eight
airs, besides several encores. Refreshments were served in the rifle gallery, to
which an extra ticket was necessary. There were very few persons in evening
dress. Some of the soldiers had taken pains to brighten their uniforms, while
others came from parade with soiled clothing and dripping helmets and shakoes.
Among the throng were three negro soldiers who wore their military over
coats and carried their rifles about the hall. Governor Cleveland and Mayor
Edson reached the building at ten o'clock. They were escorted by General
Shaler and staff and General Carr and staff of the Third Division National
Guard. Among others present were : the Hon. E. E. Pennington of New Jersey,
who wore the badge of the Society of the Cincinnati of his State; Mr. R. Tilgh
man, of the Maryland Cincinnati Society, and Thomas W. Chrystie, Colonel
Matthew Price, M. Greaton, Charles H. Ward, and Edward N. Tapp, of the same
Order in this city ; General John Newton, Park Commissioner Crimmins, ex-
Senator John W. Browning, Adjutant-General Daltonof Massachusetts, Dr. W.
E. Moore, General C. H. Dunstan, Captain G. H. Witthaus, Captain Ferdinand
P. Eagle, Captain William R. Kirby, and members of the rank and file of the
several visiting organizations in the city. — The New York Times, Tuesday,
November 27, 1883.

THE WATER PARADE
The Arrangements. — The arrangements for the river parade are complete.
The line will form at 9.30 a.m. from a barge off Bedloe's Island. The course
will be up the North River to a point opposite Sixty-fifth Street. Returning to
the Battery, the vessels will go up the East River to Twenty-third Street and
return to Bay Ridge, where they will be disbanded. The boats will salute the
flagship with three short blasts. The Cadet will be the officeis' dispatch boat.
The following are the officers: Admiral, John H. Starin, flagship Sam Sloan;
Commander Anning Smith ; Executive Officer Caspar Spoor. Vice-Admiral in
charge of First Division — F. W.Vosburg, flagship R. R.Martin. Rear Admiral
commanding Second Division — A. C. Cheney, flagship A. C. Cheney. The First
Squadron, Isaac'L. Fisher, Commodore, will consist of twenty -one tugs and one
steamer. The Second Squadron, C. N. Woolsey, Commodore, of three steam
ers, four- ferry-boats, ten tug-boats ; Third Squadron, W. R. Hooker, Com
modore, one steamer, two ferry-boats and twenty-seven tugs ; Fourth Squad
ron, E. H. Coffin, Commodore, seven steamers and seventeen tugs ; Fifth
Squadron, James Penne, Jr. Commodore, eight steamers, two ferry-boats and
thirteen tugs ; Sixth Squadron, D. M. Munger, Commodore, four steamers, one
ferry-boat, twenty-six tugs ; Seventh Squadron, David Cox, Commodore, three
steamers and twenty-one tugs ; Eighth Squadron, Howard Howland, Commo
dore, four steamers, eleven steam lighters and seventeen tugs ; Ninth Squad
ron, James Lawson, Commodore, five steamers and twenty-five tugs. Captain
Gastlin, of the Steamboat Squad, will have thirty-two boats manned by the
police patrol to pick up persons who may be crowded off. — The World, Sun
day, November 25, 1883.

171
The flagship, Sam Sloan, will be anchored off the Battery, and the Admiral
will review the parade as it passes down the North River. The Police boat
Patrol will accompany the marine procession, to give aid in case of accident.
Eight row-boats, manned by policemen, are to perform similar service in the
North River and four on the East River.— The Sun, Sunday, November 25,
1883. The Parade. — Not long after 9.30, the hour named for the start, the bell
was rung, and the Sam Sloan steamed away from her moorings. She kept
away towai'd the New Jersey shore and went slowly down toward the mass of
vessels which gradually became distinct. Soon the three United States men-
of-war Trenton, Vandalia and Tennessee were reached, and near them lay the
revenue cutter General Grant. The men-of-war were dressed in bunting,
spread in what is known as rainbow fashion, from the taffrail up over the
trucks of the masts, down the fore-royal stay, and ending in a line of flags fall
ing from the bowsprit to the water. The cutter had flags running from trucks
to rails. All were crowded with sailors and presented a gay appearance. Be
yond them lay the fleet which was to parade, stretching away to the south as
far as the eye could reach in the hazy atmosphere. The Sam Sloan came
about, headed to the north, and fired the first gun at 10.08.
All around lay coasters and ocean ships, many of them gayly decked out.
The German ship Hedwig was a picture with her extensive array of flags.
After the gun was fired the small but very pretty steam yacht Cadet was sent
down the line to start the fleet in motion. At 10.24 another gun was firedand
the Sam Sloan started up the North River, the energetic brass band in her
bow playing "Hail Columbia" with all their hearts and lungs. The D. R.
Martin, the upper works of which were shrouded in pendants and national
colors, came steaming after. Behind her was a big tug of the Cheney Line,
dressed in her holiday attire. Then followed a long array of tugs, steamboats,
steam lighters, and other smaller craft, all covered with flags and pouring
forth volumes of steam. Each gave two or three preliminary toots to tune up
their whistles as they started. The line was arranged in the order already
given in The Times and presented a really picturesque appearance. At
11 o'clock the head of the procession was opposite the Delaware and Lacka
wanna station at Hoboken. Here a, puff of white smoke shot out from the
pier, and the boom of a cannon rolled across the river. A gun on the Sloan
replied. Then half a dozen locomotives, standing in line near the water,
opened up their whistles and let out a tremendous screech of joy. The pent-up
enthusiasm of the steamboat skippers then broke loose, and for a few minutes
there was a startling din of whistling. As the Hoboken ferry was passed it
was seen that the river walk was lined with a dense throng of people. Then
the mind realized what a good thing the umbrella business was. The display
of artificial water-sheds, silk and alpaca, blue, green, brown, and even yellow,
was simply astonishing. The Sam Sloan banged away with her gun, and the
umbrellas waved an undulating salute, which made the line look like reeds
shaken in the wind. The crowd extended far up the river. The New Jersey
shore indeed was far more thickly crowded than the New York side, though
where the training-ship Minnesota lay, at the foot of Twenty-seventh Street,
dressed in all her bunting, there was a closely packed crowd waving hats,
handkerchiefs, and umbrellas.

172
At 11.45 the head of the procession reached the mammoth derrick an
chored as a turning-stake off the foot of Sixty -third Street. As the Sam Sloan
rounded it the crew of the derrick waved their handkerchiefs and cheered ;
fifteen locomotives drawn up in line on the Hudson River Road blew a tre
mendous blast of their whistles, and a wildly-intoxicated gentleman in a row-
boat waved his sou'-wester frantically and nearly fell overboard. At this point
those on board of the Sloan had a fine view of the fleet as it swept up to round
the derrick. The sight was undoubtedly fine. Over 250 boats were steaming
up the river. Each one had an abundance of steam on, and left a huge white
cloud behind her as she glided along. The constant din of whistles was in the
air. There were all timbres and pitches of whistles. Some were deep bass
notes, others resonant tenors, and still others screaming trebles, which would
have made the piccolo of a brass band green with envy. Moving with dignity
came the Kaaterskill, the biggest boat in the line, covered all over with all
kinds of flags that could be raked together. There would have been some
larger boats in line, together with some grain elevators, but the strong north
easterly wind made their captains afraid that they would be blown out of line
and cause accidents. Not far behind the Kaaterskill sailed the Maryland, a
car transport, looking like a dromedary in a circus parade. The Thomas P.
Way, of Newark, was crowded with passengers who had paid liberally to wit
ness the spectacle. The Florence and one of the Iron Steamboat Line were
also peddled out in this way, and were regarded by the patriotic steamboat own
ers on board the Sloan as belonging to the lowest order of marine tramps. The
Vanderbilt and the Robinson, two of the large Albany tow-boats, were also in
line and loudly attired. The Myndert Starin, John H. Starin, Laura M.
Starin, the Lenox and Blackbird were steaming along in the third division of
the boats, which was composed almost wholly of the Starin vessels. Many of
the tugs had been newly painted and looked very bright and attractive. Some
of them carried fancy flags, one being noticeable for the rampant rooster which
streamed over her bow. Another carried an immense Spanish standard at her
stern. It did not appear to make any difference what was hoisted so long as
it was a flag. The red Pennsylvania tugs were lavishly decorated and looked
pretty. Indeed, all the boats looked well, and it was evident that many an
honest tug owner had spent some of his cash for the sake of making a display
on the great holiday.
At 12 o'clock, as the fleet sailed down the North River, the Sloan gave the
signal for the grand whistle. Then the steamboat men " opened her up," and
all the outpourings of noise which had gone before, when compared to this
outburst, were as the " murmur of a meadow brook to ihe wild tumult of a
mountain storm." Men with weak nerves held their fingers in their ears,
while others were breathless with astonishment. On the Atlas Mail Line's
pier a small gun added to the uproar and the Sloan's howitzer banged away as
fast as it could be loaded. But the grandest salutes were yet to come. When
the Sloan steamed by the Tennessee the ports of the war-ship were seen to be
open. In another moment a sheet of bright red flame shot out and a thunder
ing report rang across the harbor. In a second the Vandalia had fired and the
Trenton followed. For several minutes the bellowing of their guns was heard
and the three vessels were hidden in the smoke. Then the procession headed
up the East River, while the guns of Castle William were fired. The Battery

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looked as if a forest of umbrellas had sprung up, like Jack's beanstalk, in a
single night. The Manhattan Beach pier, the adjoining piers, the vessels
lying by them, lumber piles, house-tops, and streets exhibited crowds of peo
ple. It was then realized for the first time that people proposed to see that
steamboat parade in spite of the weather. Many people had clambered up into
the rigging of vessels, and the ubiquitous street Arab was seen perched upon
cross-trees, as if they were nothing more than lamp-posts. Ferry bells and
ship bells were rung, and every available steam whistle was blown, even the
ferry-boats stopping in mid-river to take a blow. Nearly every vessel on the
East River front was dressed in flags ; the display on the tall spars of the
John R. Kelly, the largest sailing craft afloat, being particularly well exhib
ited. Guns were fired from several piers, the elevator Manhattan being espe
cially energetic in the manipulation of a small ear-splitting gun. The travel
ers on the big bridge paused and gazed down as the screeching fleet steamed
under the spau. The Brooklyn shores weTe well lined with people under the
usual array of umbrellas. — The New York Times, Tuesday, November 27, 1883.
Our artists have graphically reproduced the two grand features of New
York City's centennial celebration of Evacuation Day on the 26th ultimo — the
military and civic Parade down Broadway, and the display of the steamboats
in line on the waters of the harbor and the North and East Rivers. These
two pageants, occurring simultaneously, in a measure, divided the attention
of the multitudes, though every important thoroughfare was densely packed.
There were, probably, two millions of people in the city. It was business
and traffic that had evacuated New York on this occasion, and from " Mc
Gown's Pass" to the Battery and the surrounding waters, everybody and
everything was en fete. The thousands of spectators who lined Broad
way, and crowded, from show-windows to roof, the fronts of the buildings
along the line of march, witnessed a spectacle never to be forgotten. Groups
of famous personages, superb bands of music, squads of veteran heroes, bat
talion after battalion of brilliantly uniformed soldiery, fire companies, associa
tions of every sort, time-honored relics and glorious old battle-flags, moved and
glittered by, in seemingly endless succession, the magnificent line stretching
well-nigh the whole length of elongated Manhattan. At the same time an in
numerable concourse of people were gathered on the Brooklyn Bridge and
along the river fronts to view the water-parade. The panorama stretched out
before the observer who had been fortunate enough to secure a position on the
great bridge, was most striking. The broad expanse of waters where a hun
dred years ago the transport-boats of the departing British had plied, now
swarmed with vessels and small craft of every description, all displaying the
festive bunting. The fleet was under the command of Admiral Hon. John H.
Starin, assisted by a full corps of Vice and Rear Admirals, representing many
of the largest transportation and shipping companies. The contingent from
Mr. Starin's own fleet numbered over one hundred vessels, of which sixty were
steam-craft. It may be said, in passing, that to Mr. Starin is largely due the
credit of the inception and performance of the marine parade, a display entirely
new to the waters of New York Bay. Down the North River and around the
Battery moved the long and picturesque procession of steamboats and tugs, like
an exaggerated sea-serpent, each craft in its turn saluting the flagship with
three hoarse whistles. The steaming line wound its way up the East River

174
without seriously entangling any of the ferry-boats, then turned back, and
headed for Bay Ridge, where it underwent sudden disintegration. The even
ing was given up to fireworks and festivities on an extensive scale, and it was
full twenty-four o'clock by the new time-system ere New York retired to rest
in the pleasant consciousness of having fitly commemorated her great day. —
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper for the Week ending December 1, 1883.

UNVEILING OF THE STATUE OF WASHINGTON
The Statue.— It was well that the permanent memorial of the day
should be the statue of Washington raised upon a spot hallowed by a whole
history of patriotic events — a spot upon which it will be seen by more persons
in one day than now probably see all the other statues of Washington in
the same time. Of all appropriate places in the country for such a memorial
this was the most appropriate, and with the stone imbedded in the rostrum be
neath it, upon which Washington stood in the balcony of the old Federal Hall
when he took the oath of office, it forms one of the most interesting monu
ments in the country. It is a noble and dignified figure, and the rostrum, a
platform below it, which will be surrounded by a railing, will be the place from
which American orators for many a generation will make their patriotic ap
peals, with the great exemplar of patriotic devotion and achievement lending
by his calm presence a gracious emphasis to the loftiest eloquence of which
human lips are capable.
The figure is of bronze, twice the size of life (twelve feet and a half high,)
and stands upon a marble pedestal level with the floor of the portico of the
Sub-Treasury, erected in the center of the broad flight of marble steps that
gives access to the building. Below and in front of the pedestal is a simple
platform for speakers, in the pavement of which is imbedded the veritable
slab of red sandstone upon which Washington stood when he took the oath of
office. It was one of the flags in the flooring of the balcony of Federal Hall,
the renamed City Hall, enlarged and decorated by popular subscription, at a cost
of $32,000, for the inauguration of the first President and the meeting of the
first Congress of the United States under the Constitution, with the hope Of
securing the seat of government for New York. And this slab was happily
saved when old Federal Hall was torn down to make room for the Greek tem
ple which was built for a Custom-house and now does duty as a Sub-Treasury.
— Harper's Weekly, Saturday, December 8, 1883.
The statue was placed in position very early this morning, and will be un
veiled by Governor Cleveland in the afternoon. The statue is twelve and one-
half feet high, and represents Washington as he is said to have stood just
after taking the oath as first President of the United States. The sculptor
has combined an artistic with a poetic effect in placing a military cloak on the
figure. The ample folds of the mantle form a necessary relief against the
severe stone columns of the Sub-Treasury, and the apparent disposition of the
garment to slip from its wearer's shoulders suggests the idea of the soldier
merging into the civilian. Mr. Ward has modeled his statue after Houdon's
bust and Stuart's portrait of Washington. The costume is the civilian's full
dress of that period. An open, single-breasted, high-collared coat shows the

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old-fashioned long vest with its large pockets. A ruffle peeps out half way
down the breast, and there are also ruffles at the wrists. Knee breeches are
worn with silk stockings and low shoes, on which are plain buckles. The
attitude of the figure is suggestive of both dignity and repose. The right
arm is extended downward, the hand resting on a Bible which lies on a short
column of fasces. The left hand lightly clasps the hilt of a dress sword.
The military dress cloak rests on the left shoulder, having partially fallen off
the right shoulder, and droops gradually over the column. The statue stood
until last evening in the foundry of Henry Bonnard, in Mercer Street. The
last piece was cast two weeks ago, but much work was necessary to finish the
statue. The work has been carried on from beginning to end under the eye of
the sculptor. The only difficulty of any importance found in casting the statue
was the long cloak, which had to be cast in two pieces. The pedestal on which
the statue will stand is about six feet high. It rests on the back part of a
stone platform or rostrum about sixteen feet long and seven and one-half feet
high. A low railing will probably extend around the edge of the rostrum. Mr.
R. M. Hunt, who designed the pedestal and its base, took his idea from the
rostrums in front of Grecian temples.— 27i« Sun, Monday, November 26, 1883.
Unveiling the Statue. — The spacious plaza at the junction of Wall and
Broad Streets, seen from a slight elevation, was a black mass of umbrellas
which occasionally swayed and rocked like a stormy sea, here and there, as
a wave of pedestrians swept in from Broadway to tangle its umbrellas with
those which had arrived earlier on the ground. Hundreds of sight-seers
made no attempt to struggle through the crowds on Broadway to see the pro
cession, and contented themselves with waiting patiently in front of the Sub-
Treasury. In the center of the steps stood a tall, irregular-shaped column
of red, white and blue bunting whose graceful folds concealed the bronze
statue of Washington made by Mr. Ward, the sculptor, at the instance of the
Chamber of Commerce, at an expense of thirty-five thousand dollars, and paid
for by the merchants of New York. When the President of the United States
arrived, and in the presence of such a company of notables as is seldom seen
even in New York, the noble work of the sculptor's art was to be uncovered for
the first time and dedicated with formal and impressive ceremony. The crowd,
notwithstanding the soaking rain, waited patiently, and was reinforced every
moment by gathering throngs from all directions. One o'clock was the hour
announced for the ceremony. The President arrived just as Trinity's chimes
rang out the hour. As soon after the head of the procession had reached the
reviewing stand as it was possible for him to leave, he did so, drove quickly to
the Sub-Treasury, and with his silk hat dripping rain-drops, he entered Treas
urer Acton's office, accompanied by Secretary Folger and Mr. Charles S. Smith
and others of the Chamber of Commerce Committee. At ten minutes past one
Mr. George W. Lane, President of the Chamber of Commerce, took his stand
upon the rostrum before the statue. The merchant's venerable head was un
covered, and he and all the distinguished personages about him stood exposed to
the drenching rain. Behind Mr. Lane, with his feet upon the very stone upon
which the first President of the United States had stood when he took the oath of
office, was President Arthur, his latest successor. Around about were Secretary
Folger, Governor Cleveland and the members of his staff, Mayor Edson, Comp
troller Grant, Mayor Low of Brooklyn, Mr. George William Curtis, Assistant

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Bishop Potter, Rev. Richard S. Storrs, theRev. Robert Collyer, Mr. Royal Phelps,
Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Committee on the Statue, and his as
sociates of the Committee, Messrs. Charles S. Smith, A. A. Low, S. B. Chit
tenden, Morris K. Jesup, Henry F. Spaulding, Benjamin G. Arnold, and George
Wilson, and Messrs. Cyrus W. Field, Thomas C. Acton, Collector Robertson,
H. B. Claflin, William Dowd, J. Q. A. Ward, the sculptor of the Statue,
R. M. Hunt, the architect of the pedestal, ex-Governor Ward of New Jersey,
J. S. T. Stranahan, William M. Evarts, and many other men notable in
official, commercial and professional life. " We are assembled here to-day,"
said Mr. Lane, as President of the Chamber of Commerce. " on the very spot
where General Washington took the oath of office, as the first President of the
United States, on the thirtieth of April, 1789. Where could we have selected
a site so closely connected with that great event as this for the erection of a
statue to his memory. The very name by which he has been called for a hun
dred years — the Father of his Country — carries with it the idea of his having
lived for the best interests of his fellow-men. And we erect this statue just
here, in this money making centre, a reminder that it takes something greater
than money, not only to endear a man to his contemporaries, hut to carry his
name with honor through succeeding generations. As the day of Washing
ton's inauguration was opened with religious exercises, I will ask the Rev.
Richard S. Storrs to lead us in prayer." * * * After the prayer, Mr. Royal
Phelps, Chairman of the Special Committee of the Chamber of Commerce,
reported the completion of the work of the Committee. His Excellency Gov
ernor Cleveland, of the State of New York, unveiled the Statue. Mr. George
W. Lane, the President of the Committee, tendered the Statue to the Govern
ment of the United States, which, by resolution of Congress, had assumed its
care thereafter. The President of the United States accepted the trust in
the name of the Government, as follows :
"Mr. President and Fellow Citizens : It is fitting that other lips than mine
should give voice to the sentiments of pride and patriotism which this occasion
cannot fail to inspire in every heart. To myself has been assigned but a slight
and formal part in the day's exercises, and I shall not exceed its becoming
limits. I have come to this historic spot, where the first President of the
Republic took oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, simply to
accept in behalf of the Government this tribute to his memory. Long may the
noble statue you have here set up stand where you have placed it — a monu
ment alike to your own generosity and public spirit, and to the wisdom and
virtue and genius of the ' immortal Washington.' "
The ceremonies closed with the pronouncing of a benediction by Assistant
Bishop Potter and the singing of the Doxology. — The New York Herald, lues-
day, November 27, 1883.
' BANQUET OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Eight able-bodied Governors sat at a raised table extending along one side
of Delmonico's large banquet-hall last night. President Arthur sat in their
midst, and other distinguished gentlemen occupied the remaining seats. Five
long tables placed at right angles with the raised table, accommodated the re
mainder of the guests at the Chamber of Commerce banquet given in honor of

177
Evacuation day. The display of bright colors was as profuse in variety as in
quantity. On the wall directly back of where the President and the Governors
sat, the folds of two large American flags formed frames for the full length
oil portraits of Washington and Governor George Clinton, and between the two
pictures was an enlarged copy of the historic seal of the Chamber of Commerce.
In front of President Arthur was a clever representation, in paper, of John.
Bull sailing away from the American shores, with Uncle Sam gleefully watch
ing him from the top of a tall pole, from which floated the American flag.
President Arthur entered about five minutes after the remainder of the
company had taken their seats. He was escorted to his place at the right of
President Lane, and as soon as his presence was perceived, somebody proposed
three cheers, which were given very cordially. Before seating himself,
President Arthur shook hands, with Governor Butler, who occupied the chair
at his right. On the other side of the Governor of Massachusetts was Joseph
Choate, and beyond him were A. A. Low, the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher,
Governor Hamilton, Governor Robie, and Mayor Edson. Seated at the left of
President Lane, in the order named, were Governor Cleveland, Governor
Waller, George Wm. Curtis, Governor Murray of Utah, Governor Bourne,
Governor Hall and Mayor Low.
Among the two hundred and thirty guests not seated at the raised table
were the Hon. S. B. Chittenden, the Rev. Wm. M. Taylor, D.D., Collector
William H. Robertson, John Roach, C. N. Bliss, C. S. Smith, Solon Hum
phreys, Thomas C. Acton, F. B. Thurber, W. A. Gellatly, Captain Ambrose
Snow, Howard Carroll, George Wilson, James M. Brown, Henry Hentz, William
H. Fogg, Samuel D. Babcock, John Pierpont Morgan, Eugene Kelly, Cyrus W.
Field, General Clinton B. Fisk, J. Q. A. Ward, 0. D. Baldwin, Elihu Root,
Morris K. Jesup, William Dowd, William E. Dodge, B. G. Arnold, J. M. Con
stable, Daniel G. Rollins, David M. Stone, General Horace Porter, F. D. Tappen,
J. D. Vermilye, Fred'k J. Phillips, Wilson G. Hunt, J. S. T. Stranahan,
Elliot F. Shepard, Demas Barnes, Samuel Shethar, John T. Agnew, F. C.
Rogers, Jesse Seligman, Josiah M. Fiske, John Austin Stevens, Anson Phelps
Stokes, Charles Lanier, Henry F. Spaulding, General Lloyd Aspinwall, D. 0.
Mills, H. L. Terrell, and John H. Inman. President Arthur and Governor
Butler, while paying close attention to the dinner, conversed together almost
incessantly, and Governors Cleveland and Waller were also quite sociable.
President Lane opened the formal exercises of the evening about ten o'clock.
He stated the object of the banquet, and called attention to the fact that, on
November 25, 1783, a dinner was given to Washington by Governor Clinton,
at Fraunces' Tavern, at Broad and Pearl Streets. To show the foresighted-
ness of the men who laid the foundation of our Republic, said Mr. Lane, I
would like to read a few of the toasts given at that dinner. They were thirteen
in number, and the most significant were as follows : "May justice support
what courage has gained." " May America be an asylum to the persecuted of
the earth." "May a close union of the States guard the temple they have
erected to liberty 1" " May the remembrance of this day be a lesson to princes."
Mr. Lane proposed the health of the President of the United States, which
was drank by the guests standing, and was followed by three brisk cheers.
President Arthur said — "Gentlemen of the. Chamber of Commerce: I
thank you for this kindly greeting. The liberality and patriotism of the
12

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merchants of New York contributed in no small measure to the triumph of the
American revolution. The crowning evidence of that triumph was the glad
event whose hundredth anniversary we are celebrating to-day. You gentlemen
have abundant right to share in that celebration, for you are the descendants of,
and the successors of those patriotic meiehants who so signally upheld the
national cause, and so rejoiced at the final withdrawal of all armed opposition
to its ascendancy. And you yourselves have given indisputable proof that the
fervor and faith of the fathers have abated not one jot or tittle in the children,
and that you are ready to give your support to every measure which is cal
culated to promote the honor and credit and glory of the nation. I am proud to
meet you, and I again thank you heartily for the warmth of this reception." —
The New York Times, Tuesday, November 27, 1883.

BANQUETS
The Dinner at the Brunswick. Representatives of 1783. — The ban
quet for representatives of old families at the Hotel Brunswick Monday even
ing, the arrangemeuts for which John Austin Stevens has had charge of, will
be a peculiar feature of the day's celebration, being a private social dinner,
not connected at all with the Chamber of Commerce dinner at Delmonico's.
Mr. Stevens said yesterday his idea was to gather a company of representatives
of families residing in New York in 1783, whether Whig or Tory, as well as
representatives of officers serving in the Revolution, whether residents or not.
The purpose is to celebrate the beginning of the era of prosperity for the
city, which was started when British obstruction 10 its commercial inter
ests was removed. Originally it was contemplated as appropriate to a cen
tennial anniversary to have just one hundred guests. But owing to the size
of the dining- hall there will be only eighty-three — all that can be seated at the
table. The table is oval, eighty feet by twenty-eight. It will be handsomely
decorated with flowers, old silver and China, a portrait of George Washington
and other articles of historical interest. Klunder will furnish the flowers ;
Davis Collamore & Co., the china; William J. O'Brien, a picture of Wash
ington at Yorktown ; and Lander the music. Each guest will receive a sou
venir menu gotten up in old style, by Tiffany & Co., containing the list of toasts
and the names of those present. There will also be a souvenir in the shape of
a china cup and saucer for each guest. Thirteen toasts in honor of the
original States will be proposed by a toast-master, and a ballad written for the
occasion will be read. The toasts have not yet been arranged, but it is expect
ed that the replies will be brief, informal, and of incisive wit. The ballad is
said to be excellent of its kind. — The New York Tribune, Saturday, November
24, 1883. A large oval table in the ball-room of the Hotel Brunswick was surround
ed last evening by about eighty representatives of old New York families,
who partook, in honor of Evacuation Day, of a bountiful dinner in which
terrapin, canvas-back ducks, wild turkey and old port wine were among the
delicacies. The table was laden with very large bouquets and festoons of
smilax, besides figures in confectionery of "Brother Jonathan" showing
"John Bull" the door, George Washington, a fort, and a cannon, on which
was perched an American eagle. The menus gotten up by Tiffany, with each

179
guest's name thereon, were very handsome. Each guest also received a china
cup and saucer, with a suitable inscription. A ballad was read, written by
George W. W. Houghton, and supposed to have been spoken at the banquet
given by Governor Clinton at Fraunces's tavern, November 25, 1783. The fol
lowing toasts were also given by John Austin Stevens, the toastmaster : "The
Memory of Washington ;" "Our Native Land;" "The Mother Country ;"
"The Thirteen Colonies;" "The United States;" "The Empire State;"
"Manhattan and its Founders;" "The City of New York;" " Our Country
Cousins ;" " Our Flag and its True Defenders ; " " The Arts and Sciences ; "
"The Eepublic of Letters;" "The Day we Celebrate : " " May the Remem
brance of this Day be a Lesson to Princes ; " " Sweethearts and Wives." Music
by Lander's band was interspersed with the toasts, to which there were no for
mal replies. The guests on the occasion, nearly all of whom were present, were
Robert E. Livingston, John A. King, William C. Schermerhorn, David Lydig,
Charles A. Minton, E. M. Townsend, Delancey Nicoll, J. Bleecker Miller, John
Armstrong Chanler, Robert Ray Hamilton, Robert Ludlow Fowler, Dr. A,
McLane Hamilton, H. W. Le Roy, Francis T. Garrettson, H. Holbrook Curtis,
William C. Le Gendre, George H. Pell, Lorillard Spencer, Jr., Lispenard
Stewart, Chauncey M. De Pew, John Austin Stevens, Paul S. Forbes, Edward
F. De Lancey, George Clinton Genet, Asa Bird Gardiner, H. L. Morris, H.
H. Cammann, Theodoras Bailey Myers, Nathaniel P. Bailey, William B.
Crosby, Gerard Beekman, Frederic J. De Peyster, Henry W. Bibby, William
Heathcote De Lancey, Lewis Cass Ledyard, Frederic Rhinelander Jones,
Frederick William Rhinelander, Phillips Phoenix, Maturin Livingston Dela-
field, Augustus Van Cortlandt, Matthew Clarkson, John H. Glover, Samuel S.
Sands, Benjamin J. Kissam, Joshua Hendricks, Isaacs Moses, Nicholas De
Peyster, J. H. Lazarus, John H. Coster, Robert G. Eemsen, William Eemsen,
Alexander S. Webb, James M. Varnum, S. V. E. Cruger, Cadwalader E. Og
den, John Duer, Henry Evelyn Pierrepont, Jr., William Kelby, George W. W.
Houghton, Frederick J. Huntington, Albert Horatio Gallatin, Andrew Hodge
Sands, Frederic W. Stevens, Peter R. Kissam, Drake De Kay, Douglas Hilger,
Gerard Morris Ed wards, Richard S. Howell, H. Cruger Oakley, Mason Renshaw
Jones, Theodore Roosevelt, James Gracie King, Edward King, Ward Mc
Allister, John B. Ireland, George S. Bowdoin and John Jacob Astor. — New
York Tribune, Tuesday, November 27, 1883.
Banquets, Public and Private. — Numerous banquets, public and pri
vate, will take place the evening of the celebration. The Veterans of 1812 will
be regaled at Washington's old headquarters, Broad and Pearl Streets. * * *
The University Club, corner of Fifth Avenue and Thirty-fifth Street, will be
brilliantly decorated and illuminated, and a banquet will be held by the mem
bers. In a great many residences of the descendants of the New Yorkers who
lived a hundred years ago, and shared in the events of that time, celebrations
will also be held. — The New York Herald, Sunday, November 25, 1883.
Reception of Fire Companies. — The old Volunteer Fire Company No.
6 was given a reception after the parade by the City Club, at its rooms in the
Bowery. Harry Howard, Assistant Engineer Balch, George Brown, Major. H.
Hamilton, Samuel Guthrie, and others were present, and for two hours the
stories of the " old days " were told over. No. 44 held forth in the afternoon
at its hall in Avenue D. The Philadelphia Volunteers were to have been

180
received at the Military Hall of the New York Volunteers, but the unfavorable
circumstances in which the march of the day was made, wore the boys out,
and they returned home during the evening. — The New York Times, Tuesday,
November 27, 1883.
The Xavier Union Meeting. — The gentlemen of the Xavier Union ob
served the occasion last evening in their rooms in Twenty-seventh Street.
The President announced that hereafter they would celebrate it annually.
Judge Joseph F. Daly spoke of the hundreds of thousands of emigrants landed
on our shores annually, and our proper assimilation of them. None had greater
cause than the Catholics to rejoice in the victory for independence. It left a
free country for the Catholic Church to work out the most surprising progress
in its history — a growth more marvelous than the growth of the country. He
denied that Catholicism was hostile to our free institutions, free thought and
free speech, and called attention to its works of charity and benevolence. — The
New York Times, Tuesday, November 27, 1883.
Washington Heights CenturyClub Dinner.— The Washington Heights
Century Club, the principal objects of which are to commemorate the interest
ing events of the Revolution, and to keep alive a spirit of patriotism among
citizens, celebrated Evacuation Day by a dinner last evening at the club
rooms, at the new Mount St. Vincent Hotel, One hundred and Forty-seventh
Street and Avenue St. Nicholas. Hosea F. Perkins presided, and among those
who made speeches were Dr. Isaac I. Peet, School Trustee Andrew L. Soulard,
Judge H. P. McGown, Gilbert R. Hawes, Geo. W. R. Farrell, Charles H.
Kitchell, ex-Assemblyman David L. Baker, Sachem Charles Welde of Tam
many Hall, Dr. Cornelius R. O'Leary and Mr. J. C. Beyer.
Keceptions in Society. — The social observance of the day was very
marked. All along the line of Fifth Avenue the windows of handsome resi
dences at intervals, were filled with groups of society people intently watching
the procession. * * * The visiting regiments were loudly applauded by
these gatherings, and of the home organizations, the Seventh regiment aroused
the greatest interest and enthusiasm among them. The Philadelphia City
Troop, composed of the most fashionable young men in the Quaker City, came
in also for much applause. In the evening dinners and suppers were enjoyed
at many of the clubs and several private houses. Many of the steamships in
the river and harbor parade had parties of especially invited guests on board,
who thoroughly enjoyed the day, safely protected from the rain. Handsome
collations were spread in many cabins, and numerous were the healths drunk
and toasts proposed. The day passed off more enjoyably in social circles, than
is the case with ordinary holidays. — New York World, Tuesday, November 27,
1883.

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS
A Great Day. — This is emphatically a great day for New York. Every
town, village and hamlet, within a radius comprising a large extent of terri
tory around the Metropolis, has undergone a process of evacuation. Vast
crowds have poured in by train and boat, and on the great bridge is a dense
mass of moving people. Broadway and Fifth Avenue present a compact mass
of umbrellas along the line of the great procession. Windows, trucks, lamp-

181
posts, every point of vantage has been taken possession of, and along the
river front there is not a roof, pier, deck or cross-tree that has not more than
its comfortable quota of spectators. The cold, cheerless drizzle and leaden
sky did not daunt the ardor of the countless multitude that took possession
of the Metropolis at an early hour and held their places under circumstances
of the most trying kind. Rain, rain, and general discomfort, and the Belgian
pavement over which the 40,000 men in the procession are marching, covered
with that veneer of slippery mud which New Yorkers and Broadway stage
horses know so well. * * * Through the drizzle and mud advanced the
dense ranks of the marching multitude. Soldiers, marines, firemen, veterans,
policemen, Grand Army Posts, sailors, societies, municipal representatives, the
President and nine Governors of States, bayonets, cannon, flags, carriages and
wagons, filed the great artery of the city for miles. The advance of the proces
sion was heralded by the cheers of excited spectators, and the roar of the multi
tude rolled down the thoroughfare from block to block like the thunder of the
surf on an Atlantic beach. — The Evening Telegram, Monday, November 26, 1883.
A Success in Spite of the Rain. — The celebraticn yesterday of the evacu
ation of New York by the British on November 25, 1783, was a success in spite
of the rain which fell during nearly the entire day. The storm interfered sadly
with the comfort of those taking part in the various exercises, and the pleasure
of those who witnessed them. It is estimated that 40,000 men marched in the
parade thi-ough Fifth Avenue and Broadway, and the sidewalks along the route
were lined with eager lookers on. * * *
Patriotism of New York. — It was a miracle that yesterday's popular dem
onstration did not quite run away in water. Had not New York's patriotism
been of the rain-proof pattern it surely would have done so. Such weather for
an out-of-doors celebration! Rain, drizzle, drip, from ten o'clock in the fore
noon till far into the night. Rain, drizzle, drip, while the divisions of the
parade waited till they received marching orders. Rain, drizzle, drip and
splash, as fifteen thousand soldiers and twice the number of civilians marched
in the route laid out for the procession. Had the line of march been through
the fields of a century ago it could hai'dly have been more trying to those march
ing, who went sliding over the pavements of Broadway. Oozy, slimy, slippery
mud covered the surface of the granite blocks. Tens of thousands of feet
tossed it in air to fall upon once spotless trousers, or missing there to drop it
again into the mill that ground it more slippery than before. Above, about,
and all around was the rain ; not a whole-hearted, honest-minded down-pour,
but an insinuating, insidious, aggravating, blinding drizzle, against which um
brellas were little better than a mockery. The plumes upon the officers' hats,
that had fondly hoped to dance in time with rhythmical steps of the marching
columns — now rain -debauched, limp and bedraggled they looked as they drained
themselves down the straight backs of their wearers. And then the set faces
of the men ; the grim look of determination that shone through the mists.
* * * Yet, in spite of all the drawbacks, it was a spectacle to see, and one
that was. perhaps, all the worthier of admiration since, though the disappoint
ing weather had made the spectators number tens, where under fair skies they
would have numbered hundreds of thousands, the display was not curtailed of
a single one of its predetermined features.— The New York Tribune, Tuesday,
November 27, 1883.

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Ordering of the Parade. — It was an herculean task to order the parade
and move the masses so as to avoid confusion and delay. Old soldiers appre
ciated the fact. Six large divisions were to be turned from side streets into a
common thoroughfare. Some smiled and said three hours' delay would be no
surprising occurrence. For a wonder the delay was less than an hour. Shortly
before ten o'clock the head of the column began to move. At the same time
the rain began to fall. Flags grew heavy and clung about the staffs ; plumes
became limp and lustreless ; rigid shoulders relaxed ; dulness came over the
music. But the army was started, and it moved on to the occupation of the
territory allotted to it. Given bright sunlight and a blue sky, the procession
would have surpassed in brilliancy any demonstration in the annals of decades
at least. As it was, the comparisons made, touching its extent and appearance,
were with the most memorable in the history of the city. There were bright
dashes of color in the line that defied the effect of the rain. The glittering of
steam fire-engines drawn by magnificent horses had a picturesqueness quite as
unique though not as vivid as that of the old Volunteer Department. It will
be long, however, before the "machine" will be mentioned without a thrill in
the popular heart, and longer still before memories like those called up by the
sight of the red shirts, glazed hats, and the sound of hoarse shouts through
flaring trumpets, and the jangling of the " machines ' " hells will he felt with
out a swelling emotion. The people have accepted the methods of modern
science, but they have not forgotten the heroic gallantry of the old style. The
progress of the old firemen might have been followed by a blind man listening
to the shouts that rolled like a great wave along the double line of sightseers.
* * * Right gallant was their appearance from the waist up. Below they
were fearfully muddy. The military men, too, came in for agreat share of the
popular enthusiasm. — The New York Tribune, Tuesday, November 27, 1883.
The Greatest Demonstration. — It is all over. The last of the series of
Centennial Celebrations has come and gone. It will be long remembered, for
New York, with the characteristics that have made it the greatest city in the
New World, made this last demonstration the greatest of its kind. Not only
were New York and New Yorkers just effervescing with patriotism, but thou
sands upon thousands of strangers from points near and far were in the same
commendable state. No rain, be it ever so much more pitiless and drenching
than that which poured down so steadily yesterday, could dampen the ardor
of the celebrants, and hence, despite the conspiring elements, Evacuation Day
came, remained, and went with the biggest imaginable kind of a boom. That
this result was accomplished was due partly to the fact that all the suburbs
for miles around and nearly all the houses not on the line of the parade were
effectually evacuated, and the thoroughfares of Gotham were crowded as they
had hardly ever been before.- — Truth, Tuesday, November 27, 1883.
American Patriotism.— The most important and gratifying feature in
the Great Centennial Evacuation Day celebration was the fact that it conclusively
pi'oved that patriotism has not entirely disappeared in America. Over forty
thousand men maiched many miles in a drenching rain and over slippery pave
ments for a sentiment, and over ten times forty thousand stood for many hours
in the same pitiless storm, many of them wet through, to watch them for the
same reason. Who shall say that a city and country whose inhabitants can do
this are deficient in the sentiment of patriotism — one of the strongest bulwarks

183
of the state? The day — one of clouds, and wind, and rain — brought grievous
disappointment to thousands of adults and despair and woe unutterable to
legions of small boys. But while the wretched weather so greatly detracted
from what would have been one of the greatest days the city has ever seen, it
yet had its compensations, not the least of which is alluded to above, namely,
that it showed how deeply-rooted and sincere was the universal feeling regard
ing the proper celebration of the anniversary of an event so fraught with im
portance and interest, not alone to New York City, but to the United States of
America. — The American Queen, Saturday, December 1, 1883.
A Great Event. — The centennial celebration of Evacuation Day is already
historical, like the great event itself, and, likeall great popular demonstrations
in New York, it was a most interesting illustration of the effect of popular
government in producing popular moderation and self-restraint. A New York
crowd, vast as it is, keeps itself in order. There were hundreds of thousands
of persons packed upon the sidewalks in Fifth Aveuue and Broadway, and »
continuous throng swarming through the neighboring streets. But there was
no disorder or accident, and, despite the pitiless pelting of the storm, there was
universal good-humor. The storm, also, did not seem to affect the popular ar
dor and interest in the pageant of the procession. The multitudes stood fast
during the four hours occupied by the procession in passing, and cheered
lustily any person or object that it wished to honor ; and, as usual, interesting
and striking as the procession was, the chief interest was the mass of specta
tors. — Harper's Weekly, Saturday, December 8, 1883.
Success of the Pageant. — The rain-storm which fell upon New York
upon the hundredth anniversary of the last day on which a foreign soldieiy
trod its streets was a serious public misfortune. We have no knack, as a rule,
at making pageants. But the pageant which was to celebrate the Centennial
Evacuation Day was arranged, and would have been carried out, with a liberal
ity and comprehensiveness, and at the same time with a measure and decorum
that would have impressed the importance of the event celebrated upon every
man and woman, native born or foreign born, in this great and diverse capital.
There does not seem to have been a detail of the programme nor of its execu
tion, so far as it was executed, from the formal " exercises " of the. day to the
least pretending decoration of a dwelling or a shop front, to which just exception
could be taken. And even the chill November rain could not deprive the cere
monies of their greatest and best impressiveuess— that which came from the
evidence that the celebration was spontaneous and popular. Those who, with
Emerson, " have not the smallest interest in any holiday except as it celebrates
real and not pretended joy," must have been cheered to see the universal glow
of patriotism that many waters could not put out. An occasion which assembled
the President of the United States and the Governors of seven States of the
old thirteen would have been memorable in any event ; but it was not the
official but the unofficial celebration which was most memorable, the tens of
thousands standing their ground doggedly to see the great procession — of more
than 20,000 men, it was reckoned — pass by, that they might not miss the mem
ory of the centennial celebration so soon to become legendary with the event
it celebrates. — Harper's Weekly, Saturday, December 8, 1883.
Admirable Management. — It took the procession just four hours to pass
a given point. The numerous halts caused by the trouble in clearing a way

184
through the crowd and by the street obstructions made up an hour that should
not be calculated in determining the extent of the display. The procession
was about seven or eight miles in length. Something like 30,000 men were
in line. The disbandment of the procession was admirably managed. The di
visions wheeled alternately into Beaver Street and Battery Place and marched
up through William and Washington Streets. It was done quickly and well,
and there was no delay whatever. — The Sun, Tuesday, November 27, 1883.

FIREWORKS DISPLAY
Exhibition of Fireworks at the Battery. — For a half hour last even
ing the sky above the Battery was filled with brilliant pyrotechnics. For a
half hour, in consequence of this display, the air was laden with cries of
Oh-h-h-h and ah-h-h-h, long drawn out and rising from the throats of at least
five thousand people in chorus. There were men, women and children there
of all conditions of life, of all ages and of all nationalities. They were mainly
residents of the lower wards, but some came from away up town. Some of the
latter came in carriages with liveried drivers. * * * The children in rags
and those in sealskins equally enjoyed the exhibition. The cries of delight and
exclamations of surprise as a rocket or bomb revealed some unexpected treasure
in the way of pyrotechnics were uttered in unison. Kid-covered hands clapped
in chorus with the pinched led and bare hands from the First Ward. It was
a thoroughly democratic enjoyment for young and old. The display of fire
works was what was left over from Monday's big eel ebi'ation. There were no
set pieces, the display being entirely aerial in character. There were rockets
by the thousand — rockets which discharged stars of many colors, golden rain,
parachutes, serpents and giant chasers. There were huge fire-balloons and
bombs which exploded high in the air and let loose flotillas of little balloons.
There were bouquets of rockets in bunches of ten and twenty-five, and the
exhibition closed with anight of five hundred rockets at an almost simultaneous
discharge, which filled the air with a mass of flame and many colored stars,
and died out in a shower of golden rain which fell and expired, spluttering and
hissing, in the waters of the harbor. The displav was a very ci-editable one,
and was furnished by three firms, Detwiller & Sweet, the Unexcelled Com
pany, and Pain, the English pyrotechnist. A large force of Park policemen
were on duty to keep the crowd outside the chains which had been stretched
several hundred feet back of the sea wall from Castle Garden to the Barge
Office. Every one was so good-natured, however, that the gray-coated officers
had no trouble in preserving peace and good order. — New York Times, Wed
nesday, November 28, 1883.
THE ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS BEFORE THE NEWr YORK
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
The New York Historical Society celebrated the Centennial of Evac
uation Day and its own seventy-ninth anniversary at the Academy of Music
last night. The Academy was filled with au attentive audience, which gave
the speakers abundant applause. At eight o'clock the members of the society
and their guests marched down the centre aisle and took their places on the

185
stage. Augustus Schell, President of the Society, presided, and on the stage
with him were John Jay, William M. Evarts, Hamilton Fish, William Dowd,
Thomas C. Acton, 0. B. Potter, Governor Hale of New Hampshire, Benjamin
H. Field, Royal Phelps, the Rev. Dr Irenaeus Prime, Henry T. Drowne, Edwards
Pierrepont, Jacob D. Vermilye, the Rev. Dr. Thomas E. Vermilye, Colonel
Andrew Warner, Jacob B. Moore, John A. Weekes, Smith E. Lane, General
James M. Varnum, Dr. T. Addis Emmet, John A. King, the Rev. Dr. Gallau-
det, the Rev. Dr. B. F. De Costa, William H. Webb, Edward F. De Lancey,
and Francis B. Ogden and D. B. Kirby, of the Rhode Island Historical So
ciety. When Dodworth's orchestra had finished the piece it was playing as
the procession moved down the aisle and upon the stage, Mr. Schell rose and
made a few introductory remarks. Prayer was offered by the Rev. Dr. Ver
milye. Then Mr. Jay delivered the address of the evening — " The Peace
Negotiations of 1782 and 1783." * * * When Mr. Jay had finished, George
H. Moore, Superintendent of the Lenox Library, offered a resolution giving
him a vote of thanks for his address. After Mr. Moore had made a short
speech, William M. Evarts rose and said that in the absence of the Rev. Dr,
Eichard S. Storrs, President of the LoDg Island Historical Society, who was
expected to speak in support of the resolution, the duty had suddenly fallen
upon him to do so. He then spoke in substance as follows :
" I may be permitted to say, in view of the interesting presentation of the
work, accomplished by that first remarkable group of American negotiators, to
which we have listened to-night, that in the seven years' war not only the mili
tary campaign gained the victory, but that the American people had conquered
by the greatness of Washington and the men who surrounded him — they had
conquered the opinion of Europe and of mankind. [Applause.] When these
envoys of a power that had been unknown in the world stood before the crafty
diplomats of Europe, they stood upon a maxim that has been followed in all
our dealings with foreign nations, and that maxim is, 'America asks for noth
ing that is not right, and will submit to nothing that is wrong.' [Long ap
plause.] We may be sure from our experience of one hundred years that they
did not ask for any more land than we needed [laughter], for we have added
enormous tracts of territory, and yet we have not too much for the growth and
destiny of this mighty nation. [Applause.] I consider that the last crowning
act of American diplomacy was accomplished in the termination of the dispute
which was left by our Civil War, in which, through the guidance of our friend
Hamilton Fish, there was established a peaceful solution of a grievance so
great that under a less advanced state of civilization it could never have been
settled without war. By that peaceful solution of the difficulty we have raised
up in the sky, for all nations to follow, the great light of arbitration. [Ap
plause.] I gladly second the motion for a vote of thanks to Mr. Jay." The
resolution was adopted unanimously. Assistant Bishop Henry C. Potter pro
nounced a benediction, and the great audience dispersed. — The New York
Daily Tribune, Wednesday, November 27, 1883.

COMMEMORATIVE FEASTS AT FRAUNCES' TAVERN
TUESDAY, DECEMBER FOURTH, 1883
Memorial Lunch of the Chamber of Commerce. — At noon to-day,
prominent citizens began to assemble in " Washington's Headquarters;" the old

186
inn at the corner of Broad and Pearl Streets, where the Chamber of Com
merce was organized in 1768, and where Washington bade farewell to some of
his officers a hundred years ago to-day. The old "long room," in the second
story of the tavern, was decked in festal array. This is the room in which the
parting between Washington and his officers occurred. The modern wall
paper was covered over with paper of ancient pattern, and silk American flags
were hung as curtains to the windows. At the easterly end of the room was a
large portrait of Washington, with the national colors as border and back
ground. On the northerly side were hung silk State and municipal banners,
with an engraving of an " Old Continental." American flags were suspended
over the modern fire-place in the southwest corner of the room, and upon the
mantel were framed engravings of Washington and Hamilton. On the
southerly side of the room were framed copies of Washington's farewell ad
dress, of an old advertisement of Fraunces' Tavern (then called the " Queen's
Head "), and of extracts from the early minutes of the Chamber of Commerce,
including a by-law that "Bread and cheese, beer, punch, pipes and tobacco,"
should be provided at the meetings by the Treasurer, at the expense of the
members. Evergreens and red berries were also freely used in the decoration
of the room. The tables were laid in old-fashioned style, and were attended
by waiters in black jackets and blue neckcloths, without shin-collars. The
chief dish was turtle soup, and the beverages were punch, sherry, ale, and
porter. Stilton cheese was prominent among the side dishes. The punch
bowls were of generous dimensions, and there was a goodly array of brown
earthen mugs to be filled with the malt liquors. Long clay pipes, of the style
known as " church-wardens," were supplied in abundant clusters on the tables,
and were also used in the adornment of the walls. The napkins, of a light-
brown color, were designed as mementos of the occasion, being stamped with
a suitable inscription. The turtle-bowls also bore a memorial inscription, in
red letters, with the figure of a turtle in appropriate green. * * * The
lunch was served in an informal way, the number of guests being so large, in
proportion to the size of the room, that chairs were dispensed with, and all
ate and drank standing. The proceedings were as pleasant and jolly as they
were unceremonious. Early this evening a company of well-known citizens
will meet in the same room at a similar feast, in honor of Washington's fare
well — the first gathering being in especial honor of the foundation of the
Chamber of Commerce. — The Evening Post, Tuesday, December 4, 1883.
Turtle Feast of Sons of the Revolution'. — It was a happy thought of
the members of the Chamber of Commerce and the grandsons of the Revolution
ary patriots to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of Washington's farewell to
his officers, by two memorial feasts in the same " long room "of the old hostel iy
in Broad Street wherein that historic leave-taking occurred. These quaint com
memorations were held at noon and in the evening of the 4th instant [Decem
ber] and were — especially the latter one of the " grandsons " — quite in the old-
time spirit. The bill of fare consisted of the turtle soup, for which Fraunces
was famous of yore, supplemented with bread and cheese, sherry, mugs of
foaming ale, and a generous bowl of arrack punch. The smokers puffed the
traditional long-stemmed Knickerbocker clay pipes. The waiters wore the
black jackets and stiff blue stocks of colonial days. The walls were hung with
flags and holly, and the old bronze fire-place was filled with glowing coals,

187
giving an air of hospitality and cheer to the time-honored banquet hall.
When Mr. John Austin Stevens arose to give the first toast, " George Wash
ington," the whole assembly arose, with tobys held aloft and gave three rous
ing cheers while a Continental drummer and fifer marched in playing with
splendid dash the saucy, stirring air of " Yankee Doodle." "Who was Wash
ington ? " called out the toastmaster. "First in war — first in peace — first in the
heartsof his countrymen! " rang the reply shouted in a thundering chorus that
rattled the massive windows and made the crisp holly leaves and flaming berries
dance on the wall. Mr. J. Bleecker Miller, a grandson of James Duane, read
a letter written by Mayor Duane to his wife on the 5th December, describing
Washington's affecting farewell. Patriotic ballads were sung and speeches
made ; the fife and drum were called into requisition again and again, the long
pipes were filled and refilled from huge earthen jars and lighted from an antique
oil lamp, and the jollifications ended with a grand march around the table and
the singing of " Auld Lang Syne." Each guest received as a memento an old-
fashioned plate, soup-bowl, and toby, and a napkin bearing the profile of
Washington. — Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper for the week ending Dec
ember 15, 1883.

PRESENTATION OF THE COMMEMORATIVE MEDAL
The Presentation. — At two o'clock yesterday afternoon the members of
the Joint Committee referred to met at the rooms of the Chamber of Com
merce, with General John Cochrane, the Chairman, presiding, and Mr. George
Wilson, of the Chamber of Commerce, acting as Secretary. General Cochrane
introduced Mr. Sullivan, of the Numismatic Society, who spoke substantially
as follows :
" On the eve of another of our national holidays, recalling the name and
fame of Washington, it is our pleasant task to crown the Centennial Celebra
tion of the Evacuation of our City by the British at the close of the War of
the Revolution. That celebration will long be remembered for its popular
enthusiasm, for its civic and military pageant, for the brilliant oration of Mr.
George William Curtis, and for the unveiling in Wall Street of the statue of
Washington, on the site where he took his inauguration oath as President of
the United States. Your Committee realized that the occasion had claims to
he perpetuated by every resource known to art, and very properly their
thoughts recurred to the Historic Medal as that which has vindicated its claim
to be the most enduring memorial of history. The American Numismatic and
Archaeological Society felt honored by having committed to it the selection of
a design and inscription and the supervision of the execution of such a medal.
With a solicitude that comprehended fidelity to the facts of history, the claims
of art and the sentiment of civic pride which had prompted the Centennial
Celebration, the Society undertook the task. They determined that the de
sign should be in spirit and in execution distinctively American, and after tak
ing pains to secure sketches and drawings from many competitors, by the ad
vice of some of our most distinguished artists they awarded the prize for the
design which upon the whole was best, to our fellow-townsman, Mr. Charles
Osborne. The matter of cutting the dies was intrusted to probably the most
distinguished artist in that field — Mrs. Leah Ahlborn. -^

188
" The great value which will attach to our medal will not be that it re
cords dates but that it records the patriotic remembrances and recognition by
our people of the events that preceded them by a hundred years. It is that
expression that gave eloquence to the Celebration and which will give signifi
cance to the memorial of it. You have upon this bronze recorded that a hun
dred years have not dimmed, but, on the contrary, have brightened the popu
lar glory of Washington ; that the fortitude of the soldiers of the Revolution
is remembered as the price of an independence which has brought a century of
peace and prosperity; that the political scheme which was the logical outcome
of the Revolution is daily vindicating its claim upon the intelligence of the
world as being the wisest and most beneficent that has yet been known in his
tory. Whoever in future ages shall see this medal will read in it, as upon a
tablet of the American heart, that at the end of the first century of the prac
tical establishment of American independence the citizens of the metropolis,
without regard to party, could put no measure upon their enthusiasm as they
rejoiced in the courage and the political wisdom of their ancestors who had
brought into existence our happy Eepublic. In the Celebration of that Cen
tennial the people of the United States have renewed their fealty to the prin
ciples of constitutional government, and have, with an emphasis which attracts
the attention of the world, said to all mankind ' the growing experiences of
each of the hundred years of the past century start us into the first of a new
century with an abiding confidence that the true principles of government for
the happiness and prosperity of a people we have found to be those upon
which our State and Federal governments have been constructed.'"
The Acceptance. — General Cochrane in the course of his reply, accept
ing the Medal, said :,
" The event was worthy of commemoration. The oppressed peoples of the
thirteen colonies had severed the political ties which bound them to the
mother country, and after a long and calamitous war had accomplished their
independence. On November 25, 1783, the last hostile foot was driven from
these shores. A century had intervened. Where cattle had browsed and the
wild fox and leveret ran, broad avenues opened vistas through a wilderness of
architecture of artistic beauty and superb effect ; where low-pitched gables
had confronted dingy streets stately mansions and lofty minsters rose on ways
in which a conqueror in Eome's best days might not have disdained to lead a
Eoman triumph up. Where but a meagre population had toiled in the pain
ful vocations of frugal life, a teeming multitude thronged aud jostled and
throve. Millions lived and thrived and prospered within this insular girth,
and millions more reposed secure within the benign protection of its august
shade. Here the arts refined and softened the severity of science ; the scholar
relaxed with the learning of the schools ; the rigid tension of commercial en
terprise and charity, commensurate with human want, animated with benevo
lence the heart of a generous people. And here it stands to-day, as here it will
stand a century hence, this city of ours, great in its history, great in its vir
tues and colossal in its grasp upon the struggling currents of human life.
Therefore it is well to commemorate the Centennial Celebration of the day that
enrolled among the benignant forces of the world the City of New York.
' ' The Medal you present to us is not a trophy of the spoils and of the ravages
of war. It is a memento of the victories of peace. It will bring neither

189
anxious hour nor sleepless vigil to the emulous heroes of slaughter and desola
tion. It appeals to the philanthropist and the statesman. It teaches that the
glory of the city consists not in meretricious splendor, but in true hands and
honest fame and a divine heart. Sir, be assured that I shall gladly do the office of
conveying this Medal to the authorities by whom our Committee was deputed,
to be transmitted by them, an imperishable record, to the generations of a cent
ury hence, how well their ancestors remembered and prized the emergent
event that on the 25th of November, 1783, closed the track of Colonial depend
ence and ushered the era of national wealth, greatness and renown."
On motion of Mr. Charles S. Smith, Vice-President of the Chamber of Com
merce, a resolution of thanks to the Numismatic Society was unanimously
adopted. — The New York Herald, Sunday, February 22, 1885.
Medals in Memory of Evacuation Day. — A number of men met at the
Chamber of Commerce yesterday to look at the medals prepared by the Numis
matic Society at the request of the Committee which had charge of the Evacu
ation Day celebration in 1883. General John Cochrane presided, and General
Shaler served as vice-president. Algernon S. Sullivan presented the medals to
the Committee in behalf of the Society, and was responded to by General
Cochrane. The medals, 181 in number, will be distributed this week. — New
York Tribune, Sunday, February 22, 1885.

REPORT OP THE COMMITTEE
OF THE
GEAND AEMY OF THE EEPUBLIC
Department of New York
ON THE CENTENNIAL CELEBEATION OF EVACUATION DAY

REPORT OP THE COMMITTEE
OF THE
GEAND AEMY OF THE EEPUBLIC
Department of New York
ON THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF EVACUATION DAY

Department of N. Y. G. A. R., New York, January 26, 1884.
Comrade Joseph A. Adlington,
Assistant Adjutant-General :
Sua — The Special Committee appointed by order of the Department En
campment, held at Troy, January 24, 25, 1883, for the purpose of providing for
the proper participation of the Grand Army of the Republic in the Centennial
Celebration of the Evacuation of New York by the British, respectfully report
that your Committee duly organized by the appointment of Comrade H. A.
Barnum as Chairman, Comrade M. A. Reed as Secretary, and Comrade James
McQuade as Treasurer.
The Joint Committee of Arrangements appointed by the Common Council,
the Chamber of Commerce and the Historical Society of New York City, paid
the Grand Army of the Republic the high compliment of adding your Commit
tee to their General Committee of Arrangements and extending to us every
possible courtesy. At the request of your Committee our Department Com
mander promulgated the following Circular Letter :
circular letter
Headquarters G. A. R. Committee, Department of N. Y., for Centen
nial Celebration of Evacuation Day by the British
Post Office, Station D, New York City, October 10th, 1883.
Comrades: The Municipal authorities and the various military, civic and com
mercial bodies of the City of New York are to publicly celebrate the one hun
dredth anniversary of the Evacuation of New York City by the British troops,
which closing event of the War of the Revolution occurred November 25, 1783,
and will be celebrated on Monday, November 26, proximo. The Grand Army of
the Republic is cordially invited to participate, and the Committee of the
Grand Army appointed at the Annual Encampment of the Department of New
York, held at Troy, January, 1883, having duly organized and established co
operation with the Municipal and other public bodies of the City of New York
13

194
in this matter, desire to be informed regarding the officers and Posts of the G.
A. R. who propose to participate in this great celebration. The Commander-
in-Chief of the G. A. R. and Staff, all the Department Commanders and their
Staffs, and all Post organizations will be welcomed. Information as to officers
and Posts and their members who will be present is requested to be sent to the
Secretary at the Committee's headquarters as early as possible. Information
as to reduced fares, hotel rates, etc., etc., will be duly promulgated by the
Committee. H. A. Barnum, Chairman.
M. A. Reed, Secretary.
In addition to the general invitation extended by the Circular Letter, spe
cial invitations were issued, on request of your Committee, by the Joint Exec
utive Committee of Arrangements of the Common Council, the Chamber of
Commerce, and the Historical Society of New York City, to our Commander-in-
Chief and Staff and to the Department Commanders and their Staffs of the
Original States. In ample season your Committee entered into extensive cor
respondence, with a view of assembling a large and creditable representation
of the Grand Army of the Republic,- besides exerting their personal influence
to the same end in New York and in adjacent localities, with highly satisfac
tory results. The Memorial Committee of New York City, in behalf of all the
Posts of the City of New York, unanimously accepted the invitation to parade,
and on request of your Committee, Chief Marshal, our comrade, General
John Cochrane, directed the formation of the G. A. R. section of the parad
ing column to be made by Comrade James B. Horner, the Grand Marshal of the
New York Memorial Committee, and appointed Comrade Horner to the com
mand thereof. Owing to official engagements in Western Department, Com
mander-in-Chief, Comrade R. B. Beath was unable to be present.
The G. A. R. Guests Present were : Comrade John C. Robinson, Past
Commander-in-Chief; Comrade Dr. Azel Ames, Surgeon-General.
Department of New York. — Comrades John A. Reynolds, Department
Commander ; Joseph A. Adlington, Assistant Adjutant-General; James S.
Graham, Inspector ; Wm. W. Robacher, Chief Mustering Officer ; Rev. J. H.
Gunning, Chaplain ; Theodore T. Poole, William 0. Booth, of Council of Ad
ministration. Post Department Comrades — Edward Jardine, James S. Fraser
Charles S. Baker, Rochester ; Joseph S. Lowry, W. H. Bright, John O'Brien,
James Miller, Wesley Domblebly, Geo. S. Hollingworth, Daniel T. Everts,
Utica ; John W. Vrooman, Herkimer; Thomas W. Conway, Brooklyn; J. H.
Thompson, Goshen ; E. L. Gaul, Hudson ; L. S. Carter, A. S. Patten, Bing-
hamton. Department of Maine. — Governor Frederick Robie, Post 2, Portland ;
Comrades George L. Beale, Past Department Commander; Augustus C. Ham
lin, John F. Richards, Post 6, Frederick W. Guptill, Post 8, Frank D. Pul-
len, Post 12, all of Governor Robie's Staff, John Marshal Brown, Post 2.
Department of New Hampshire. — Comrades John C. Linehan, Depart
ment Commander ; A. B. Thompson, Assistant Adjutant-General; M. M. Col-
lis, Chief Mustering Officer ; Samuel F. Brown, A. D. C.
Department of Vermont. — Comrades A. B. Valentine, Department
Commander; W. H. Gilmore, Vice Department Commander; T. S. Pach,

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George W. Hooker, J. H. Goulding, H. K. Ide, Post Department Com
manders. Department of Massachusetts. — Comrades Geo. S. Evans, Depart
ment Commander ; A. C. Monroe, Assistant Adjutant-General ; George H.
Patch, Post Department Commander ; C. H . Parsons, Commander Post 45 ;
J. C. Thomas, Commander Post 15 ; C. M. Wheldon, Commander Post 125 ;
J. W. Hersey, Jr., Vice-Commander Post 16 ; C. H. Nash, A. D. C. to Com
mander-in-chief ; Thomas L. O'Brien, A. D. C. to Commander-in-Chief; S. S.
Hartshorn, A. D. C. ; James F. Farrell, Post 15 ; H. O. Moore, Post 5 ; John
S. Beck, Commander Post 66 ; John H. O'Donnell, Post 2.
Department of Connecticut. — Comrades Henry E. Taintor, Assistant
Adjutant-General ; John G. Crary, Inspector ; Joseph D. Plunkett, Judge- Ad
vocate; George W. Keeler, Chief Mustering Officer; Fred. E. Camp, C. of A.;
Alfred B. Beers, Ira E. Hicks, Past Department Commanders.
Department of Rhode Island. — Comrades W. J. Bradford, Assistant
Adjutant-General ; Henry C. Luther, A. D. C. to Commander-in-Chief; Charles
C. Gray, Past Department Commander ; Theodore A. Barton, Commander Post
10. Department of New Jersey. — Comrades George B. Fielder, Depart
ment Commander; Alexander M. Way, Senior Vice-Commander ; Edward F.
McDonald, Assistant Adjutant-General ; Charles Burrows, Past Department
Commander; C. H. Benson, Chief Mustering Officer ; Theo. Bowman, H.
McGrath, Wm. Taylor, C. F. Brainard, C. H. Miller, Aides-de-Camp.
Department of Delaware. — Comrades Daniel Ross, Department Com
mander ; Edward H. Gregg, Assistant Adjutant-General ; John Wainwright,
Past Department Commander.
Department of Maryland. — Comrades W. E. W. Ross, Post Senior
Vice Commander-in-Chief; John H. Suter, Department Commander; A. G.
Alford, Junior Vice Department Commander; A. W. Dodge, Medical Director;
John A. Steiner, Chief Mustering Officer; Geoi-ge B. Craemer, National C. of
A.; A. C. Evans, Department C. of A.; Wm. T. Adreen, Past A. D. C. to
Commander-in-Chief ; N. M. Rittenhouse, A. D. C.
Department of Colorado. — Comrade E. M. McCook.
Department of Potomac. — Comrade J. W. McKnight.
The Posts of the Grand Army of the Republic Committees, Past Officers,
and the organizations of " Sons of Veterans," participating in the Celebration,
are named in the following order of formation.
G. A. R. Section of Parading Column
General Order No 6.
I. The formation of the parading column of the Grand Army of the Re
public of the City of New York on Evacuation Day, November 26, 1883, be
ing the Centennial Anniversary of the Evacuation of New York City by the
British Troops in the year 1783, is hereby ordered as follows :

196
Major James B. Horner, Grand Marshal
Grand Marshal's Headquarters Flag
Bugler
Grand Marshal's Staff, Special Aides and Aides-de-Camp
Past Grand Marshals. — Colonel Levin Crandall, Colonel John W.
Marshall, Lieutenant Woldemar Bodo Von Krafft, General James McQuade,
Colonel John K. Perley, General James F. Hall, Colonel George F. Hopper,
General Henry E. Davies, General Henry A. Barnum, General Charles K.
Graham, Colonel Edward H. Kent, Captain Edward Browne.
Officers of the Memorial Committee of the City of new York. —
Comrades E. W. Brueninghausen, Chairman ; Charles H. McKenzie, 1st Vice-
Chairman; John R. Nugent, 2d Vice-Chairman; George F. Hopper, Record
ing Secretary ; Samuel G. Hayter, Corresponding Secretary ; Nicholas W.
Day, Treasurer. First Division
Marshal — Comrade August Fleischbein and Aides-de-Camp ; Band ;
Koltes Post, No. 32, Major Charles Semsey, Commander — Drum and Fife
Corps ; Reno Post, No. 44, Henry C. Perley, Commander — Drum and Fife
Corps ; John A. Rawlins Post, No. 80, Isaac H. Isaacs, Commander.
Second Division
Marshal — Comrade John W. Dowling and Aides-de-Camp; Band; James
C. Rice Post, No. 29, Max Reece, Commander — Drum and Fife Corps ; Wads-
worth Post, No. 77, J. H. Van Wyck, Commander — Band ; Farragut Post, No.
75, B. W. Ellison, Commander — Drum Corps; Ellsworth Post, No. 67, Charles
Smith, Commander— -Drum: Corps ; Farns worth Post, No. 170, F. W. Whit-
taker,' Commander. Third Division
Marshal — Comrade Samuel . Minnes and Aides-de-Camp; Band; E. A.
Kimball Post, No. 100, Thomas Cochrane, Commander — Drum and Fife Corps ;
Cameron Post, No. 79, John R. Nugent, Commander — Drum and Fife Corps ;
Robert Anderson Post, No. 58, Jules P. Rosseau, Commandei — Drum and
Fife Corps ; Van Houten Post, No. 3, New Jersey, Frank 0. Cole, Com
mander. Fourth Division
Marshal — Comrade Gustave Schneider, and Aides-de-Camp ; Band ;
James Shields Post, No. 69, John Beattie, Commander — Drum Corps ; Abra
ham Lincoln Post, No. 13, Charles Wells, Commander — Drum Corps ; Thaddeus
Stevens Post, No. 255, William G. Harris, Commander.
Fifth Division
Marshal — Comrade Thomas Bogan and Aides-de-Camp; Band ; Sumner
Post, No. 24, James C. Carlyle, Commander — Drum and Fife Corps ; George
G. Meade Post, No. 38, William J. Holmes, Commander — Drum and Fife
Corps ; John A. Andrews Post, No. 234, James C. Johnson, Commander.

197
Sixth Division
Marshal — Comrade David J. Mallon and Aides-de-Camp ; Band ; John
A. Dix Post, No. 135, A. M. Underhill, Commander — Drum and Fife Corps ;
Phil Kearney Post, No. 8, Richard C. Morgan, Commander — Drum and Fife
Corps ; William D. Kennedy Post, No. 42, Alonzo Howell, Commander.
Seventh Division
Marshal — Comrade John Lake and Aides-de-Camp; Band; J. L. Riker
Post, No. 62, August Shaefer, Commander ; Flute and Drum Corps ; Dahl-
gren Post, No. 113, Wrilliam McEntee, Commander — Harry Lee Post, No. 21,
Brooklyn, J. M. McNaughton, Commander — Devin Post, No. 148, Brooklyn,
Lewis E. McLaughlin, Commander — Robert G. Shaw Post, No. 112, Staten
Island, William Wermerskirch, Commander — Drum and Fife Coups ; Sedg
wick Post, No. 186, Edward Byrne, Commander — Drum and Fife Corps ;
Zabriskie Post, No. 38," New Jersey, Otto W. Myer, Commander.
Eighth Division
Marshal — Comrade Dennis Sullivan and Aides-de-Camp ; Band ; Adam
Goss Post, No. 330, Joseph Halfield, Commander — Band ; Judson Kilpatrick
Post, No. 143, William C. Reddy, Commander — Drum Corps; Gilsa Post, No.
264, Charles Gunther, Commander. Ninth Division
Marshal — Comrade S. Dexter Bingham, Jr., and Aides-de-Camp ; Band;
Vanderbilt Post, No. 136, S. Dexter Bingham, Jr., Commander — Drum Corps;
Oliver Tilden Post, No. 96, Edward Raite, Commander — Drum Corps; Joseph
Hooker Post, No. 128, Jacob Jacobs, Commander — Drum Corps; Steinwehr
Post, No. 192, W. Krzyzanowski, Commander
Tenth Division (Brooklyn)
Marshal — Comrade Charles Curie and Aides-de-Camp; Band; Post, No.
327, George B. Squires, Commander — Drum Corps ; Mansfield Post, No. 35,
Martin Short, Commander — Barbara Freitche Post, No. 11, James Campbell,
Commander — Drum Corps; Rankin Post, No. 10, John H.Walker, Commander ;
Drum Corps; Thadford Post, No. 3, Charles B. Kinsey, Commander — Drum
Corps ; S. F. Dupont Post, No. 187, David Acker, Commander — Band ; Frank
Head Post, No. 16, William O'Brien, Commander — William Lloyd Garrison
Post, No. 207, J. P. G. Howard, Commander — Drum Corps ; Dakin Post, No.
206, Thomas Holland, Commander — Drum Corps ; Kerswill Post, No. 149,
John W. Werner, Commander — Drum Corps ; James H. Perry Post, No. 89,
R. W. L'Hommedieu, Commander.
Committee of the Department of New York
Comrades Henry A. Barnum, Cliairman ; M. A. Reed, Secretary; James
McQuade, Treasurer; Willard Bullard, William McEntee.

198
Department Commanders and Staff
Comrades John A. Reynolds, New York; E. M. Shaw, Maine; John C
Linchau, New Hampshire; A. B. Valentine, Vermont; George S. Evans,
Massachusetts; Philip S. Chase, Rhode Island; Isaac B. Hyatt, Connecticut;
George B. Fielder, New Jersey ; Daniel Ross, Delaware; John H. Suter,
Maryland. Eleventh Division
Sons of Veterans
Marshal— Department Commander, Henry Schuchart and Staff; Drum
Corpb ; Robert T. Lincoln Post, No. 7, Edward J. Rapp, Commander— A. H.
Dupont Post, No. 13, W. A. Wills, Commander— Perry Post, No. 14, James
McKenna, Commander— Christian Woerner Post, No. 15, John Eckstein, Com
mander— Koltes Post, No. 17, Philip W. Kloeber, Commander— George H.
Thomas Post, No. 19, Charles Werner, Commander— R. V. Young Post, No.
20, George Raffelo, Commander— Mansfield Post, No. 21, John Boness, Com
mander— Rankin Post, No. 10, R. Frost, Commander.
Seven camps of Sons of Veterans under command of their respective
Captains. II. The several streets between Fourth and Sixth Avenues lying between
39th to 43d Streets, both inclusive, have been designated as the ground for
the formation of the several divisions composing the Grand Army column.
Commanders upon the arrival of their several organizations at the street
formation of their Divisions will halt upon Fifth Avenue, and report their
command to the Division Marshals, who shall inspect such organization, and, if
the orders of the Grand Marshal have been complied with, he will place such
organization under the direction of one of his aides, who shall conduct it to its
place in the Division column. Organizations will report to their respective
Division Commanders at 8.30 o'clock A.M. for assignment. At 8.45 A.M.,
Division Commanders must have the formation of their respective Divisions
peifected, close the streets at Fourth and Sixth Avenues, take post at the right
of their column on Fifth Avenue and await the signal to march. No carriage
or other vehicle not herein authorized shall be permitted to enter any part of
the column. Wagons or vehicles of any description which shall display the
name or business of any person or persons, and all advertising devices, must
be excluded from the column. Division Marshals are particularly charged
with the execution of this portion of the order, as they will be held responsi
ble for the strict enforcement of the same. The following distances will be
preserved during the march : between Divisions, 50 feet. Between Division
Commanders and their aides, 9 feet. Distances between organizations com
prising a Division, 20 feet. Division Marshal's Staff, and all commanding
officers, will salute the Reviewing officer. Color Bearers will, at the same
time, droop the colors of their various organizations. The formation of Divisions
in close column, right resting on Fifth Avenue, will be as follows :
First Division, 43d Street, west of Fifth Avenue ; Second Division, 43d
Street, east of Fifth Avenue ; Third Division, 42d Street, west of Fifth
Avenue ; Fourth Division, 42d Street, east of Fifth Avenue ; Fifth Division,
41st Street, north-east side of Fifth Avenue ; Sixth Division, 41st Street, south-

199
east side of Fifth Avenue ; Seventh Division, 40th Street, west of Fifth Avenue ;
Eighth Division, 40th Street, east of Fifth Avenue ; Ninth Division, 39th Street,
west of Fifth Avenue ; Tenth Division, 39th Street, east of Fifth Avenue ;
Eleventh Division, 39th Street, right resting on Madison Avenue.
The Main Column will move at 9 o'clock A.M., and the Grand Army Column
as soon as the Left of the Column preceding has uncovered. The line of march
will be down Fifth Avenue to 14th Street, down Broadway to Bowling Green,
where the review by the Governor of the State will take place. The staff of
the Grand Marshal will assemble at No. 407 West 21st Street at 7.30 a.m. uni
formed and mounted. Headquartei's of the Grand Marshal until after Column
has moved will be at 43d Street, right resting on Fifth Avenue. The officers
of the Committee of the Department of New York, of the Memorial Committee
of New York City, National Commander and Staff and Department Com
manders will take carriages in the rear of the Tenth Division on 39th Street,
east of Fifth Avenue.
By command of
Major James B. Horner,
Grand Marshal of the Grand Army of the Republic
of the City of New York.
J. C. Julius Langbein,
Adjutant-General and Chief of Staff.

Prior to the day of Celebration your Committee established their head
quarters at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, where all guests reported on their arrival,
and where they assembled on the morning of the day of Celebration and took
carriages and drove to the place of formation in East 39th Street and Fifth
Avenue. Department Delegations were marked by Department Headquarters
flags or by banners bearing the name of the Department, furnished by your
Committee. Our guests occupied twenty-eight carriages four abreast, escorted
by your Committee in two carriages abreast, and our Grand Army section of
the Parading column numbering over seven thousand Comrades, in eleven
Divisions with thirteen Bands and twenty-nine Drum and Fife Corps, with
numerous glorious old Battle Flags; our Grand Marshal and the Division
Marshals and their Staffs, mounted and all in G. A. R. uniform, constituted
a most attractive feature of the mighty column of 40,000 men that made up
the great Parade, and which embraced the President of the United States and
members of the Cabinet, Ex-President General Ulysses S.Grant, the Governors
of the original States and their Military Staffs, the Mayor and Common Coun
cil of New York, the Mayors and Common Councils of neighboring Cities, and
various Historical and other Civil Societies of New York and other Cities and
States, a division of United States troops, as special escort to distinguished
guests, the First and Second Divisions of the National Guard of New York
State, the Connecticut National Guard, the New Jersey National Guard, the
famous "Red, White, and Blue battalion," composed of the celebrated independ
ent Military Companies (the Old Guard of New York City, the Utica Citizen
Corps, and the Albany Burgesses Corps), Detachment of Ancient and Honorable
Artillery of Boston, the Governor's Foot Guard of Connecticut, First Troop City
Cavalry of Philadelphia, Battalion Providence Light Infantry, Newport Artil
lery, Washington Continentals of Newburgh, N. Y., and other Independent

200
Companies, various Veteran Corps, the Police and Fire Departments of New
York, and of other Cities, numerous miscellaneous organizations, and the whole
led by the Joint Committee of Arrangements of the Common Council, the
Chamber of Commerce and the Historical Society of New York in carriages.
Notwithstanding the inclement weather, a steady rain prevailing throughout
the day, every available point of observation from Central Park to the Battery
was crowded with the populace, and the people on the sidewalks overflowed
into the streets, scarcely allowing room for the marching column. No Division
received more applause than our old veterans, with their tattered flags — more
glorious from their baptism in battle-fire ; and in the long slippery march of
over five miles but few fell out, and their correct alignments and soldierly
bearing showed that they had not forgotten the discipline of twenty years ago.
At Bowling Green the Column was reviewed by Governor Cleveland of
our State, assisted by Mayor Edson of New York, the Hon. Robert T. Lincoln,
Secretary of War, and the visiting Governors.
At the close of the Parade our guests were conducted to the Stevens House,
near the reviewing stand, where an ample lunch was served under the direc
tion of your Committee. In the evening they attended the Grand Military
Reception, given under the auspices of the officers of the First Division of the
National Guard of our State, at the magnificent Armory of our celebrated
Seventh Regiment, over ten thousand persons attended, including Cabinet
officers, many Governors of States and their Military Staffs, the Mayor of New
York, Judges and other high officials, and thousands of fair ladies in rich attire
and valiant soldiers in showy uniforms, presenting a spectacle seldom equalled
in distinguished character and dazzling brilliancy. The praise bestowed by
the public press upon our G. A. R. display, and the numerous letters your
Committee have received from our guests, expressing their utmost gratifica
tion for the opportunity to witness and participate in this great Centennial
Celebration, and for the attentions shown them while present must he gratify
ing to our entire Department, as it is ample compensation for the arduous
labors of your Committee. Only an allusion can here be made to the great
Naval Parade in the Harbor of New York, embracing twenty miles of steam
craft of all classes, commanded by Admiral John H. Starin, and the unveiling
of the Washington Statue at the Sub-Treasury Building, and its acceptance by
President Arthur occurring simultaneously with the Parade.
Your Committee have incurred no expense to our Department. All the
bills for music, printing, entertainment of our guests, etc., incurred in this
great Grand Army demonstration, amounting to over three thousand one hun
dred dollars ($3,100.00), were generously assumed and paid by the Joint Com
mittee of the Common Council, the Chamber of Commerce and the Historical
Society of the City of New York.
Your Committee recommend that the following resolution be adopted, and
a copy, certified by our Department Commander and Assistant Adjutant-Gen
eral, be sent to John Austin Stevens, Esq., Secretary of the above-named Joint
Committee, viz. :
Resolved, That the Department of New York Grand Army of the Repub
lic hereby tenders grateful acknowledgments to the Joint Committee of the
Common Council, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Historical Society of the
City of New York, which had charge of the Centennial Celebration of the

201
Evacuation of New York by the British, for the generous courtesy extended
to its Committee and to all Comrades of the G. A. R. who participated in that
great Celebration.
All of which is respectfully submitted,
H. A. Barnum,
M. A. Reed,
James McQuade,
WlLLARD BULLARD,
William McEntee,
Committee.

YALE UNIVERSITY

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