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📖 Westchester County Histories
Comprehensive histories of the county and Town of Cortlandt
1,488Passages
2Source Documents
Sources
| Source | Passages | Words | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| J. Thomas Scharf (1886) | 916 | 173,521 | Original → |
| Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900) | 572 | 106,421 | Original → |
Passages
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] This contrivance, besides being very costly, gave the American engineers a vast deal of trouble. On November 21, 1776, General Heath reported that it had li twice broke." Cables were stretched in front of the…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] This place, in common with Verplanck's Point, was not fortified at the beginning of the Revolution; but some time after the building of Fort Lafavette, on Verplanck's Point, works were begun on Stony Point, w…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] Prac-tically all of Westchester County was continually exposed to alternate American and British raids, forages, and ravages, to depre-dations by bands of irresponsible ruffians not regularly attached to eith…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] The parties which reciprocally served for defense and offense on the enemy's side comprised several well known bodies of horse and foot — notably the Queen's Bangers under Simcoe, de Lancey's corps of Westche…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] This debatable land was overrim by predatory bands from either side; sacking henroosts, plundering-farmhouses, and driving off cattle. Hence arose those two great orders of bor-der chivalry, the Skinners and …
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] nearer home. This was at Pawling, Dutchess County, and, fearing to trust himself again to the vengeance of Captain Townsend, he arranged with Colonel Morehouse, a VV hig of the neighborhood, to raise a body o…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] He had his ambuscade set for them and captured them all In the following; fall his enlistment expired and he retired to private life. His whole pay from the government was but two hundred and fifty dollars, s…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] died at Fordham in 1852; Cornelius Oakley, of White Plains; Brom Boyce, of the present Town of Mount Pleasant; Isaac Udell, of Yon-kers; and William Davids, of Tarrytown. 1 From an address, " Tarleton's Raid …
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] By the ruse of lighting numer-
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] 42(3 HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY refugees from Westchester County were conspicuous members. As the spring approached many were the speculations indulged on the American side as to the probable intentions of…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] Even should the enemy pursue their first plan of an invasion from Canada, the troops at Peeks-kill would not be badly placed to re-enforce Ticonderoga and cover the country around Albany." Heath was succeeded…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] The next day there was a lively encounter between Willet and the foe near the Van Cortlandt mansion,1 which resulted in the rout of the latter. According to Irving the British lost nine killed and four wounde…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] Upon the occasion of the son's cap-ture it was the first time he had slept at his home in many months. The affair of March at Peekskill greatly agitated the State con-vention, which caused a portion of the mi…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] their customary course of treatment, one in-2 See Scharf, ii., 713. 428 HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY put to work at various duties — notably the strengthening of the chain. About the end of April several Bri…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] The organization of the civil government of the new State of New York, born at White Plains on the Oth day of July, 177(5, was delayed
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] the first judges, and designated as chief justice our John Jay, who opened the first session of the Supreme Court at Kingston in Septem-ber, 1777. He held tin1 office, however, for only two years, being suc-c…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] Our county's members of the first assembly held under the State government were Thaddeus Crane, Samuel Drake, Robert Graham, Israel Honeywell, Jr., Zebadiah Mills, and Gouverneur Morris. The first county judg…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] Maji >r Willi am Popham. 430 HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY Throughout the Revolution, and for several years subsequently, there was no attempt made to reorganize the civil divisions of West-chester County. Pr…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] assisted by the militia of the section through which he passed; but what were the intentions of Howe with his large New York com-mand? Would he co-operate with Burgoyne by ascending the Hud-son River? If so, …
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] From his own southern position in New Jersey he fell back to the Clove, a defile in the Highlands on the west side of the river, so as to be at hand for the defense of that region. But he did not remain there…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] be ordered there in case of neces-sity. On the 10th of August all uncertainty was ended by the reap-pearance of the fleet below Phila-delphia. From that time until his retirement to winter quarters at Valley …
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] But the humdrum life of these two months at Peekskill was re-lieved by one sensational incident, for which the pages not only of history but of literature are the richer. Early in August a spy, Edmund Palmer …
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] Bolton o-ives a pathetic account of the unavailing appeal made by his wife to Putnam for mercy.1 He was hanged on a little hill in the northern part of Cortlandtown, a great assemblage of country people being…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] ton beaten in Pennsylvania, and both New York and Philadelphia in the hands of the British, the success of the startling enterprise would either have ended the Revolution or reduced it to mere insur-rectionar…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] If this is true, the re-enforcements came just in the nick of time— not, it is true, for Burgoyne's salvation, but for a judicious attack in the Highland quarter. When Sir Henry was prepared to move, Burgoyne…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] At the selected moment Put-nam had only 1,100 continentals and 400 militiamen at Peekskill, and the total garrisons of Forts Clinton and Montgomery were not in excess of (500, mostly New York militia hastily …
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] He foil back to the passes, posted himself there, sent to Governor Clinton at Port Montgomery for all the soldiers he could spare, and awaited the convenience of the enemy, who meantime showed a sur-prisingly…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] Fort Independence, on the Westchester side above Peekskill, did not prove strong enough to prevent the passage of the warships belonging to the expedition. Two or three of these vessels ran by its batteries a…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] Two American ships and two armed galleys were stationed above the chain, and when the fate of the forts was decided they were set on fire to save them from the enemy. When the magazines were reached they blew…
Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)
[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] These troops and many more, no longer needed at the North, should have been sent to Wash-ington, who, after the evacuation of Philadelphia, continued the un-equal struggle with Howe; but the jealousy of Gates…