[Robert Bolton, Jr. (1848)] Among the most prominent is Gal-lows hill, famous as the spot where the spy Palmer was executed by order of General Putnam, whose laconic reply to Sir Henry Clinton, the British commander, deserves an enduring record. It appears that Clinton had sent up a flag of truce from New York, demanding the release of Edmund Palmer, his lieutenant, who had been detected as a spy in the American camp. The brief and emphatic answer of Putnam runs thus: '' Head Quarters, 7th August, 1777. " Sir : Edmund Palmer, an officer in the enemy's service, was taken as a spy lurking within the American lines. He has been 72 ' HISTORY OF THE tried as a spy, condemned as a spy, and shall be executed as a spy; and the flag is ordered to depart immediately. Israel Putnam." " P. S. — He has been accordingly executed." From this circumstance the hill derived its present appellation. The story of Palmer's sad fate is thus graphically described in the republican paper of Peekskill : — " In the summer of the year 1780, and for some time preceding and follow-ing, on the southern and eastern sides of the hill, and along the rich valley \vhich lies at its base, was quartered a division of the American army under the command of Gen. Putnam.