Dr. Charles Clinton and his patient, Joseph Campbell

Dr. Clinton and his Daybook were described in a previous post.

He lived very close to many of the Hanover Campbells and it might be suspected that he attended to their medical needs over the 20 years in which he kept the journal.  However, it appears that Dr. Clinton catered to the wealthy.  Most of his patients were the more prosperous in the area.

Another explanation for the lack entries for yeomen and tenant farmers, is that the book could have been primarily a financial record.  In such a case he might not make entries where his likelihood of getting paid was small.

Yet a third explanation is that the sick who could not afford a doctor, did not bother to call on a doctor.

In his Index which contains family names alphabetically, there are no names of close neighbors of the Campbells.  No Perrys, no Haines, no Tices, no McDowells, and no Woods.  There is one Campbell in the index, a James Campbell.

As discouraging as that is, we are lucky that the index is not an accurate summary of the patients of Dr Clinton. He apparently grew tired of maintaining the index.  By 1778 he was making entries in a chronological fashion.  Treatment of a particular family was no longer grouped together on a single page.  His activities were recorded chronologically as he moved from house to house.

On August 6, 1778 he visited the home of Daniel Campbell and wrote the following in the daybook:

"Aug 6, 1778  Mr Daniel Campbell's Son Joseph vis. 3 miles
Rx Pulv. Sal Nitri Fij. Tart. Emet. gr. ij Camphor
gr. iv divid in Dos. No. viij cap. im. 3tia guogue Hosa
Implast. vesicat.  pro intern.
malleolis h.v. _"

Daniel Campbell was the older brother of Joel.  He is listed in the 1773 will of their father Samuel. It is believed that he is the second oldest son as he inherits the original Campbell property in Hanover that sits next to that of the Perry's and Wood's, while his older brother Samuel inherits the larger property that sits on Route 208.

This is the first record I have seen that indicates that Daniel was married and had offspring.  For example in the 1793 Deed he is listed as a single person.  He does not appear to be listed in the 1790 or 1800 census which would innumerate members of the household.

By 1779 he is no longer living at the property he acquired in the will, if he ever lived there at all.  His younger brothers, Levi and Nathan, appear to be farming that property.  Daniel's location according to the 1779 tax assessment appears to be close to the Crists, Milspaughs, Jeans(sp), and Gillespys who all operated mills.  My thinking is that he was working at the mills when the assessor came by, but that he was probably bedding with his older brother Samuel.  By the tax assessment, Daniel owned no real estate and had only £12 of personal property.  Perhaps that property consisted of tools he was using at the mills.

If this was his situation in 1778, Dr. Clinton would not have had much hope of getting paid, unless he thought Daniel's brother, Samuel would pay.

The first line in Clinton's Daybook states that he traveled 3 miles to see Joseph Campbell, the son of Daniel.  This is just about the exact distance from Dr. Clinton's home on Route 208 to the farm of Samuel Campbell Jr also on Route 208.  See below.

1798 Map of Montgomery showing location Dr. Clinton's home with respect to Samuel Campbell farm where it is suspected that Daniel Campbell was living with his son, Joseph.

The next few lines are medical shorthand that I am still trying to decipher.  This is what I have so far.

Rx - An abbreviation for a prescription of medicine which follows..
Pulv. Sal Nitri Fij. - Sal Nitri or salt petre or potassium nitrate powder. The Fij indicates a dose of 2F (2 fluid ounces?)  Was this ingested to use as a purgative?  Or used as a Salve which has cooling and detergent properties?  
Tart. Emet. gr. ij - 2 grains of Tartar Emetic; used to induce vomiting
Camphor gr. iv divid in Dos. No. viij cap. im. - 4 grains of Camphor divided into 8 doses take in the morning?  This was often used externally to releave pain and itching.
3tia guogue Hosa - I am really going out on a limb here and guessing this is "Spotted Rose Tea"...guoque rosa is Latin for "spotted rose."  Don't waste you time on this until I get an image of the actual entry as there are likely errors in my transcription.
Implast. vesicat.  pro intern. - Emplastrum Vesicatorium used for internal complaints?  Vesicant Plaster (or blistering plaster) -  plasters were made of waxes, resins, pitch, suet so they retained form but were soft enough they could be molded around body parts.  The Emplastrum Vesicatorium is the same as Emplast Cantharidis (see pocket formulary of 1856)  it was made from lard/wax/suet/resin and cantharides (powdered Spanish flies).  It is a severe irritant causing blistering.
malleolis h.v. - Malleolus refers to the bony prominence on either side of the ankle.  Not sure for what the h.v. is an abbreviation.  Maybe hemorrhagic vasculitis (inflammation of blood vessels).

The relatively long list of medicines and comments by Clinton attest to the severity of Joseph's condition, whatever it was.

Dr. Clinton visited Joseph Campbell four times over the next six days.

"[Saturday] Aug 8 1778 Mr Daniel Campbell's son vis. sepr."
....
"[Sunday] Aug 9 1778 Mr Daniel Campbell's son Ref Puls U.A."
[the U.A is a comment on his pulse.  "Ref" is probably "Res" and may refer to his respiration.]
....
"[Tuesday] Aug 11 1778 Mr Daniel Campbell's son vis. sepr."
....
"[Wednesday] Aug 12 1778 Mr Daniel Campbell's son vis. sepr."

Dr. Clinton seldom indicated the deaths of any patients. I have only found one instance so far in my reading of the Daybook.  It was the case of "Mr Colvin's child."  Clinton records that he made it "as far as Joseph Houston's on my way; [I] heard there [the child] was dead." 

Clinton makes no mention of the eventual status of Joseph, but the frequency of his visits indicates the severity of the ailment.  The abrupt ending of the visits could lead one to conclude that the patient died.  This would also seem to explain why we see no Joseph in future censuses or hear any more of Daniel's family.

Of course, who knows what else is out there that will shine more light on the life and times of our Campbell ancestors.  Please send me any corrections or alternate theories!

Dr. Charles Clinton of Hanover, NY

The Clinton Family of Little Britain, NY raised many notable citizens.  George Clinton was the first governor of New York and Vice President to Jefferson and Madison. His older brother, James, was a general in the Revolutionary War.  Two other older brothers, Alexander and Charles, were physicians.  A nephew, Dewitt, was also governor and father of the Erie Canal.

The legacy of the Clinton's is now a distant history unknown to most New Yorkers, let alone Americans.  The "Clintons" now refers to Bill and Hillary and not to the family that shaped New York and the Nation at their birth.

Dr. Charles Clinton was born on July 20, 1734.  He was about the same age as Joel Campbell.  Charles was one of four boys born to Irish emigrants, Charles and Elizabeth Clinton.  Their home was Little Britain, a small hamlet a few miles west of the Hudson River near current Newburgh, NY.

Charles and his brother, Alexander, received their medical training in New York City from one of the best physicians of the day, Dr. Peter Middleton.  The History of New York State (Sullivan) states that "the first attempt at the formal teaching of medicine in this country was the private course in human anatomy offered in New York by Dr. John Bard and Dr. Peter Middleton, probably before 1750."

In 1762, Charles served as a surgeon's mate in the British Army at the capture of Havana.  He celebrated his 28th birthday aboard a ship bound for the Cuban capital that was already under siege.  Arriving in the heat of early August, he witnessed the remnant of British regulars who had experienced malaria, yellow fever, and intestinal disorders since the siege began almost two months earlier.  The "fresh" provincial troops assisted in the final storming of the city.  The formal surrender occurred on August 14.  The troops that returned to New York were about half in number.   Ninety percent of those casualties had been due to disease.  If Clinton's experience was anything like that of fellow doctor, Samuel Adams, he would have been weak and underweight.  Samuel had enlisted on March 29th of that year as a 17 year-old in the Infantry Levies.  On May 19th he received his bounty and marched to join his regiment on May 23rd.  He returned to his father's house on December 7, 1762 at a sickly 88 pounds.  He still had bouts of diarrhea, but by February he was recovering and up to 100 pounds.  (see Diary of Dr. Samuel Adams)  Perhaps Charles' health had also been adversely affected by this adventure?

From 1764 to 1785, Dr. Clinton kept a record of his medical practice.  He used it both as a medical record and a financial record, but primarily the former.  The "Daybook" is in the collections of the George Washington Headquarters Museum in Newburgh, NY.   The book is in ledger-style with pages about 14" tall and 6" wide.  It contains about 400 pages.

Dr. Clinton's Daybook begins in 1764.  His patients for the next 27 years would be his neighbors in the areas of Hanover (now Montgomery), New Windsor, and Shawangunk.   The book appears to have been originally organized alphabetically by family, like a Rolodex.  The first several pages are an alphabetical index.  However, in 1778 Dr. Clinton appears to switch to a chronological approach (or perhaps a mixture of approaches?) filling vacant pages between his old alphabetical groupings.

His entries are very medical in nature, but occasionally reveal family structure or property location.  Hopefully a few digital images will appear here if I can get permission from the museum.

Charles moved to Hanover at least by 1775.  In that year he was the Chairman of Hanover Precinct, Ulster County, NY in which role he signed the returns of the local militia.

By 1779 we can say for certain that Dr. Clinton was living in his home on the current Route 208 as he appears in the 1779 tax assessment right in line with Colonel William Malcolm (Nicholson home), John Blake, and John Morrison.  He is assessed for 200 acres of land valued at £400 and with personal property valued at £271. (In comparison Daniel Campbell is 0 acres/£0/£12, Nathan and Levi are both 25/30/9, Nathaniel Campbell is 0/0/20, and Samuel is 96/144/56.)

1779 Tax Assessment for Hanover Precinct, Ulster County, New York showing "Doct Charles Clinton."

Similarly, in the 1790 census (the town changed its name from Hanover to Montgomery) he appeared in-line with Nicholson, Blake, and Morrison.  The Nicholson and Blake homes still stand as of 2014.

1790 Census for Town of Montgomery, Ulster County, New York.

This agrees with the location of his home in the 1798 map by David Galatian and rendered recently by Joe Devine.  The road that Clinton, Nicholson, and Blake lived on is the current Route 208.  It leads up to the Goodwill Church.  The road to the east to Newburgh is the current Route 17K.

Map of Town of Montgomery showing Dr. Clinton home in relation to Campbell farms and homes.

 Dr. Clinton died of consumption at the age of 56 in this home on April 3, 1791.  If this map was truly created in 1798, seven years after the death of Dr. Clinton, it is worth noting that the doctor's former residence was still known for its most well-known and respected inhabitant.
  .
The question I have been asking for three years since I heard about this Daybook (it is a long story about it getting lost in the remodeling of the GWHQ) is "did the Doctor treat any of our Campbell relatives?"  The short answer is "Yes!!"  See next post.

The Amazing Winter of 1779-1780; from the Diary of Dr. Samuel Adams of West Point

Many stories are told of the winter of 1779-1780.  It was exceedingly cold with snow storm after snow storm.

Despite the many writings of the hardships at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-1778, this winter was much worse.  It also appears that the army was no better hutted or clothed in 1779 vs 1777.

Dr. Samuel Adams, a surgeon for the 3rd Regiment of Artillery, was based at West Point this winter.  This was the third winter for units of the army at West Point. The first troops stationed there had built the first barracks very late in the winter of 1777-1778.  By 1779 there were plenty of fortifications, but from the diary of Dr Adams, not adequate for the winter of 1779.

Here is the winter in his words.  I have omitted items not dealing with the weather.

Oct 10, 1779 "set off for West Point" [He had been on furlough in Boston area.]
Oct 18, 1779 [On his journey he dined at Fishkill and by the evening he was at West Point.] "artillery exceeding healthy."  [This is a common entry]

Nov 12, 1779 "snowed a little."
Nov 17, 1779 "snowed last night and this morning"  "the ground was covered more than an inch"
Nov 26, 1779 "a severe snow storm p.m.  snow fell over 11 inches deep"

Dec 2, 1779 "snowed a.m.  fell 4 or 5 inches"
Dec 5, 1779 "a cold snow storm p.m. fell 2 inches or more deep"
Dec 15, 1779 "fair exceedingly cold!"
Dec 16, 1779 "snowed a little morning"
Dec 18, 1779 "a most violent cold snow storm  18 inches fell.  continued our works on our room."
Dec 19, 1779 "some snow fell.  very cold"
[it continued very cold until the 28th, but no mention of snow.]
Dec 28, 1779 "a severe snow storm, fell a great quantity"
Dec 29, 1779 "pleasant"
Dec 30, 1779 "some snow"

Jan 1, 1780 "fair exceeding cold"
Jan 2, 1780 "a very severe snow storm p.m. and night"
Jan 3, 1780 "storm continued very severe indeed. Very disagreeable time for the garrison.  Many of the troops yet in tents and very badly of it for wood - we had none in our room, obliged to keep our beds part of the day for want of fire and the rest take shelter among some of our more fortunate neighbors who had wood."
Jan 4, 1780 "continued very windy and extreme cold. - many of those men in tents were quite buried in snow and not dug out till this day - some tents blowed quite away on Sunday night [Jan 2], the inhabitants of which lay buried in snow till morning - come hither ye money catchers at home and view the scene see the hardship and publick virtue of an American Soldier - and then can you grudge to make them a compensation for their services?  If you can you may justly be called sordid Devils and not men ---we were still without wood in our room 'till evening"
Jan 5, 1780 "fair but extreme cold - The River mostly shut up, men crossed on the Ice both yesterday and this day - wrote to Mrs. A -- No. 10 --got wood - Oh! the pleasures of a good fire ---
Jan 6, 1780 "Cloudy some snow fell and extremely cold indeed!!! [the three exclamation marks are his] --sent two of Capt Donnelly men to Hospital with the venereal disease -- attended Lodge at even" [Masonic Lodge]
Jan 7, 1780 "Cloudy some squalls of snow, remarkably cold!!!thought to be as severe weather as any that has been felt these many years ---dressed frost bitten foot of one of Capt Moodie's men [In Col Lamb's artillery] --exceeding bad - take the first inst - being drunk.  [not sure if I transcribed that correctly.  It appears the soldier did not realize the damage being done to his feet as he was enjoying the rum ration too much.]
Jan 17, 1780  "severe snow squall"
Jan 24, 1780  [On this day he walked across the ice to Fishkill and lodged at Capt Weeks]
Jan 27, 1780  [He walked across the frozen river from Fishkill Landing to Murderer's Creek.  He had lodged here in previous years and had fond friends, especially at Horton's Tavern.  He rode on a sleigh from Murderer's Creek to West Point on the frozen river.]
Jan 30, 1780 [Snow that fell on the 2nd and 3rd of January is still on the southern sides of the roofs of buildings at West Point.  January was that cold.]

Feb 8, 1780 [On this day, Dr Adams celebrated his 35th birthday.]  "a sever snow storm.  snow fell a foot or more."

Image of Diary of Dr. Samuel Adams from the 3rd day of one of the worst snow storms in NY history.  January 4, 1780

The Campbells were living 10 miles to the north of West Point.  We have no record of what they experienced.  Did they have livestock or poultry that did not survive the storm?  Did they have adequate wood?  Did they take advantage of the frozen river to transport their harvest?

Reference:  Adams, Samuel Dr., Diary of Doctor Samuel Adams, Unpublished Papers of Dr. Samuel Adams on microfilm in the Manuscript Room at the NY Public Library, ZL-307, 3 Reels.

A Second Visit to Continental Village - The Mill Site

I promised in my first post on Continental Village that I would update it when I found an expert.  A week ago, I was lucky enough to have a personal tour of the area by local expert Ginny Gilbert.

Ginny lived in Continental Village for many years and was instrumental in preserving the mill sites.  She is the creator of the map I referred to in my first post (see page 9):  http://philipstown.com/cvinfoguide.pdf

When she resided in the Village, she would dig in the mill area to map the foundations and other site features.  When neighbors complained that she was trespassing, she bought the land.  The out-of-town owner had intentions to build a home there, but found too many obstacles to construct so close to the brook.  After some negotiations she and the owner arrived at an agreeable price.

Ginny has since donated the land to the Town to be preserved.

The mill ruins are best explored from Winston Lane.  We parked on the East side of the road on a narrow shoulder right in front of the Paper Mill Historic Marker.  See google map:  http://goo.gl/xK5oOD

From there you can look down the steep hill onto the ruins of the paper mill.  Access to the ruins is less steep if you walk up the road to a point where there is a gradual slope from Winston Lane to the brook.  To your left you will see part of the remains of the dam.  See below

Ruins of dam on Sprout Brook at Continental Village

Right next to the dam there appears to be a well for a water wheel that is parallel to the dam.

Possible site of Robinson Grist Mill, 1777.

The well is partially filled with leaves, tree limbs, and other debri.  It sits between the dam on the left and the rock wall on the right.  The picture is taken from where the mill race would have been.  Water flowed from the mill race over the water wheel to the brook.

Ginny believes this was the original site of the grist mill.  The mill belonged to Beverley Robinson prior to the revolution.  By 1777, Robinson had sworn his allegiance to King George and had raised a loyalist regiment called the Loyal Americans of which he was Colonel.  He was likely part of the force that destroyed Continental Village on October 9, 1777.  Interestingly, the Grist Mill was spared.

Stone steps lead up from the wheel well next to the dam.

Downstream from the dam many outlines of buildings are visible.  The records say that in addition to the grist mill there was a saw mill and a fulling mill at this location..

Outline of stone walls downstream from the dam.

Downstream from this first site there appears to be sites for additional water wheels.  See below.

Outline of another tail race parallel to dam?   Possible site of fulling mill or saw mill?

On the side of the hill that leads back to the road, the main mill race is visible.  Because the paper mill was in operation well into the 19th century, the mill race is probably not the one that existed in 1777. 

The red line shows the location of the millrace.  The water flowed from the dam (off to the right) down to the paper mill (ruins in the distance).

The mill race was covered with stones to either prevent freezing of the water in the winter or more likely to serve as a road for transport of materials to and from the mill.  At the point shown below, part of the mill race has become exposed.

The water in the mill race flowed from right to left.  One of the covering rocks is in the middle of the picture.

A view down the mill race.  The beverages and football were probably was not ones used by the soldiers in 1777 ;-)

At the end of the mill race sits the ruins of the Phoenix Paper Mill.  It was built on the site of the original Keating paper mill that was destroyed in 1777.  Ginny says that she found thousands of buttons around the foundation of a building that was just to the right of the paper mill.  The buttons were concentrated at regular intervals on the outside of the building foundation.  Her theory is that the rags used in paper making still had some buttons attached.  The workers would remove the buttons and toss them out the windows of this building, leaving piles at regular intervals corresponding with the windows.

Ruins of Paper Mill.  This is the rebuilt Phoenix mill that was in operation until 1873.  The mill race enters the picture at the upper right.

Outside the base of the paper mill is a small square foundation that contains charred brick.  Ginny thought this might have been a small forge that did iron work for the mills.

Area where rust and charred remains were found.  Possible forge?  Sadly I have no picture of Ginny, but her feet made it into this picture.   At the top of the picture there is a plastic wall from Ginny's shed where she stored excavating tools.  To the right of that is an iron lintel.  Ginny guessed it was from a window in the paper mill or adjacent storehouse.

The tail race of the paper mill does not continue parallel to the dam.  It takes a right turn and flows under large stones downstream.  The picture below shows where it exited close to the brook.

Exit of Tail Race from Paper Mill.

Continental Village

In the darkness of night on October 6, 1777 the Governor of New York and the Commander of Continental Forces in the Highlands convened a Council of War at Continental Village.  They agreed to abandon this important gateway to the Highlands.  Three days later the British burned "the Village" to the ground.

============

George Clinton was the newly elected Governor of the State of New York.  As such he was also the Commander in Chief of the State Militia.  Just a few hours prior to the Council of War he had escaped capture by the British.  He had been commanding the troops at Fort Montgomery when it fell to the British.  In the confusion of gunpowder smoke and dusk he had escaped across the river.  From there he rode the winding four miles through the passes and valleys from Anthony's Nose to Continental Village. (probably along the route of the current South Mountain Pass Road).

Governor Clinton was seeking the man to whom he had sent two unanswered messages earlier in the day.  That would be the portly General Israel Putnam, Commander of all of the Continental Troops in the Highlands.  Putnam had just returned from Fort Independence by way of the Paper Mills  (a route that would be close to the current Sprout Brook Road and the yellow line below.).

The red marker on the far left is Fort Montgomery from where Gov Clinton began his flight to Continental Village on October 6, 1777.  He likely came ashore to the north of Anthony's Nose (the point on the Hudson River designated with another red marker).  The road through the mountains is approximated by the red line.

Yesterday Putnam had sent Clinton a note that the enemy had landed at Fort Independence (see red marker at bottom of map) and had requested that Clinton send "sixty men out of the Fort [Montgomery] to the top of Anthony's Nose to secure that Pass."  Clinton complied with that order by sending out fifty men under the command of Captain Lee of Colonel Dubois 5th New York regiment.  This left Clinton's small force at Fort Montgomery even more vulnerable.

It is likely that several militiamen were in the party ordered to Anthony's Nose.   A militia private named Oliver Humphrey from New Windsor in McClaughrey's regiment stated in his pension record that he was ordered into a detachment to guard the chain on the other side of the river.  Perhaps this was yet a separate party from Captain Lee's, but if it is not, the two parties must have been deployed very close to each other on Anthony's Nose.  And if militia were employed, perhaps also a Campbell was lucky enough to be in this group that "remained in sight of the whole action until the fort was taken," but was not in the line of fire.

The letter that Governor Clinton had sent at 8:00 am on this day to General Putnam took eight hours to find itself in the hands of someone at the Headquarters for the Highlands!! (The HQ is presumed to have  moved to Continental Village from Peekskill due to the presence of British in the River?).  General Putnam was not present so it was opened by Colonel Wyllys.  Clinton's intelligence of a large landing of British troops proceeding up the West of the Hudson was new to the officers on the East side.  The Connecticut regiments of Wyllys, Meigs, and Webb immediately marched to the ferry across from Fort Montgomery but the firing had stopped and the forts had fallen by the time they arrived at the river.

Putnam confessed that he knew very early that day that the British had landed on the West shore of the Hudson as he could see the smoke from burning buildings, but he was not convinced they were marching toward Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton (the sister fort on the opposite site of Popolopen Creek.).  Putnam knew what a difficult march that would be.  Certainly the British could bring no artillery with them on the unimproved roads in that part of the Highlands.  So he took no action.

Just a few hours before the Council of War, Putnam had stopped at the Paper Mills to pen this very delinquent note to Governor Clinton.

"D'r General,
I am this moment returned from Fort Independence, and find that the Party of the Enemy which were said to have landed last night at that Fort is without foundation, by the Inhabitants who lives just by Fort Independence, I am informed that the Enemy have Landed betwixt Kings Ferry and Dunderbarrack, if thats the case, they mean to attack Fort Montgomery by land, (which when I am sure off), shall Immediately Reinforce you.
I am D'r Genl. Your Very Hble.
[Israel Putnam]"

With the fall of Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton, the British had control of the Hudson River from New York City to Albany.  They would spend the next several weeks raiding, plundering, and burning the villages and outposts from Fort Montgomery to Esopus (Kingston).  The Continental Village would be one of their first targets, a major supply depot and encampment for the Northern Army.

Prior to becoming a supply depot, this area was just a "creek crossing" on the Post Road from New York to Albany.   Its designation as the "Post Road" was as early as 1703.  Hence it was well worn by the time of the Revolutionary War.  The lively Canopus Brook crossed the road.  Slightly downstream of its crossing the brook provided power for a grist mill, saw mill, and fulling mill owned by Loyalist Beverley Robinson.  Yet further downstream was the paper mill mentioned by General Putnam (there was also a paper mill closer to Peekskill which could also have been the one where Putnam penned his note.)  Built by John Keating in 1774, it would be burned to the ground by the British on October 9.

The first use of this area as a supply depot and encampment was likely in late 1776, perhaps as late as after the retreat from White Plains in November 1776.  When a local monument was dedicated in 1921, Stuyvesant Fish said "The first troops to be stationed here in 1776 were three Connecticut brigades, in one of which my father's father, Nicholas Fish was Brigade Major. General Heath, who was in command, erected barracks in this place, and it came to be called Continental Village."

By March 12, 1777 the strategic nature of the spot was evident to General George Washington.  He wrote in a letter to General Schuyler as follows:

"Under these considerations, I can not help thinking much too large a part of our force is directed to Ticonderoga.  Peekskill appears to me a much more proper place, where, if the troops are drawn together, they will be advantageously situated to give support to any of the Eastern or Middle States.  Should the enemy's design be to penetrate the country up the North River, they will be well stationed to cover it; if they move westward, the Eastern and Southern troops can easily form a junction; and besides, it will oblige the enemy to have a much stronger garrison at New York."

Because Peekskill itself was vulnerable to an attack by water (the Peekskill Creek was navigable up to the city), it was natural that the actual gathering place moved to the more defendable Continental Village.  This fact was born out on March 22, 1777 when Peekskill was attacked by eight flat bottom boats driving the Americans to the safety of Gallows Hill in Continental Village.

By the summer of 1777 the Continental Village had barracks for 1500, storage for arms and munitions, baking ovens, herds of cattle, and possibly even a hospital.

Joseph Plumb Martin describes in his memoirs a place likely to be Continental Village, although he does not name it as such.   His story starts near the end of May 1777:

"I was soon after this transaction, ordered off, in company with about four hundred others of the Connecticut forces, to a set of old barracks, a mile or two distant (from Peekskill) in the Highlands, to be inoculated with the small pox.  We arrived at and cleaned out the barracks, and after two or three days received the infection, which was on the last day of May.  We had a guard of Massachusetts troops to attend us.  Our hospital stores were deposited in a farmer's barn in the vicinity of our quarters.  One day, about noon, the farmer's house took fire and was totally consumed, with every article of household stuff it contained, although there were five hundred men within fifty rods of it, and many of them within five, when the fire was discovered, which was not till the roof had fallen in.  Our officers would not let any of the inoculated men go near the fire, and the guard had enough to do to save the barn, the fire frequently catching in the yard and on the roof, which was covered with thatch or straw.....

I had the small pox favorable as did the rest, generally; we lost none; but it was more by good luck, or rather a kind Providence interfering, than by my good conduct that I escaped with life.  There was a considerable large rivulet which ran directly in front of the barracks [Canopus Brook?]; in this rivulet were many deep places and plenty of a species of fish called suckers.  One of my roommates, with myself, went off one day, the very day on which the pock began to turn upon me, we went up the brook until we were out of sight of the people at the barracks, when we undressed ourselves and went into the water, where it was often to our shoulders, to catch suckers by means of a fish-hook fastened to the end of a rod; -we continued at the business three or four hours, and when we came out of the water the pustules of the small pox were well cleansed.  We then returned to the barracks, and I, feeling a pretty sharp appetite after my expedition, went to the side of the brook where the nurses had been cooking and eating their dinners; I found a kettle standing there half full of stewed peas, and, if I remember rightly, a small piece of pork with them.  I knew the kettle belonged to the nurses in our room, and therefore conceived myself the better entitled to its contents .....

I left the hospital on the sixteenth day after I was inoculated, and soon after joined the regiment,..... "

The importance of Continental Village was stated by the leader of the attack on Fort Montgomery, General Henry Clinton:

October 9, 1777 - Fort Montgomery  “Major-Gen. Tryon, who was detached this morning with Emmerick’s chasseurs, fifty yagers and royal fusiliers and regiment of Trumback, with a three-pounder, to destroy the rebel settlement called the Continental village, has just returned and reported to me, that he has burned the barrack for fifteen hundred men, several store-houses and loaded wagons. I need not point out to your excellency the consequence of destroying this post, as it was the only establishment of the rebels on that part of the Highlands, and the place from whence any body of troops drew their supplies.”

Continental Village was at least partially rebuilt and used during the remainder of the war by the Americans.  When the post road was diverted to the new turnpike to the west in 1806 it left this historical area less traveled and less developed.  The preservation of ruins appears to be quite unintentional.  There are few markers and fewer trails.  A map prepared by Ginny Gilbert [p. 9 http://philipstown.com/cvinfoguide.pdf] is a great help, but yet, to the out-of-town visitor who is respectful of private property, it is a challenge to get a feel for the scope of the 1777 village.

I hope to get some more specific information from local experts on this, but are a few tips if you go for a visit.  http://joelcampbell1735.blogspot.com/2014/04/a-visit-to-continental-village-new-york.html


References:
Court of Inquiry into the Loss of Forts Montgomery and Clinton, Alexander McDougall Papers, New York Historical Society.
A short history of Continental Village, http://philipstown.com/cvinfoguide.pdf  and http://philipstown.com/cvhistory.pdf
George Clinton Papers
Lossings Pictorial Field-book of the Revolution

A Visit to Continental Village (New York)

If you want to visit the revolutionary sites in Continental Village, this may be of some help.  I am hardly an expert on this small patch of real estate.  When I find an expert, I will update the information below.

Village sign on Gallows Hill Road

I started with the map and key created by Ginny Gilbert.  You can find it here on page 9:  http://philipstown.com/cvinfoguide.pdf

I have created a google map from which you can get GPS coordinates of the various sites.  You can access it here:  http://goo.gl/xK5oOD

Let me step you through it.

Entering the village from the south on Gallows Hill road (coming from Peekskill) you will cross the Peekskill River, curve to the right, and start climbing Gallows Hill.  On the northwest corner of the first intersection (Kingston Ave.) on the left is a marker explaining the origin of the name of the hill.  It is easy to miss.

Gallows Hill marker on left at Kingston Ave.

Gallows Hill marker looking at private driveway.

Gallows Hill marker

[Need story on who and when executed.  Or is it unknown?  See Lossing's Pictorial Field-book on this.  He says only that it was a British spy and that the hangman was a "Peterson" who was haunted to his grave.]

If you continue further up Gallows Hill Road there is a mile-marker on the left (west) side just past the driveway of house number 115.  Once again, it is easy to miss.

Mile marker number 51 in stone enclosure.

Mile marker number 51.

Mile markers along the Albany Post Road were erected as early as 1763 when Benjamin Franklin was named as postmaster.  The markers that stand today were probably erected in about 1790 (and later protected with the stone enclosures).  The diversion of the highway to the west happened in 1806 leaving the route through Continental Village thinly traveled in the 19th and 20th centuries.

If you turn around and go back to Kingston Ave and take a right, you will climb to the level area on top of Gallows Hill that was likely the site of the Headquarters and Parade ground of Continental Village.  Now it is filled with homes, but if you drive down Buena Vista Ave to the south edge of the hill, you might be able envision why this high level spot with a view of Peekskill (when the trees had been removed for shelters, heating, and cooking) might have been chosen as the center of a fortification.

Exit the Parade grounds area on Lakeview Rd and follow Sprout Brook Road back out to Gallows Hill Road.  Take a right (south) and turn in the Cul-de-sac called Poe Ct.  Despite all of the "Private Property" signs I have parked near house number 149 and talked with the very friendly owner.  Directly behind #149 are what is described by Ginny Gilbert as "Seven crude foundations and the remains of red brick ovens."   I have no clue as to whether these date to the revolution.  If so, it would make for some very interesting archeological work.

Remains of stone wall or foundation near Poe Ct

Fallen trees over ruins of foundation by Poe Ct

Depression and foundation walls near Poe Ct

Pit and foundation near Poe Ct.

Turn left (north) back onto Gallows Hill Road and proceed to the crossing over Canopus Brook.  This was the location of Robinson's Bridge.  Ginny Gilbert's "key" states that "the 1732 House on the corner of Winston Lane is said to have been the site of the Revolutionary Supply Depot.  Other accounts place the depot, headquarters, and ovens on Gallows Hill..."

Looking northwest from the bridge you will see a sizable hill.  From its crest or even on the lower outcroppings is a great view up and down the Canopus Brook valley.  Additionally there is a direct view of the Post Road from Peekskill.  This would have been a great place for a redoubt.  [Need to look at the Erskine maps.]  You can park in the Deli parking lot and venture up the hill.  Ginny talks of a cannon placement here, but I could not find it.

View through trees of Post Road from hill above Deli.  In 1777 the trees would have been removed.  This is about one third of the way up the hill.

From the Deli you can also walk north along the Post Road to the next mile marker, number 52.  It is on the left side (west) of the road. 

Mile marker # 52

Mile Marker # 52 on Old Albany Post Road

Continue walking to the fork in the road.  Here is the Monument to the Mothers of the Revolution.  It was placed on the 144th anniversary of its burning by the British, October 9, 1921.

Monument to Mothers of the Revolution at Continental Village

Inscription on Monument to Mothers of the Revolution

The monument was donated by Stuyvesant Fish.  He was the son of Hamilton Fish, a New York Governor, Senator, and Secretary of State. Stuyvesant was a successful railroad executive.  He was 70 at the dedication and would die about one year later.  His home (designed by Stanford White) in New York City at 25 East 78th St at Madison Avenue still stands.

When it was dedicated the New York Times ran an article on it.  You can see it from their 1921 archives here:  http://goo.gl/uyCT7E

Looking north you can see another good hill for a redoubt.  Ginny Gilberts map says there was a redoubt on this hill, but it is not marked, and the area has seen some grading over the years.   The Catskill Aquaduct passes through this hill and was obviously the site of a lot of construction at one time. If you walk up Old Albany Post Rd to house number 11 and get permission to walk up their driveway and onto the hill, you may find something that looks like a redoubt.

Man made rock and dirt wall on hill above house # 11. Redoubt?

View south from "redoubt" on hill above house # 11.

After walking back to your car at the Deli, take a short drive up Sprout Brook Road (also called Canopus Brook Rd?).  On the right hand side of the road you can see flats along the river that were undoubtedly good for farming and a logical place for barracks.  The site is close to water and forests for wood.  The Gilbert "key" says "Barracks for 1500 to 2000 men - described as being 1/4 mile up Canopus Brook Road from the Old Albany Post Road split."

Turn around and head back to the bridge.  This next section is the site of the several revolutionary era mills along Canopus Brook.  It is probably best to walk this section also as it is short and there is no good place to park a car.  I suggest parking at the Deli again and walking down Winston Lane.  I have not done this yet, so you are forewarned.

Canopus Brook at Robinson's Bridge (Gallow Hill Road crossing)

Road marker on Winston Lane for Robinson's mills

Road marker on Winston Lane for Keating paper mill of 1774.

Thats enough to get you started.  Please add a comment if I got something wrong or you know of additional CV sites that should not be missed.

Chevaux de Frise at Plum Point

Giving something a beautiful French name does not turn it into something valuable.

That truism could be applied to the Chevaux de Frise.  The devices would fail and yet the revolutionaries would spend more precious time and money creating more of them.  It was as if the romance of the name had over powered their common sense.

Chevaux de Frise translates from French as "Horses of the Frisians".   According to Wikipedia, the Frisians, having few cavalry, created a line of spikes to act as anti-cavalry obstacles in warfare. The term came to be used for any spiked obstacle, such as broken glass embedded in mortar on the top of a wall.

Chevaux de Frise - anti-cavalry

The anti-ship version was apparently an American invention in the Revolutionary War.  It consisted of pointed spears hidden slightly below the water line that would pierce the hull of any ship sailing into it.  The spears were long timbers with an iron tip.  They were held in place by attaching them to large crates made from logs.  Each crate was hauled to its position in the river and then sunk by filling the crate with stone.

Chevaux de Frise - submerged beneath surface of river

This idea had been tried further down the Hudson between Forts Washington and Lee with no success.  A similar failure was experienced on the Delaware River at Fort Mifflin.  Despite these failures the concept was pushed by Phillip Schuyler and Robert Livingston and endorsed by Generals Washington and Heath.  More than 100 chevaux-de-frise were to be located between Plum Point near New Windsor and Pollepel Island, a rocky obstruction close to the eastern bank.  By the first snows of the 1776, work had been started on the spears, crates, and accumulation of stone.   The Ringwood forge was making 40 points per day for the tips of the Chevaux.

In late 1776 and early 1777, the Campbells who were not guarding the Highland passes were undoubtedly involved in the building of the Chevaux de Frise at New Windsor.  They could have been cutting down trees or hauling them in crude sleighs over the snow-packed road to New Windsor.  The spears needed to be shaped and the point fastened to the end.  The crates needed to be constructed and the lower sections tarred so they could be floated to their destinations.  Huge amounts of stones needed to be stockpiled for the eventual sinking of the crates.  And finally, the dangerous job of positioning of the chevaux de frise on the river bed required ropes, pulleys, and anchors.

This was no small or unimportant enterprise.  Their construction had been endorsed by Washington and the power brokers of New York State.   General George Clinton took this so seriously that he located himself at New Windsor rather than at Fort Montgomery or Ramapo.  

The magnitude of the endeavor is realized when one views a recovered spear of a Chevaux de Frise in the Museum at George Washington’s Headquarters in Newburgh (which has a no photography policy).  The log is mammoth in diameter (much bigger than the one from Fort Mifflin shown below).  And most of the spears needed to be at least 40 feet long.  Even in pristine North America such large trees were at a premium.  We know this because Congress passed a law protecting all trees that were large enough for ships’ masts.  At least 300 of these large spears were needed for the Chevaux de Frise. 

The frames supporting the spears and holding the ballast of stones were the size of barges.  They were described as having “a floor of logs 40 foot by 45 foot....with sides so high as to hold stones enough to sink it.”   Most of the work was being done at New Windsor and it is very likely that the Campbells who were not on command in the Highlands were employed in this endeavor.

Chevaux de Frise tips at Fort Mifflin - These were recovered from the Delaware River. 

Chevaux de Frise tips in museum at Fort Mifflin.

Why were the Chevaux de Frises not placed at West Point?  Even though the distance from Plum Point to Pollepel Island was much larger than the shore to shore distance at West Point, the river at West Point is much too deep for Chevaux de Frise.  The picture below is taken from Plum Point looking at Pollepel Island.

Plum Point looking at Pollepel Island

Battery named after Captain Machin, the engineer on this project.

Bannerman's Castle ruins on Pollepel Island

On October 15, 1777 the Chevaux de Frises were put to the test as a fleet of British ships sailed past New Windsor on its way to Kingston.  The ships passed without incident.  So much for the lovely French name.

Epilogue:

Even after this failure the continental army did not give up on the concept of Chevaux de Frise.  They blamed the incomplete state of the obstruction.  Work to complete it was quickly authorized.  They also beefed up Machin's Battery, the fortification that overlooked the obstruction.

Samuel Crawford, who served in both Hasbroucks and McClaughry's militias (as did the Campbells), states in his pension that in November and December of 1777 he was "engaged in building forts at a place in the county of Orange [it was Ulster County in 1777] on said North River called Nichol's Point and was quartered in a barn belonging to one Leonard Nichols where he spent Christmas day."  Nichols (Nicoll's) Point was another name for Plum Point.

Another veteran from Hanover Precinct (the precinct of most of the Campbells), John McMichael, describes in his pension how he was ordered for the "purpose of erecting a fortification at Nicol's Point near New Windsor" in November of 1777.

Lt Colonel Hardenburg of Hasbrouck's militia confirms this service by his regiment in a 1778 letter to Governor Clinton complaining of the burden placed on his men.   He wrote:  "I think our Regt.is heavy loaded with military Dutys, by what our Neighbours are. Remember, after the Reduction of fort Montgomry, when Esopus was  consumed, where was Collo. Pawlings & Snyders Regt. they were not To be Seen. Remember the Six weeks Service in Nov'r Last at Nickols's Point — where was Pawlings & Snyders Regts., Even Orange County militia which were Equilly ordered in that Service with us, but did not attend, when our Regt. attended in full."