In 1820 the population of Albany was 12,630 souls; it is at present 16,000.
On the morning of the 18th September, at 8 A.M. De Witt Clinton with a large number of citizens visited general Lafayette’s apartments, to present him in the name of the literary and philosophical society of New York with a diploma, constituting him a member of that society. On this occasion Mr. Clinton pronounced an elegant discourse which affected the general more, as coming from an orator who was the son and nephew of two distinguished men, with whom he had been intimately connected during the war of Independence. During this short ceremony a numerous procession was formed in front of our hotel, and at nine o’clock we embarked amidst the thundering of cannon, upon the canal which leads to Troy. Five handsome canal boats had been prepared for our voyage. The first carried a band of musicians; general Lafayette was in the second, with governor Yates, the ex-governors Lewis and Clinton, the mayor and city council, and some of the principal citizens of Albany. In the three last followed the escort commanded by major Coles, composed of an artillery company and three companies of infantry. We stopped a few minutes on the way to visit the Gibbonsville arsenal, belonging to the United States. This arsenal, one of the most considerable and best provided in the union, was founded in 1813, under the direction of colonel Bumford of the artillery, actually attached to the department of war, and completed by major Dalliba of the same corps, who has introduced into it a system of administration remarkable for its order and economy. At his entrance into the court of the arsenal the general was received by the officers of the post, and saluted by the discharge of three pieces of cannon taken at York-town. We remarked among the pieces of artillery, some French pieces presented by France to the United States during the revolutionary war; and all the camp equipage taken with general Burgoyne at Saratoga. We visited all the armouries, which are kept with remarkable care and elegance. We found there more than 30,000 muskets made after the best European models, as well as a large number of well made pistols and sabres. The powder magazine is also well provided.
Before mid-day we arrived at a point where the canal communicates with the Hudson opposite to Troy. At the sight of this town, which at present contains 8000 inhabitants, and which in commercial importance, is next to Albany in the state of New York, general Lafayette was struck with astonishment. “What!” cried he, “this town has arisen as by enchantment!” “No,” answered some one near him, “but it has been created and peopled in a few years, by industry protected by liberty.” The general then informed us that when in 1778, he crossed the Hudson at the same point, with a part of the army he commanded, there was then but two or three little cabins on the spot, in one of which, with some difficulty, he procured a cup of milk, and some corn bread. While he was giving us these interesting details our boat descended to the river, where a dozen decorated boats towed us across to Troy.
Landing in the midst of the numerous population which crowded the shore, the general was received by a committee appointed to express to him the sentiments of gratitude and attachment of the citizens. “Your indefatigable devotion to the cause of civil and religious liberty,” said the speaker, “has rendered your name illustrious wherever the rights of man are respected and honoured. The liberation of this country was an act worthy of the patriots by whose councils and arms it was consummated. Their toils, privations and sacrifices, and still more particularly your generous efforts, have impressed the hearts of the citizens of these states with a profound sentiment of gratitude which is increased daily by the development of an unexampled prosperity, and the benefits of the wisest institutions. May you long enjoy among us the fruits of your glorious labours. These fruits you may gather in the form of our government which guarantees to us, order and liberty; in our legal system which at the same time secures public peace and private rights; in our public schools, which bestows upon the poor as well as the rich, the benefits of a good education, in the change of our vast deserts into fertile fields; in the origin, increase, and multiplication of our cities, towns, and villages; in the creation of numerous means of communication to facilitate our commercial relations; in the variety and harmony of our different religious sects; finally you will gather the fruits of your labours and of those of our revolutionary patriots, in the spirit of enterprise and industry of a frugal people, content with their condition, obedient to the laws, at peace with themselves and the whole world, and lifting their grateful voices first towards God, and then to their benefactors, at the head of which your virtues and generous services place you.”
Unanimous applause, and the cry a thousand times repeated, of “Welcome! Welcome! Lafayette,” followed this speech, and the answer of Lafayette. He was immediately after raised in the arms of the people and placed in an open carriage, accompanied by colonel Lane, who fought with him at Brandywine, Monmouth, and York-Town. The procession, preceded by the Masonic Lodge, and followed by numerous corps of soldiers, passed through the streets of the town, amid the shouts of joy of a free and grateful people. While we were at breakfast in the house, from the balcony of which we had seen the troops of the town and adjacent country defile before us, the general received a message from the ladies of Troy, who invited him to visit the young ladies’ boarding school, where they were collected to receive him. He accepted the invitation with eagerness. The avenues to this establishment, directed by Mrs. Willard, were decorated with green branches and flowers, and terminated near the house in a triumphal arch, under which he was received by a committee of five ladies, headed by Mrs. Pawling, who in a few words elegantly expressed the patriotic sentiments of the ladies of Troy, and their tender gratitude to the illustrious benefactor of their beloved country. He was conducted by this committee into the interior of the establishment, where no other man went with him, and some moments after, we heard the pure and angelic voices of the young girls repeating in chorus, “To visit us thou hast left thy beloved family in a distant land, but be not afflicted; art thou not here in thy country? Behold how many of the daughters of Columbia are proud and happy to salute thee by the tender name of father.”
The general soon returned from the house; his features exhibiting profound emotion, and his eyes swimming in tears. He slowly descended the steps surrounded and supported by the principal ladies of the institution. Two hundred young girls followed him, clothed in white, harmoniously raising to heaven their grateful voices. They accompanied him to the outer gate where they took a tender leave of him, in the presence of several thousand spectators, whom this scene kept plunged in reverential silence.
General Lafayette was unwilling to quit Troy without paying some private visits to different persons of his intimate acquaintance, and particularly to Mrs. Taylor, with whose family he was connected during the revolution. Mrs. Taylor is a young lady much distinguished by her talents, and the information which she acquired at the institution we had just visited. We found at her house a very pretty cabinet of mineralogy, remarkable for its richness and order. She presented to the general as a remembrance of Troy, a beautiful herbarium containing more than two hundred of the most remarkable plants of the vicinity, collected, arranged and described by herself.
After these visits, we slowly left the town, in the midst of the population covering the road by which we had to reach the Hudson. Every one pushed towards the carriage and wished to shake hands with Lafayette. Fathers raised their children above the crowd that they might get a better view of him, and ask his benediction. At the moment we crossed the river, three cheers and a salute of artillery expressed the farewell and last wishes of this rich and happy city.
The town of Troy is situated upon the left bank of the Hudson, six miles from Albany, a little above tide water, and in a somewhat extensive and very fertile plain of alluvial formation. The river at this place is still more than 800 feet wide. Sixty sloops belonging to the inhabitants of this town, are employed in commerce, which does not prevent other vessels from finding occupation. The exportations of grain especially are very considerable.
Upon all the water courses falling into the river, and upon the river itself, are a great number of furnaces in full activity, rolling, slitting, and casting iron, and lead. The most considerable of these establishments is that of Adamsville. The principal building which contains the nail factory, has twenty-four machines for cutting and heading nails; they are all put in motion by an enormous wheel, turned by the force of the stream. This establishment manufactures a thousand tons of iron annually.