On the southeast loomed the lofty Highlands, cleft by the Hudson; North and South Beacons, and Butter Hill, rising above their hundred lesser companions, were grouped in a picture of magnificence and beauty. Glittering in meridian sunlight were the white houses of Cornwall and Canterbury; and far up the slopes of the mountains, stretching westward to Woodcock Hill, yellow grain-fields and acres of green maize variegated the landscape. In the far distance, on the northwest, was the upper Shawan-gunk range, and an occasional glimpse was caught of the blue high peaks of the Catskills, sixty miles northward. Across the meadows westward we could distinctly trace the line of the old causeway, constructed while the army was encamped there; and in the groves which skirt the slopes (whither we soon afterward went) we found the remains of several huts that were built for the use of the soldiers.
The Temple was a large, temporary structure, erected by command of Washington for the several purposes of a chapel for the army, a lodge-room for the fraternity of Free-masons which existed
* This view is from the site of the Temple, looking southeast. In the distance is seen the opening of the Highlands into Newburgh Bay. On the right is Butter Hill, and near it is the village of Cornwall. The form and appearance of the Temple was drawn from the description given by Major Burnet, and doubtless has a general resemblance to the original.
** This is from a painting by Tice, in my possession. The land on which the encampment on the west side of the meadow was, is now owned chiefly by Gilbert Tompkins and Nathaniel Moore. This view is from the land of Mr. Tompkins, looking east-southeast. On the slopes seen in the foreground, and on the margin of the meadow beyond, Van Cortlandt's New York regiment, and the Maryland and Virginia troops were encamped. On the east side of the meadow, upon the most distant elevation in the middle ground, the New England troops were stationed. On the slope toward the right of that elevation stood the Temple. In the distance is seen the upper entrance of the Hudson into the Highlands. The meadow was formerly ealled Beaver Dam Swamp, from the circumstance that beavers constructed dams at the lower extremity, causing the waters to overflow the low grounds. The Americans built a causeway across, and a stone dike, or levee, on the west side, to protect their parade. I saw the remains of this causeway; its site is marked by the light lino across the flat. About a quarter of a mile north of the site of the Temple is an ancient stone house, seen in the picture, the only dwelling near in the time of the war. It was built by Samuel P. Brewster in 1768, as appears from an inscribed stone in the front wall. It was owned by a Mr. Moore. Its present occupant is Francis Weyant.
The Temple as described by Major Burnet.—Two living Patriots.—Visit to Major Burnet.
among the officers, and for public meetings of various kinds. When erected, it was called The Temple of Virtue; when dedicated, the suffix was properly omitted, and it was named simply The Temple. The orgies held on the occasion of its dedication disrobed it of its mantle of purity. It was described to me by Major Burnet, who is still living (1851) in the neighborhood, as a structure of rough-hewn logs, oblong square in form, one story in height, a door in the middle, many windows, and a broad roof. The windows were square, unglazed, and about the size of ordinary port-holes in a man-of-war. There was a small gallery, or raised platform, at one end, for speakers and presiding officers. We traced, near an old apple-tree in Mr. M'Gill's field, evident lines of the foundation of the building. It must have been some eighty feet long and forty wide. On the crown of the hill northward are traces of fire-places, and there, at the beginning of the present century, a long building was standing. Some have supposed this to have been the Temple; it was only the barracks for the New England troops stationed there. In a few years those faint land-marks and that old apple-tree will be no more seen.