*** The statue of George the Third was equestrian, made of lead, and gilded. It was the workmanship of Wilton, then a celebrated statuary of London, and was the first equestrian effigy of his majesty yet erected. It was placed upon its pedestal, in the center of the Bowling Green, on the twenty-first of August, 1770. On the same evening when the Declaration of Independence was read to the troops in New York, a large concourse of people assembled, pulled down the statue, broke it in pieces, and sent it to be made into bullets. Ebenezer Hazard, in a letter to Gates, referring to the destruction of the king's statue, said, "His troops will probably have melted majesty fired at them." Some of the soldiers appear to have been engaged in the matter, for on the following morning Washington issued an order for them to desist from such riotous acts in future. * The greater portion of the statue was sent to Litchfield, in Connecticut, and there converted into bullets by two daughters and a son of Governor Wolcott, a Mrs. and Miss Marvin, and a Mrs. Beach. According to an account current of the cartridges made from this statue, found among the papers of Governor Wolcott, it appears that it furnished materials for forty-two thousand bullets.
* In a coarse Tory drama, entitled "The Battle of Brooklyn; a farce in two acts, as it was performed on Long Island on Tuesday, the twenty-seventh day of August, 1776, by the representatives of the Tyrants of America assembled, at Philadelphia," published by Rivington, the destruction of the statue is attributed to Washington. A servant girl of Lady Gates is made to say, concerning the chief, "And more, my lady, did he not order the king's statue to be pulled down, and the head cut oft'." Mr. Greene described the statue to me as of the natural size, both horse and man. The horse was poised upon his hinder legs. The king had a crown upon his head; his right hand held the bridle-reins, the left rested upon the handle of a sword. The artist omitted stirrups, and the soldiers often said, in allusion to the fact, "the tyrant ought to ride a hard-trotting horse, without stirrups." Stephens, in his Travels in Greece, &e. (ii., 33), says, that in the house of a Russian major, at Chioff he saw a picture representing the destruction of this statue. The major pledged him in the toast, "Success to Liberty throughout the world."
Effect of the Declaration.—Howe's Letter to Washington.—Commission of the Brothers.—Preparations for Battle.
On the arrival of General Howe at Sandy Hook, the Provincial Congress of New York adjourned to White Plains, and there, on the ninth of July, they reassembled, approved of the Declaration of Independence, and changed the title of the Assembly to Convention of the Representatives of the State of New York. The Declaration, however, offended many influential men, who, though warmly attached to their country, and yearning for a redress of grievances, shuddered at the thought of separation from Great Britain. Some closed their mouths in silence and folded their arms in inaction, while others, like Beverly Robinson, the Delancey's, and men of that character, actively espoused the cause of the king. The patriot army in New York was surrounded by domestic enemies, more to be dreaded than open adversaries, and this fact seemed favorable to the hopes of Howe, that the olive branch would be accepted by the Americans when offered. * He soon perceived that much of loyalty was the child of timidity, and when his proclamations were sent abroad, offering peace only on condition of submission, the missiles proved powerless. Although doubtless desiring peace, he was obliged to draw the sword and sever the leashes of the blood-hounds of war.
On the twelfth of July, the Rose and Phonix ships of war, with their decks guarded by sand-bags, sailed up the bay, and passing the American batteries without serious injury, proceeded up the Hudson to Haverstraw Bay, for the double purpose of keeping open a communication with Carleton, who was endeavoring to make his way southward by Lake Champlain, ** and for furnishing arms to the Tories of West Chester. The vigilant Whigs would not allow their boats to land, and there they remained inactive for three weeks. In the mean while, the belligerent forces were preparing for the inevitable battle. Hulks of vessels were sunk in the channel between Governor's Island *** and the Battery, and chevaux de frise were formed there under the direction of General Putnam, to prevent the passage of the British vessels up the East River. A large body of troops were concentrated at Brooklyn, under General Greene; Sullivan and his little army hastened from the North; two battalions from Pennsylvania and Maryland, under Smallwood, arrived, and the New York and New England militia flocked to the city by hundreds. On the first of August the American army in and around New York numbered about twenty-seven thousand men,
* General Howe, ami his brother, the admiral, were appointed by Parliament commissioners to treat for peace with the Americans. They were authorized to extend a free pardon to all who should return to their allegiance; to declare penitent towns or colonies exempt from the penalties of non-intercourse; and to offer rewards to those who should render meritorious services in restoring tranquillity. Howe sent proclamations to this effect ashore at Amboy, addressed to the colonial governors, and designed for general circulation among the people. The General Congress denounced it as a scheme to "amuse and disarm the people," and exhorted them to perceive "that the valor alone of their country was to save its liberties." Journal, ii., 260. At about the same time, Colonel Paterson, the British adjutant general, went to New York with a flag, bearing a letter from General Howe, addressed to "George Washington, Esq." this was so addressed because the Briton was unwilling to acknowledge the official character of the "rebel chief." It was a silly movement; Washington penetrated the design, and refused any communication, unless addressed to General Washington. Paterson urged Washington not to be punctilious, pleading the necessity of waving all ceremony, for Howe came to cause the sheathing of swords, it possible. Washington was inflexible, and said, in reference to the commissioners, that they seemed empowered only to grant pardons; that those who had committed no fault needed no pardon, and that the Americans were only defending their rights as British subjects. Paterson returned, and Howe made no further attempts to correspond with "George Washington, Esq." Congress, by resolution, expressed its approval of the course of the commander-in-chief in this matter.
** The chief plan of the campaign of 1776 was for Howe to attack New York and ascend the Hudson, while Carleton should come from Canada and form a junction. This would effectually cut off the Eastern States from the rest of the confederacy. Clinton, in the mean while, was to make war in the Southern States, and the American forces being thus divided, might be easily conquered. Their designs miscarried. Clinton was repulsed at Charleston, Carleton was kept at bay, and Howe did not pass the Highlands.
*** The original name of this island was Nutten. The rents of the land being a perquisite of the colonial governors, it was called Governor's Island. It was held as such perquisite until the close of Governor Clinton's administration. General Johnson, of Brooklyn, informed me that Clinton rented it to Dr. Price, who built a house of entertainment there, and laid out a race-course. Owing to the difficulty of taking race-horses to the island, it was abandoned after two or three years, and the course at Harlem was established.
Disposition of American Detachments.—Kip's Bay.—The Kip Family.
but at least one fourth of them were unfitted by sickness for active duty. Bilious fever prostrated Greene about the middle of August, and Sullivan was placed in command at Brooklyn. A small detachment was ordered to Governor's Island; another was posted at Paulus' Hook, where Jersey City now stands, and General George Clinton, with a body of New York militia, was ordered to West Chester county to oppose the landing of the British on the shores of the Sound, or, in the event of their landing, to prevent their taking possession of the strong post at King's Bridge. Parson's brigade took post at Kip's Bay, * on the East River to watch British vessels if they should enter those waters. Such was the position of the two armies immediately antecedent to the battle near Brooklyn, at the close of August, 1776.