With smiles and pleasant conversation, and a profusion of cake and wine, the good Whig lady detained the gallant Britons almost two hours; quite long enough for the bulk of Putnam's division of four thousand men to leave the city and escape to the heights of Harlem by the Bloomingdale road, with the loss of only a few soldiers. *** General Robertson, with a strong force, marched to take possession of the city, and Howe made his headquarters at the elegant mansion of James Beekman, at Turtle Bay, then deserted by the owner and his family. **** Before sunset his troops were encamped in a line extending from Horn's Hook
* The ships went up the Hudson, at the same time, as far as Bloomingdale. One of these vessels was the detested Asia, of sixty-four guns. Captain Talbot, anxious to be useful, attempted its destruction by a fire-ship. From near Fort Washington he proceeded cautiously, at two o'clock in the morning of the sixteenth, and soon he was alongside the enemy, with his ship in a blaze. Lingering too long, he was badly burned, but escaped to the Jersey shore in safety. The Asia managed to extricate herself from the peril.—See Tuckerman's Life of Commodore Talbot, p. 24-29.
** Gordon, ii., 111.
*** Putnam, Knox, and other officers in the city were quite ignorant of the island beyond the intrenchments. They were perplexed on learning that the enemy occupied the east and middle roads, for they knew of no other way among the woods and swamps of the island. Fortunately, Major Aaron Burr, then one of Putnam's aids, knew the ground well, and under his direction the troops left Independent Battery, on Bunker Hill (where they were preparing for defense), and passing through the woods west of the present Broadway, they reached a road leading from Greenwich (the property of Sir Peter Warren) to Blooming, dale. They were discovered by a patrole, after passing the camp upon the Incleberg, and a detachment of light infantry were sent in pursuit. These overtook the rear of the Americans in a path extending from Bloomingdale to Harlem Lane, near M'Gowan's Pass, and a warm skirmish was the result. This skirmish was at about the intersection of One hundredth Street and Eighth Avenue.
**** See note on page 815. This view of Beekman's mansion is from the grounds looking toward the East River. The fine lawns and blooming gardens are now reticulated by eity streets, and in a few years, no doubt, this elegant specimen of the houses of "the olden time" will be swept away by the broom of improvement. The carved family arms have been removed from their long resting-place over the elaborately wrought chimney-piece of the drawing-room, and an ancient sun-dial, which marked the hours in the garden for almost a century, has been laid away in security. The elegant coach of the first proprietor, emblazoned with the Beekrnan arms, is yet there, a rich old relic of the aristocracy of New York a century ago. * There General Riedesel and his family resided during the summer of 1780.
* The family arms consist of an irregular broad line, representing running water (Beekrnan signifies brook-man) drawn across a shield, and upon each side of it is a full-blown rose. The crest is a helmet, surmounted by spread wings: the legend, "Menteonscia recti." The Beekmans trace their family to Germany as early as 1470. William, the ancestor of the American branch of the family, came to America, with Stuyvesant, in 1647. He was appointed vice-governor on the Delaware in 1658, was afterward sheriff of Keopus, in Ulster county, and burgomaster and alderman in New Amsterdam. There were other Beekmans who settled in the vicinity of Albany.—See Holgate's American Genealogy, page 66.
Americans on Harlem Heights.—Battle on Harlem Plains.—Death of Knowlton and Lietch.
across the island to Bloomingdale. Harlem Plains divided the hostile camps. For seven a Sept. 15, years, two months, and ten daysSept. 15, 1776 to Nov. 25, 1783 from this time, the city of New York remained in possession of the British troops.
The wearied patriots from the city, drenched by a sudden shower, slept in the open air on the heights of Harlem that night.