"Oh, yes," was the reply; "in the summer of 1783; and as she was fond of gardening she had some flower beds out in the grounds."
"That was about at the end of the war," said Sydney.
"Yes," said the captain, "and it was in this old house that Washington wrote his address to the officers of whom we were speaking a while ago, and a circular letter addressed to the Governors of all the States on disbanding the army. They were admirable documents.
"A good many of the troops went home on furlough, and then Washington, having leisure for it, went up the Hudson with Governor Clinton to visit the principal battlefields of the North—Stillwater, Ticonderoga, and Crown Point; also to Fort Schuyler, on the Mohawk.
"He returned here, after an absence of nineteen days, to find a letter from the President of Congress asking him to attend upon that body, then in session at Princeton, N. J. He did so, after waiting a little for the recovery of his wife, who was not well. And while waiting he had, out yonder upon the lawn, an affecting final parting with many of his subalterns and soldiers. That took place upon the day he left to answer the call of Congress."
"Did he return here, captain?" asked Evelyn.
"No; he made his headquarters at West Point for a few days in November, and from there went down to New York City and took possession of it on its evacuation by the British."
Our party passed out upon the porch again, feasted their eyes upon the beauties of the landscape for a few moments; then, having generously remunerated the woman for her services, returned to the yacht.
Again seated upon the deck, they chatted among themselves, their talk running for the most part upon the scenes through which they were passing and the Revolutionary events connected with them.
The captain pointed out New Windsor, as they passed it, with the remark that it was where Washington established his headquarters on the 23d of June, 1779, and again near the close of 1780, remaining till the summer of 1781.