A History of Deerpark in Orange County, N. Y.

by Peter E. Gumaer

[In July, 1779,] after the lower neighborhood had been invaded by the enemy, and a corps of militia from Goshen and its vicinity who had volunteered to pursue the enemy arrived in that neighborhood, Capt. Cuddeback and some others out of this town joined in the pursuit, in which the officers, after having proceeded to a distance from the neighborhood into the woods, began to have their consultations in respect to continuing or returning, also in respect to the best place to attack the enemy, in case of undertaking it. The opinions of Captain Tyler and Captain Cuddeback, who were acquainted with the path and woods, were had. Tyler proposed to make the attack where the enemy had to cross the Delaware river, and Cuddeback to make it in the night, where the enemy should lodge for their night's rest; there to fall on them unawares, drive them from their prisoners and plunder, recover these and return homeward with them in the night.

Very reasonable objections were made to both these plans by the superior officers; but, in case of attack Tyler's plan was preferred by the officers generally, and was urged, as is well known, by very improper means.

In the battle, Cuddeback, with a dress of the color of the leaves, one of the best rifles and other equipments, and a very great marksman, was one of the most important fighting men of the corps, and remained on the fighting ground until after the retreat had commenced, and until he saw he had to run to save his life, when he ran a short distance to one side of the course (the mass of men ran) where he squat down, cocked his rifle and kept ready to shoot any Indian who should happen to look at him, where he remained undiscovered by those who passed him until a large Indian, came slowly walking and looking round, at last turned his face towards him when he shot and again ran, and in coming to steep rocks he slid down the same on his back; and when he came to a good place to hide he again hid and laid down. Here he remained until dark, and from thence in the night started for home.

The militia soldiers, like the Indians, fought from behind trees, stumps, rocks, etc. John Wallace, one of Cuddeback's militia company, kept near his Captain at the different stations to which he was from time to time removed by his superior officers. At one of which Wallace received a slight wound, and in the flight made his escape but became separated from Cuddeback, and in returning home hunted through the woods and killed three deer. After Cuddeback had been home three days, Wallace unexpectedly arrived with three deer skins on his back, to the great joy of his wife and two children.

Cuddeback commended Col. Tusten very highly, and said he felt sorry for him when he was wounded; that when the retreat commenced he was called to where the Col. and other wounded officers and men were collected in the safest place, and was solicited to try and stop the retreat, but that was impossible; it had become too general. He had to leave them to their fate, or become a sufferer together with them, and made his escape as mentioned. The retreat was caused by a hideous shouting, yelling and firing of guns, which had been undertaken by the Indians as a last resort to put their opponents to flight; and it happened to have the desired effect. Until this occurrence, the men who suffered much in different ways from heat, warm clothing, want of water and wounds, wonderfully sustained themselves for militia soldiers against an enemy who had very great advantages in all respects.

Cuddeback, in his domestic concerns, had a great share of indulgence towards his family and domestics, but was uncommonly severe in reproof if any of his children happened to do an act of which he much disapproved, although these never were of a criminal nature. He had an uncommon gift to stigmatize and reprove a bad action.

Benjamin De Puy, Esquire, was a man of about six feet stature, not as bony, muscular, and strong as the descendants of the first settlers. He was a persevering business man, but after he had been a few years in this neighborhood he became too fleshy and fat to perform any labor on his farm himself, but still paid a very strict attention to his farming business, the labor of which he managed to have done by his slaves, and sons after they became able to work. He became a Justice of the Peace here of the former county of Ulster, and served many years in that office before, in, and after the war. He also served many years as a Supervisor of the old town of Mamakating. In the commencement of the war he was one of the Committee of Safety. He was the greatest supporter of religious worship in the Mahackamack congregation. He was tender and humane to his wife, children and slaves, and provided a very plentiful living for all of them, in respect to diet and the necessities of life, even to excess. He had a strong memory and retained much of what had transpired throughout this valley from here to Kingston.

De Puy was a heavy load on a horse and had about as good luck as Alexander the Great had in obtaining a suitable riding horse for him. This great conqueror had one to carry him safely in his great battles and extensive conquests, and De Puy had one which carried him safely for many years and on many bad roads until age rendered him unable to continue his services. The former built a city and named it Bucephala, after the name of his great war horse "Bucephalus," and the latter continued to feed and nourish his horse as long as it lived, and even sometimes with bread. I happened to come to his house at one time just after he had given his horse some bread. He then told me that this horse had never fallen with him in all his travels. He related to me that at a certain time he and some other gentlemen went on a very rough, stony road along Basha's Kill in great haste to arrive in time at a certain meeting; that some of the horses did often stumble, and in one or two instances fell, and that his horse traveled over it without making a single blunder. All his travels on this horse must have amounted to some thousands of miles distance. About one half of his farm was between one and two miles distant from his house, and whenever his laborers worked on those lands he generally went to them on this horse once or twice a day. He had to go every year twice or oftener to Esopus, 50 miles distant, to perform his official duties and to many other places where his civil and church offices called him. The horse was strongly built for carrying, had a slow, easy pace, and was very kind. The continual exercise De Puy had on his horse and sometimes in the wagon and sleigh for doing his business at the mill, stores, blacksmith's, &c., had a tendency to keep him healthy, yet he had a few short, hard sicknesses, but continued to live to a good old age, and in the last part of his life sold the part of his farm which he had retained and was removed by his sons to the town of Owasco, where, and in that part of New York, all his sons and daughters, excepting two, had previously settled and there his mortal life was ended.

Philip Swartwout was a large, strong man, upwards of six feet in stature, portly and likely. Captain Cuddeback, who had seen General Washington at Fort Montgomery, said he had never seen a man who resembled Washington as much as Esquire Swartwout; the features of his face, his eyes, forehead, size and form of his body, all he said, had a great resemblance to those of Washington.

Swartwout in his business transactions was very persevering and honest. In his public acts he was also honest and persevering to obtain the objects of justice between individuals, and also to promote the welfare of the public. He was a Justice of the Peace of the former county of Ulster before the Revolutionary War commenced, and in its commencement became one of the Committee of Safety. After the decease of his father, August 21st, 1756, he became heir to his estate, which consisted of a good farm, but was so much encumbered by the debts of his father, that he concluded to let the creditors take it. These were relatives of his, who resided at Rochester, in Ulster county. They advised Swartwout to take the farm and they would give him his own time to pay the debts, in consequence of which he obligated himself to pay the debts and took the farm. His oldest boys must have been about 10 or 12 years old at this time. He had one man slave and an insane man lived with him, who remained in the family during life. With this help he commenced to work the farm, and, after his son James became old enough to learn the blacksmith trade, he built a shop, got a blacksmith who, together with James, pursued that business, and the father, with his other sons and slave, worked the farm and made money last, so that he paid all his debts, and had money standing out at interest when the war commenced.