The accompanying extracts from the minutes of the Chamber of Commerce were as follows:
New York Chamber of Commerce,
7th November, 1769.
At the desire of several members of the Chamber, they had requested the President to apply to Messrs. David Rittenhouse and John Montresor to take the Latitude of the Flag Bastion on Fort George in the City of New York.
New York, October 12th, 1769.
At your request, in behalf of the Chamber of Commerce of the City of New York, I have made the following observations with the Pennsylvania sector of six feet radius on the Southwest Bastion in this city.
| Zenith distance on the Meridian of Capella | |||||
| ° | ′ | ″ | |||
| Octr. | 9th, | morn | 5 | 2 | 0½ |
| 10th, | do | 5 | 1 | 59 | |
| of Castor | |||||
| ° | ′ | ″ | |||
| 10th, | morn | 8 | 19 | 51 | |
| 12th, | do | 8 | 19 | 51 | |
Having carefully computed the Declinations of the above stars from their latitudes as settled by Dr. Bradley, reduced to the present time and corrected by the observation of light and variable motion of the earth’s axis, I find, the Latitude of the place from the observations of Capella to be 40° 42′ 9″ and from those of Castor 40° 42′ 7″, a mean whereof is the Latitude of the Fort, 40° 42′ 8″.
I am sir, your very humb. servt.
David Rittenhouse.