Old Taverns of New York

by W. Harrison Bayles

LIBERTY BOYS

The assembly met on June 16th, and on the 23d a large meeting was held at the Merchants’ Coffee Mouse, where a petition was prepared, addressed to the assembly, for the election of a brass statue of Pitt, who was considered the great friend of America. On the very day of this meeting the house, it appears, made provision for an equestrian statue of the King and a brass statue of William Pitt. Tranquillity seems to have been restored, but it was not long before new causes of dissatisfaction arose.

Liberty Pole

The victory of the colonists in causing the repeal of the Stamp Act could not fail to produce some feeling of bitterness in the officers of the crown, and there were some who took no pains to conceal their dissatisfaction. The soldiers, aware of the feeling of their officers, were ready on all occasions to show their hostility. The mast or flagpole which had been erected on the north side of the Common, opposite a point between Warren and Chambers Streets, on the anniversary of the King’s birthday, and dedicated to King George, Pitt and Liberty, later called Liberty Pole, held by the citizens of New York as the emblem of their principles, was, in the night of Sunday, August 10, 1766, cut down by some of the soldiers of the 28th regiment, quartered in the barracks, nearby. The people considered the destruction of the pole an insult. When a large assemblage of two or three thousand people gathered on the Common the next day, headed by Isaac Sears, to take measures to replace their standard and demand an explanation, the soldiers interfered and a disturbance ensued in which the people used stones and brickbats to defend themselves and the soldiers used their bayonets. As the unarmed people retreated several were wounded with the weapons of the assailants. On the 12th a new pole was erected on the site of the first. After this disturbance, the magistrates of the city and the officers of the regiment met in the presence of the governor, and an amicable conclusion was reached which it was supposed would prevent further trouble; but notwithstanding this the second pole was cut down on Tuesday, September 23d. On the next day another was erected in its place, without any serious disturbance.

The contest over the Liberty Pole continued until the opening of the War of the Revolution. It made the place where the pole stood a center of disturbance and the taverns on Broadway, near by, places, at times, of considerable excitement. On the first anniversary of the repeal preparations were made to celebrate the event. The people gathered at the Liberty Pole on the 18th of March and at the appointed time met at Bardin’s King’s Arms Tavern to dine and drink toasts appropriate to the occasion. This could not justly have given any offense, but such rejoicing by the people was unpleasant to the officers of the army, and the soldiers looked upon it as a celebration of the defeat of the King and parliament whom they served. That night the third pole was cut down by the soldiers, who had become excited by what they had seen during the day.

The next day a larger and more substantial pole was erected in place of the one cut down, secured with iron to a considerable height above the ground. Attempts were made the same night both to cut it down and to undermine it, but without effect. On Saturday night, the 21st, there was an attempt made to destroy it by boring a hole into it and charging it with powder, but this also failed. On Sunday night a strong watch was set by the citizens at an adjacent house, probably Bardin’s. During the night a small company of soldiers appeared with their coats turned, armed with bayonets and clubs, but finding that they were watched, after some words, retired. On Monday, about six o’clock in the evening, a party of soldiers marched past the pole and as they went by the King’s Arms fired their muskets at the house. One ball passed through the house and another lodged in one of the timbers. On Tuesday, about one o’clock in the afternoon, the same company of soldiers, as is supposed, took a ladder from a new building and were proceeding towards the pole, when they were stopped and turned back. The governor, the general and the magistrates then took measures to prevent further trouble, and the newspaper states that “we hope this matter, in itself trivial and only considered of importance by the citizens as it showed an intention to offend and insult them will occasion no further difference.”

Vauxhall Garden

Readers of the literature of the eighteenth century are familiar with the names of Ranelagh and Vauxhall, resorts of the idle and gay of London society. The success and reputation of these places brought forward imitators in all parts of the British dominions; and New York had both a Vauxhall and a Ranelagh. Sam Francis obtained possession of the place on the Church Farm, which had, early in the century, been known as the Bowling Green, later as Mount Pleasant, and opened it as a pleasure resort, which he called Vauxhall. A ball, which seems to have been of some importance, was given here about the first of June, 1765. Shortly after it became the residence of Major James, and was wrecked by the infuriated populace on November 1st. In June, 1768, Francis announced that while he had been absent from the city the house and garden had been occupied by Major James, that they were then in good order, and that he had provided everything necessary to accommodate his old friends and customers. The next month, still calling the place Vauxhall Garden, he gave notice that from eight in the morning till ten at night, at four shillings each person, could be seen at the garden a group of magnificent wax figures, “Ten in number, rich and elegantly dressed, according to the ancient Roman and present Mode; which figures bear the most striking resemblance to real life and represent the great Roman general, Publius Scipio, who conquered the city of Carthage, standing by his tent pitched in a grove of trees.” Francis continued in the place, putting forward various attractions, until 1774. He appears to have been a man of much business. His absence from the city, which he alludes to, may have been caused by his interests in Philadelphia, where at that time he had a tavern in Water Street, in front of which he hung out the sign of Queen Charlotte, the same as at his New York house.

Ranelagh Garden