Old Taverns of New York

by W. Harrison Bayles

XI

The Tontine Coffee House

The Tammany Society

Long before the Revolution, there had been various societies in New York under such names as St. Andrew, St. George, St. David and St. John, all of which professed the most fervent loyalty to the King of Great Britain. This induced the projectors of a new society, composed of many who had belonged to the Sons of Liberty, of Stamp Act and Revolutionary times, to select for their patron saint a genuine American guardian, and thus was originated the Tammany Society, or Columbian Order, in May, 1789. At first, it was strictly a national and patriotic society, “to connect in indisoluable bonds of friendship American brethren of known attachment to the political rights of human nature and the liberties of the country,” and it remained so for many years.

Tammany, the celebrated chief of the Delawares, who has been described as a chief of great virtue, benevolence and love of country, to whose actual history has been added a great deal of legendary and mythical lore, was cannonized as a saint and adopted as their guardian spirit. The members of the society styled themselves the Sons of St. Tammany, and adopted aboriginal forms and customs as well as dress. This was not the first society that had claimed the patronage and adopted the name of that famous Indian saint, but the new organization proposed a wider scope and added to its title also that of “Columbian Order.” It was organized also as a contrast or offset to the aristocratic and anti-republican principles attributed to the Society of the Cincinnati, the membership of which was hereditary.

The birth of the new organization is set down as on May 12, 1789, which was spent in tents erected on the banks of the Hudson River, about two miles from the city, where a large number of members partook of an elegant entertainment, “served precisely at three o’clock; after which there was singing and smoking and universal expressions of brotherly love.” During the year 1789 its meetings were held at the tavern of Sam Fraunces.

In the year 1790, the 4th of July falling on Sunday, the anniversary of Independence was celebrated on the 5th. The Society of St. Tammany assembled early in the day, and, after a short address from the Grand Sachem, the Declaration of Independence was read. There was a grand military review. Colonel Bauman’s regiment of Artillery appeared in their usual style as veterans of the war. At one o’clock they fired a federal salute and a feu-de-joie on the Battery, after which they escorted the Society of the Cincinnati to St. Paul’s Church, where an elegant oration was delivered by Brockholst Livingston to a large audience, including the President and Vice-President of the United States, members of both Houses of Congress, and a brilliant assembly of ladies and gentlemen. The Society of the Cincinnati dined at Bardin’s, the City Tavern, and the Grand Sachem and Fathers of the Council of the Society of St. Tammany were honored with an invitation to dine with them. After dinner the usual thirteen toasts were drunk with all the hilarity and good humor customary on such occasions.

Reception of the Indians by the Tammany Society

Shortly after this, a most interesting event occurred, which created considerable excitement among the people of New York and gave to the Tammany Society an opportunity to make an impression on the public mind not often presented, and which could not be neglected. Efforts had been made by the government of the United States to pacify the Creek Indians of the South and to make with them a treaty of peace and friendship. In March, 1790, Colonel Marinus Willett was sent out on this mission, and early in July news came that he was on his way to New York, accompanied by Colonel Alexander McGillivray, their half-breed chief, and about thirty warriors of the tribe, traveling northward at public expense and greeted at every stage of their journey by vast crowds of people. They arrived on the 21st of July. A boat was sent to Elizabethtown Point, under the direction of Major Stagg, to convey them to New York and the Tammany Society met in their Wigwam to make their preparations. This Wigwam, which they used as their headquarters for many years, was the old Exchange building at the foot of Broad Street. As the boat passed the Battery about two o’clock a Federal salute was fired and when the Indians landed at the Coffee House it was repeated. Here they were met by the Tammany Society, dressed in full Indian costume, which very much pleased McGillivray and his Indian warriors, and by General Malcolm with a military escort. They were conducted in procession to the house of General Knox, the Secretary of War, after which they had an audience with the President, who received them in a very handsome manner. They were also introduced to the Governor of the State, who gave them a friendly reception. They were then taken to the City Tavern where they dined in company with General Knox, the Senators and Representatives of Georgia, General Malcolm, the militia officers on duty, and the officers of the Saint Tammany Society. The Indians seemed greatly pleased with their friendly reception and a newspaper states that “the pleasure was considerably heightened by the conviviality and good humor which prevailed at the festive board.” The usual number of toasts were drunk after the dinner.

Grand Banquet at the Wigwam