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This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the Department of Interior, . Any opinions, fi ndings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily refl ect the views of the Department of the Interior. FFISHKILLISHKILL MMilitaryilitary SSupplyupply HubHub ooff thethe AAmericanmerican RRevolutionevolution

11776-1783776-1783 “...the principal depot of ’s army, where there are magazines, hospitals, workshops, etc., which form a town of themselves...”

-Thomas Anburey 1778

Friends of the Fishkill Supply Depot A Historical Overview www.fi shkillsupplydepot.org

Cover Image: Spencer Collection, Public Library. Designed and Written by Hunter Research, Inc., 2016 “View from Fishkill looking to West Point.” Funded by the American Battlefi eld Protection Program Th e New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1820. Staples® Print Solutions HUNRES_1518351_BRO01 QA6 5678 CYANMAGENTAYELLOWBLACK 06/6/2016

Fishkill Supply Hub of the

In 1777, the British hatched a scheme to capture not only Fishkill but the vital Fishkill , which, if successful, would sever from the Mid- Atlantic and paralyze the American cause. The main invasion force, under Gen- eral , would push south down the corridor from Distribution Hub on the Hudson Canada while General Howe’s troops in New York advanced up the Hudson. In a series of missteps, Burgoyne overestimated the progress his army could make On July 9, 1776, New York’s met at White Plains creating through the forests of northern New York, and Howe deliberately embarked the State of New York and accepting the Declaration of Independence. Among with the main for an attack on , presuming there would the Provincial Congress’s fi rst offi cial acts as a new state was to support the es- be enough time to come back to New York and strike up the Hudson to meet up tablishment of a military depot at Fishkill under the direction of George Clin- ton, New York’s fi rst Governor and Brigadier General of . Over the next seven years, Fishkill supplied New York’s militia and the with livestock and food, cared for wounded soldiers, housed British and Tory prison- New England and the Middle Atlantic Colonies

George Washington, n New England ers, and crafted an amazing variety of materiel from tents to boats – all essential During the American Revolution i a

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region. In March 1776, the British army evacuated after nearly a year of e New e

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stalemated confl ict with American patriots, most notably at the of Con- C 10 cord and Bunker Hill. British General William Howe decamped with the goal of New York Albany Lake Erie capturing the more centrally located and Loyalist-leaning seaport of New York r e 1 v 4 Boston i Atlantic R 2 City. In June and July 1776, at the same time that the American colonists were Springfield n o s Ocean learning of their new Declaration of Independence, some 500 British ships and d u C

H a p Connecticut e 35,000 men – the largest armed force to be seen in America until the Civil War FISHKILL C o d New Windsor Newport – appeared in New York harbor and on . The British quickly tri- Danbury r West e v i Point General William Howe, R umphed over an ill-equipped and poorly trained American army at the of r a e n v Commander in Chief of n i a h R Morristown 6 Rhode e on August 27. General was forced to evacuate q u the British Army in North S u s e r Long Island Island

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America until April 1778. w Hollow

New York City. Fortunately, his army successfully executed a strategic retreat, a

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e D 8 the fi rst of many over the next few months. Valley 7 12 Battles of the Revolution: Forge Trenton 11 1 Battles of Lexington and Concord, Apr. 19, 1775 Philadelphia Wilmington 9 Some 50 miles upriver from , the mountainous 2 of Boston, Apr. 19, 1775 -Mar. 17, 1776 ng L New o 3 Battle of , May 10, 1775 provided a natural defense against a potential British advance up the Hudson Rang w Jersey e

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River toward Albany. A critical bend in the river at West Point was fortifi ed by e C l o a w 5 Battle of Brooklyn/Long Island, Aug. 27, 1776 u ± a r the Americans beginning in 1775. Nearby Fishkill, on the east side of the river C n e

h t 6 , Oct. 28, 1776 i B a 0 25 50 100 e e y just north of a gap through the Highlands through which the main New York- s s a 7 Battles of Trenton, Dec. 26, 1776; Jan. 2, 1777 P p Appalachian Range o Miles t e o a Albany Post Road passed, had long been a prominent location at the southern m k 8 , Jan. 3, 1777 a e c R B Key: i v e a r 9 , Sept. 11, 1777 end of the broad and fertile Mid-Hudson Valley. It also lay at a crossroads where y Colonial boundaries 10 , Sept. 19 - Oct. 7, 1777 Governor George Clinton the Post Road intersected an important east-west route connecting a landing on Major towns 11 , Oct. 4, 1777 presided over New York’s Williamsburg Major encampments the , known as Fishkill Landing, with Danbury, Connecticut and and fortifications Provincial Congress and 13 12 Courthouse, June 28, 1778 the rest of New England. Fishkill was perfectly positioned for the gathering of Major battles state militia from Fishkill 13 , Sept. 28 - Oct. 19, 1781 during the Revolution. men and supplies from both the Hudson Valley and New England. Fishkill in its regional Revolutionary War context.

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Fishkill Military Supply Hub of the American Revolution

with Burgoyne. Howe successfully captured Philadelphia, but on Oc- Chronology of Events at Fishkill tober 17, 1777, an exhausted Burgoyne surrendered to General Hora- 1776 1779 tio Gates following the American victory at the Battles of Saratoga. July 4 - Declaration of Independence January - Fishkill artifi cers demand better pay Despite Howe’s failure to connect with Burgoyne, British detach- August-September - New York Provincial Congress May - British capture Stony Point; troops gather at ments advanced into the Mid-Hudson Valley in October 1777, burn- moves to Fishkill and establishes an “armed Fishkill; Fishkill stores dispersed encampment” ing Kingston and Clermont, and causing the temporary evacuation September-October - Americans prepare for assault on of Fishkill. The depot would never again be under serious threat, September - British take New York City New York City; boats built at Fishkill Landing; stores assembled at supply depot; assault aborted although at several points during the war intelligence suggested the November-December - supply depot set up at Fishkill; British might attack and preparations were made to defend the depot barracks constructed; Loyalist prisoners being held 1780 or disperse its supplies. Fishkill also fi gured strongly in several plans, December - surprise American victory at Trenton none of them ultimately implemented, for attacks on New York City, January - Fishkill stores robbed; lack of cash to pay artifi cers and suppliers and in the coordinated American and French advance from New 1777 England to Virginia, which culminated in British surrender at York- June-August - American plans for attacking New York February - New York Provincial Congress relocates City; troops and supplies assembled at Fishkill; plans town on October 19, 1781. A veritable who’s who of America’s mili- from Fishkill to Kingston abandoned tary and political leadership, including General Washington himself March - British attack Peekskill; Fishkill prepares July - French army arrives in Newport, Soldier of the , and future President , visited and spent time in Fishkill, defenses and removes stores; skirmish at Wiccopee Pass 1775 (New-York Historical Society). inspecting and commenting on the adequacy of its stores and de- 1781 fenses. It is no exaggeration to maintain that supplies from Fish- April - smallpox outbreak at Fishkill were used by soldiers fi ghting in almost every major engagement September - British occupy Philadelphia March-April - Congress plans to discontinue the post at of the war. It was truly the Military Supply Hub of the American Fishkill, but are dissuaded by Washington and Knox October - British advance up the Hudson, attack Fort Revolution. Montgomery; skirmishes on the Hudson near Fishkill August-October - French and American Armies march to Landing; American defenses at Wiccopee Pass Virginia November - British surrender at Saratoga October 19 - British surrender at Yorktown 1778 1782 February - and sign the French April - American army headquarters established at Alliance Newburgh February - Congress resolves that all troops drafted June - Continental Army encamps at New Windsor until from the New England States must rendezvous at October 1783; Fishkill assists with supplies, but winds Fishkill down over the winter of 1782-83 April-May - British advance up the Hudson anticipated; October - invalid regiment quartered at Fishkill American troops assemble at Fishkill; stores removed to safety; chain installed across the Hudson 1783 June - British abandon Philadelphia, regroup in New April 19 - Washington orders cease fi re, ending military York City action September-October - British attacks up the Hudson; September 3 - concludes War of Washington headquarters at Fishkill; more barracks Independence constructed November 25 - British evacuate New York City November - brigade assigned to Fishkill as part of High- lands defense until June 1779 Part of British offi cer ’s sketch map of the Fishkill area based on spy intelligence in 1778 (William L. Clements Library).

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Fishkill Military Supply Hub of the American Revolution

New York - Albany Post Road

r v e 11. Fishkill Tea Party - on August 26, 1776 Ri 16 n Verplank’s Mill a hundred women forced storekeeper Abram Revolutionary War Historical Sites so ud Brinckerhoff to sell them tea at the lawful price H Watch of six shillings per pound (marker) and Markers in the Fishkill Area Hill 15

ad 12. Star Mills - site of Abram Brinckerhoff ’s ry Ro nbu FISHKILL 11-14 Da Osborne BRINCKERHOFF gristmill; burned in 1777 but rebuilt; a major Hill VILLAGE 1. Fishkill Landing - key location where mili- Brinckerhoff ’s Mill supplier of fl our to American troops (marker) 6-9 tary supplies were shipped across the Hudson 10 17 Honness 13. Marquis de Lafayette - Lafayette was sick River (marker) Mountain W 5 icc for several weeks in 1778 at the nearby house of o p ee 18 C r ee Abram Brinckerhoff (monument) 2. George Washington Bronze Bust - erected in 22 k 1999 in honor of the bicentennial of the death 14. Middle Church - Presbyterian Church used of George Washington (monument) 4 FISHKILL as a military hospital during the Revolution FISHKILL Halstead’s Mill SUPPLY

k 19 (monument) e

3. - meeting place e k e r e LANDING r C C DEPOT e and lodgings for offi cers, soldiers and politi- ll ov ki Pine’s Mill l ish C 15. Brinckerhoff -Van Voorhees House - home F cians during the Revolution (house with mark- Bald of Colonel John Brinckerhoff where George NEWBURGH Round DUTCHESS COUNTY 3 Hill WICCOPEE PASS er) 1 Mountain (LOWER BARRACKS) PUTNAM COUNTY Washington was an occasional guest (house 2 Lamb's Schenck’s Mill Hill 20 with marker) 4. Home of Hendrick Kip - served as Baron Von 21 Steuben’s headquarters around 1777 (house OCT. 13, 1777 North 16. Griff en’s Tavern - frequented by George De Peyster’s Mill with marker) MARCH 23, 1777 Washington, , the Marquis de Lafayette South Beacon 5. Washington’s Sword - site of cutler John Bai- Mountain and other American and French soldiers during Key: the Revolution (ruins with marker) k ley’s forge where a sword was made for George ee r NEW C e Limits of the Fishkill Military Supply Hub OCT. 15, 1777 v o Washington (marker) l NEW WINDSOR WINDSOR C 17. Judge Jay’s House - site of house where Judge CANTONMENT 6. Enoch Crosby - American spy confi ned at Core Areas John Jay resided in 1777-78 (unmarked site) the First Reformed Church aft er mock trial; Fishkill Supply Depot Site National Register Boundary 18. Van Wyck Homestead - offi cers’ headquar- Crosby was then allowed to escape (church ^_ Skirmishes and Raids ters for the Fishkill Supply Depot from 1776 to with marker) Breakneck Ridge 1783 (house with marker) Major 18th-Century Roads 7. Dutch Church - First Reformed Church was 19. In Grateful Remembrance … - memorial 18th-Century Ferries used by the New York Provincial Congress in to soldiers who died at Fishkill; relocated from its late 1776 and early 1777; later used as a prison Bull \\\ Chain across Hudson River Hill original site at the military cemetery (monument) (church with marker) Storm King $+ Major Fortifications and Encampments Mountain 20. Th ree Batteries - and barracks 8. Trinity Church - New York Provincial Con- H u ° Mill Sites that guarded Wiccopee Pass; a military hospital d gress met here in September 1776; also used as s o was also located near here (marker) n a hospital (marker) R Topographic Scale: iv e 21. Mount Beacon - New York militia manned 9. Samuel Loudon - site of printing shop of r Up to 100 m N beacons and lit signal fi res to warn of enemy ap- e w 101 - 200 m Samuel Loudon, publisher of the “New-York Y o r proaches (unmarked site and trail) k - FORT A 201 - 300 m l Packet” and printer of the New York State con- b CONSTITUTION a ny P 301 - 400 m 22. Mount Gulian - in 1783 the Verplanck o stitution (marker) s t

CHAIN ACROSS R

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a HUDSON d 401 - 500 m House served as Baron Von Steuben’s head- 10. First Academy - served as a military hospi- WEST 501 - 600 m quarters and was where the Society of the Cin- FORT tal in 1777 (marker) POINT CLINTON cinnati fi rst organized (house with marker) FORT 00.512 34 PUTNAM Miles

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Fishkill Military Supply Hub of the American Revolution

Outside of the depot and village were other important compo- nents of the Fishkill supply system. At Fishkill Landing there The Links in the Supply Chain were more storehouses for forage, fl our, bread, clothing and , more sheds for wagons, and workshops for boat- building and boat repair. In the fall of 1779, a major program Fishkill village and Fishkill Landing were already well established at of boatbuilding took place in anticipation of a joint American- the war’s outset. The provincial government made its home in the French expedition against New York. Quartermaster General buildings of the village for six months in late 1776 and early 1777, estimated no less than 100,000 boards were fi rst in the Trinity Episcopal Church and then in the somewhat required at West Point and Fishkill Landing, and high-paid Phil- larger Dutch Reformed Church. These and other churches were adelphia carpenters were imported to assist with the boatbuild- State Historical Marker for Fishkill Landing. subsequently used for holding prisoners and as hospitals. The lo- ing work. cal academy, run by Dr. Chauncey Graham, was also converted to a hospital. Other buildings in the village served as lodgings for mili- Three miles south of the vil- tary offi cers and government offi cials, while local shops and stores lage along the Post Road, nes- helped cater to the army’s needs. Jacobus Cooper’s metalworking tled in the Wiccopee Pass, was shop, for example, was pressed into service as an armory; Mary the location of the Lower Bar- Bloodgood’s hat shop was requisitioned as a guardhouse. An im- racks, built in the fall of 1776 portant addition to the village during the war was Samuel Loudon’s to house 2,000 soldiers and later First Reformed Church of Fishkill, used by print shop, relocated here from New York City, where the patriot apparently used as a hospital. the New York Provincial Congress and also newspaper The New-York Packet, and American Advertiser was Redoubts were also constructed served as a prison during the Revolution published. (Library of Congress). on either side of the road to as- sist in defending the pass. Bea- However, by far the biggest effect of the war on Fishkill was the establishment cons erected on the crest of the in late 1776, and the operation for close to seven years, of a military supply de- ridge west of the pass were a vi- pot along the Post Road heading south out of the village on the opposite side tal part of the military commu- of Fishkill Creek. This facility was maintained with some diffi culty, expanding nications network, signaling the and contracting with the ebb and fl ow of hostilities, and beset by disputes over approach of the enemy. Hay wages and shortages of labor, raw materials, equipment and provisions. Yet the and livestock were gathered into scale and complexity of the depot was impressive, causing Thomas Anburey, one the military storehouses and sta- of the British prisoners taken at Saratoga who was shepherded through Fishkill bles from farms along Fishkill in late November 1778, to remark that Creek and in neighboring val- “this place has been the principal depot leys. Local trees were felled and of Washington’s army, where there are sawn for fuel and lumber. Mills magazines, hospitals, workshops, etc., along Fishkill Creek, notably which form a town of themselves.” Schenck’s and Brinckerhoff ’s, Anburey went on to note that “[n]ear produced fl our and feed for the magazines [storehouses] are some army consumption. For seven well-constructed barracks, with a pris- tense years, the entire economy on, surrounded with lofty pallisadoes.” of the Fishkill area was geared Van Wyck Homestead, now the headquarters of the Detail from one of four maps of the Fishkill area surveyed by to support the American mili- Fishkill Historical Society, served as offi cers’ quarters American cartographer Erskine in 1778 (New-York during the Revolutionary War. Historical Society). tary presence.

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Fishkill Military Supply Hub of the American Revolution

Offi cers and Artifi cers In Grateful Remembrance of the Brave Men... Working in concert with General George For the roughly seven years Washington and Governor George Clinton of that Fishkill served as a New York, a series of Quartermaster Generals supply base, countless sol- (Thomas Miffl in, , Nathanael diers, prisoners and civilians Greene and ) and Commis- died there. While a number Th omas Miffl in Quartermaster General sary Generals of Military Stores (Benjamin of Fishkill’s Revolutionary 1775-77 Flower and Samuel Hodgdon) orchestrated the War dead were interred in operations of the Fishkill Supply Depot and church cemeteries and fam- related facilities in the village and at the land- ily burial grounds, most ing. These senior offi cers delegated the day-to- of the Continental Army’s day supply duties to a Deputy Quartermaster rank and fi le and many of General, Colonel Hugh Hughes (1776-78 and Daughters of the American Revolution monument to the Fishkill war dead the local militia were con- in its original location alongside Route 9. 1780-82) and Colonel Udny Hay (1778-80), signed upon their demise to and a Deputy Commissary of Military Stores, Wheelwright at work. a military cemetery located toward the southern end of the depot on the east side of John Ruddock (1777-82). It was Hughes, Hay and Ruddock who dealt with the the New York-Albany Post Road (modern Route 9). Nathanael Greene formidable challenge of servicing the army, usually with limited resources and a Quartermaster General Ongoing research into Revolutionary War archives has so far documented close to 1778-80 discontented labor force, all the while under threat of British attack. A wealth of military paperwork survives documenting this activity. 90 individual soldiers by name who died in Fishkill during the war years. Private John Chowning of the 5th Virginia Regiment, for example, enlisted on April 21, 1777. He At the other end of the spectrum, a range of workers buckled down to the tasks of was a hospital patient in Fishkill in January of 1779 and died there on February 18 of making and repairing weapons, tools, equipment, clothing and buildings; gathering the same year. He may reasonably be assumed to have been buried in the cemetery in provisions for troops and forage for livestock; and transporting soldiers, animals, near the depot. Interments from several of the various colonies/states are believed raw materials and supplies in and out of the Fishkill hub. Among the most essen- to be represented at the cemetery, along with a few burials of Canadian, French and tial workers were the artifi cers – carpenters, masons, wheelwrights, armorers, black- German soldiers. smiths, saddlers and shipwrights, for whom compensation was frequently an issue. In January 1779 the Fishkill carpenters and wheelwrights petitioned Quartermaster The whereabouts of the cemetery has been passed down by local tradition and was Th omas Pickering marked in 1897 by a monument erected by the Daughters of the American Revo- Quartermaster General General Greene for better wages setting off a dispute that simmered throughout 1780-85 the year. In March 1781 General Knox drew lution (this monument was later relocated to the Congress’s attention to the fact that the Fishkill nearby Van Wyck Homestead property). In re- armorers had not been paid for two years. cent years, ground penetrating radar and archaeo- logical investigations have helped to delineate the Every imaginable item of supply was handled cemetery more precisely. Graves were pinpointed, at Fishkill. Among the most critical were ord- but left in place, through excavations in 2007 and nance, muskets, bayonets, powder and shot; 2013. A reasonable estimate suggests that the tools such as axes, shovels, sledgehammers and cemetery once contained – and likely still contains crowbars; tents; pots and camp kettles; blan- – scores, if not hundreds, of burials. This is one Samuel Hodgdon kets, shirts and shoes; hay, corn, fl our, bread of the nation’s pre-eminent resting places of those Commissary General and salt; and wagons, sleds and boats. who made the ultimate sacrifi ce during the Revo- of Military Stores A typical soldiers’ tent of the Revolutionary lutionary War. 1781-83 War era. Fishkill military cemetery in 2013.

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