Memoirs Of Aaron Burr, Volume 1, Matthew L. Davis [book club suggestions .txt] 📗

The Rev. Doctor Ripley, A Gentleman Of Eminent

Respectability, And Messrs. Wakeman And Jennings, Respectable Citizens

Of This Town, Now Living, Who Belonged To The Brigade Of The Late

General Silliman, The Information Of Which Gentlemen On Any Subject

Can Be Relied On, And Will Be No Otherwise Than Correct, However

Prejudice Or Other Cause Might Occasion A Reluctance In Disclosing The

Information In Their Power To Give; Yet Duty Impelled Their Narrative,

And The Neglecting An Opportunity To Give Evidence Of Noble Acts And

Unrewarded Worth They Consider _Ingratitude_. In Preference To

Communicating To You By Way Of Letter Concerning Transactions Of So

Long Standing As The Year 1776, I Desired The Enclosed Certificates,

Which The Gentlemen Freely Gave, In Order To Prevent Any

Misconstruction By Passing Through A Second Hand, By Which You Will

Have More Correct Information Than Possibly In My Power To Give.

 

 

Very Respectfully Yours, &C.

 

 

Samuel Rowland.

Chapter VII (_Certificate Of The Rev. Hezekiah Ripley_) Pg 82

On Being Inquired Of By Samuel Rowland, Esq., Of Fairfield Town And

County, In The State Of Connecticut, Relative To My Knowledge And

Recollection Respecting The Merits Of Colonel Aaron Burr As An Officer

And Soldier In The Late Revolutionary War Between The United States

And Great Britain, Can Certify As Follows:--

 

 

Hezekiah Ripley, Of Said Fairfield, Doth Certify, That On Or About The

Fifteenth Day Of September, 1776, I Was The Officiating Chaplain Of

The Brigade Then Commanded By Gen. Gold S. Silliman. From

Mismanagement Of The Commanding Officer, That Brigade Was

Unfortunately Left In The City Of New-York, And At The Time Before

Mentioned. While The Brigade Was In Front, And Myself Considerably In

The Rear, I Was Met By The Late General Putnam, Deceased, Who Then

Informed Me Of The Landing Of The Enemy Above Us, And That I Must Make

My Escape On The West Side Of The Island. Whereupon I On Foot Crossed

The Lots To The West Side Of The Island, Unmolested Excepting By The

Fire From The Ships Of The British, Which At That Time Lay In The

North River. How The Brigade Escaped, I Was Not An Eyewitness; But

Well Recollect, From The Information I Then Had From General Chandler

(Now Deceased), Then Acting As A Colonel In Said Brigade, That Mr.

Burr'S Exertions, Bravery, And Good Conduct, Was The Principal Means

Of Saving The Whole Of That Brigade From Falling Into The Hands Of The

Enemy, And Whose Conduct Was Then By All Considered Judicious And

Meritorious.

Chapter VII (_Certificate Of The Rev. Hezekiah Ripley_) Pg 83

But, However, I Well Recollect, Before I Had The Information Alluded

To From General Chandler, I Had Seen Mr. Burr, And Inquired Of Him How

The Brigade Had Made Their Escape, Who Then Told Me The Particulars,

Which Were Afterwards Confirmed By All The Officers; Who Were All Of

Opinion That, Had It Not Been For Him, They Would Not Have Effected

Their Retreat And Escape.

 

 

As To My Own Opinion Of The Management Of The Troops On Leaving

New-York, I Then, And Still Suppose, As Did General Chandler, That

Colonel Burr'S Merits There As A Young Officer Ought, And Did, Claim

Much Attention, And Whose Official Duties As An Aid-De-Camp On That

Memorable Day Justly Claimed The Thanks Of The Army And His Country.

 

 

Hezekiah Ripley.

 

 

 

 

 

_Certificate From Isaac Jennings And Andrew Wakeman_. Being Requested

By Samuel Rowland, Esq., To Give Information Relative To The

Evacuation Of New-York, In The Year 1776, By The American Army, We,

The Subscribers, Then Acting, One In The Capacity Of A Lieutenant, And

The Other As A Private, In The Brigade Commanded By The Late General

Silliman, Now Deceased, Do Certify, That On The Fifteenth Day Of

September (Being On The Lord'S Day), The British Landed On The East

Side Of The Island, About Four Miles Above The City. The American

Troops Retreated The Same Day To Harlem Heights. By Some

Misapprehension Of The Orders, Or From Other Causes Unknown To Us, Our

Brigade Was Left, And Was Taken By General Knox To Bunker'S Hill, [1]

A Small Fort (So Called) About A Mile From Town. The Fort Was Scarcely

Able To Hold Us All. We Had But Just Got Into The Fort, When Aaron

Burr, Then Aid-De-Camp To General Putnam, Rode Up And Inquired Who

Commanded There. General Knox Presented Himself, And Burr (Then Called

Major Burr) Asked The General What He Did There? And Why He Did Not

Retreat With The Army? The General Replied, That It Was Impossible To

Retreat, As The Enemy Were Across The Island, And That He Meant To

Defend That Fort. Major Burr Ridiculed The Idea Of Defending The

Place, Being, As He Said, Without Provisions, Or Water, Or Bomb-Proof;

And That, With One Mortar, Or One Howitzer, The Enemy Would Take The

Place In Four Hours, Or In Some Very Short Time, And Again Urged

General Knox To Retreat To Harlem Heights; But General Knox Said It

Would Be Madness To Attempt It. A Smart Debate Ensued, The General

Adhering To His Opinion. Burr Addressed Himself To The Men, And Told

Them That, If They Remained There, They Would Before Night Be All

Prisoners, And Crammed Into A Dungeon, Or Hung Like Dogs. He Engaged

To Lead Them Off, And Observed That It Would Be Better That One Half

Should Be Killed In Fighting, Than All Be Sacrificed In That Cowardly

Manner. The Men Agreed To Follow Him, And He Led Them Out; He And His

Two Attendants Riding On The Right Flank. About Four Miles From Town

We Were Fired Upon By A Party Of The Enemy. Burr Galloped Directly To

The Spot The Firing Came From, Hallooing To The Men To Follow Him. It

Proved To Be Only A Guard Of About A Company Of The Enemy, Who

Immediately Fled.

Chapter VII (_Certificate Of The Rev. Hezekiah Ripley_) Pg 84

Burr And His Horsemen Pursued And Killed Several Of

Them. While He Was Thus Employed, The Head Of A Column Had Taken A

Wrong Road. Burr Came Up And Hurried Us To The Left, Into A Wood, And

Rode Along The Column From Front To Rear, Encouraging The Men, And Led

Us Out To The Main Army With Very Small Loss.

 

 

The Coolness, Deliberation, And Valour Displayed By Major Burr In

Effecting A Safe Retreat, Without Material Loss, And His Meritorious

Services To The Army On That Day, Rendered Him An Object Of Peculiar

Respect From The Troops, And The Particular Notice Of The Officers.

 

 

Isaac Jennings.

 

 

 

Andrew Wakeman.

Chapter VII (Letter From Nathaniel Judson To Commodore R. V. Morris) Pg 85

 

 

 

Albany, 10Th February, 1814.

 

 

Sir,

 

 

I Have Received Your Letter, With The Preceding Statement, Respecting

Our Retreat From New-York Island, In September, 1776, And, In

Compliance With Your Request, I Have To Reply, That The Relation Made

By Mr. Wakeman And Mr, Jennings Corresponds With My Recollection. I

Was Near Colonel Burr When He Lead The Dispute With General Knox, Who

Said It Was Madness To Think Of Retreating, As We Should Meet The

Whole British Army. Colonel Burr Did Not Address Himself To The Men,

But To The Officers, Who Had Most Of Them Gathered Around To Hear What

Passed, As We Considered Ourselves As Lost. But Colonel Burr Seemed So

Confident That He Could Make Good A Retreat, And Made It Clear That We

Were All Lost If We Stayed There, That We All Agreed To Trust To His

Conduct And Courage, Though It Did Appear To Us A Most Desperate

Undertaking; And He Did Not Disappoint Us, For He Effected A Retreat

With The Whole Brigade; And I Do Not Think We Lost More Than Thirty

Men. We Had Several Brushes With Small Parties Of The Enemy. Colonel

Burr Was Foremost And Most Active Where There Was Danger, And His

Conduct, Without Considering His Extreme Youth, Was Afterwards A

Constant Subject Of Praise, And Admiration, And Gratitude. This Affair

Was Much Talked Of In The Army After The Surrender Of Fort Washington,

In Which A Garrison Of About 2500 Men Was Left Under Circumstances

Very Similar To Ours; This Fort Having No Bomb-Proof. That Garrison

Surrendered, As Is Well Known, The Very Same Day Our Army Retreated;

And Of Those 2500 Men, Not 500 Survived The Imprisonment They Received

From The British. I Have, Since Then, Heard It Repeated Hundreds Of

Times By The Officers And Men Of Silliman'S Brigade, That Our Fate

Would Have Been The Same Had It Not Been For Colonel Burr. I Was A

Sergeant-Major In Chandler'S Regiment Of Silliman'S Brigade At The

Time Of The Retreat.

 

 

I Am Your Very Obedient Servant,

 

 

Nathaniel Judson

Footnote Pg 86

 

 

 

1. Adjacent To What Is Now Grand-Street.