WEST POINT FOUNDRY Maker of The Parrott Rifle, Famous Civil War Cannon

1 i i WEST POINT FOUNDRY !

The ~ a ~ o l $ o n i c Wars demonstrat&d the importance of a r t i l l e r y i n modern warfdre. This was brought home t o the American people when i n the War Of 1812, they found themselves opposed by heavy a r t i l l e r y i n the hand8 of seasoned troops, both of which we lacked.

The f i r s t graduate of West Point Mi l i t a ry Academy, General Joseph Swift determined t h a t i t would not happen again. He was able t o en- l i s t the f i n a n c i a l backing of Gouverneur Kemble, w i l l r a m Kemble and others .

I n 1818 they organized the West Point Foundry with kstablishments a t Cold Spring and New York City. It was necessary t o "bootleg" s k i l l e d l abor out of Europe by way of I re land . They were able t o evade ship pu r su i t . Thei r f irst government demonstration of heavy cannon f i r i n g caused some of the cannon t o bu r s t . But they were ablt t o prove the f a u l t was not i n the cannon but I n the f a u l t y ammunitiol So, t h i s Foqndry along with t h r ee o the r foundr ies were subsidized by the government.

Success followed t h e i r e n t e r p r i s e u n t i l it was sa id , " there was no o the r foundry l i k e i t i n America". Prom 50 t o 100 heavy ordnance were made each yea r with the accompanying ammhition. They branched out . Stoves were j u s t becoming popular. I ron pipe replaced wood f o r water mains i n New York and Boston. Machinery f o r making sugar i n South America and the Southern S t a t e s was i n demand. Engines f o r steamboats and r a i l roads were made. The famous "DeWitt Clinton" r a i l road engine was b u i l t i n 1831. It i s now the property of the New York Central . A seventy-foot vesse l was b u i l t , much of it made of i ron, but t h i s venture was not followed up. The caa t lngs were made a t Cold Spring and f i n i shed i n New York. They went by sloop i n summer aqd by team i n winter. I n eal-ly years , one hundred men were employ@ the year round t o mine ore, cu t hardwoods, prepare it a s charcoal 'and team it e igh t miles t o t h e Foundry. Forty tons of i r on were psocessed i n the b l a s t furnace every day. La te r i r o n was mined and smelted i n Pennsylvania and shipped t o Cold Spring t o be f in i shed . --

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The year a f t e r the first government t e s t s a t Cold Sfwing, Robert Par ro t t enrol led a t West Point Mi l i t a ry Academy. The, i n t e r e s t i n the Foundry across the Hudson River probably determin d h i s speci- a l i z a t i o n i n a r t i l l e r y . By 1836, he had advanced t o 6 ap ta in of Ordnance and was located a t Washington,D.C. as the Aarsistant of Ordnance.

I n t h a t year , th ings began t o happen a t t h e West Polnt Foundry. Gouverneur Kemble went t o Washington f o r f o u r years ap Congressman from h i s d i s t r i c t . I n a shor t time, P a r r o t t was t ranbferred t o the West Point Foundry t o supervise ordnance manufacture. But i n a few months,he resigned h i s commission i n the army t o become Superinten- dent of the Foundry. Three years l a t e r , he married Miss Mary Kemble s i s t e r of Gouverneur Kemble. DurSng these th ree years , t h e f i n i sh ing branch of the Foundry was moved from New York t o Cold, Spring.

For the next t h i r t y years , P a r r o t t gave h i s energlea t o improving ordnance. The c l i f f s across t h e Hudson Rive7 became t h e t a r g e t f o r t e s t i n g h i s experiments. By the year before the Civi War, Pa r ro t t had produced a cannon made of c a s t i r o n which was t o volut ionize

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a r t i l l e r y . .The government ha some of these when the: War began. These cannons were of two t y e s ; those s u i t a b l e f o p operat ion i n

mobile c o n f ~ i c t and heavier g s f o r se ige purposes. A t the fiqst Ba t t l e of Bul l Run, the North l o s t a t h i r d of t h e i r

a r t i l l e r y t Q the South. I n add i t ion t o the ten-pound, shot , th ree inch bore f j e l d guns, a thirty-pound P a r r o t t se ige gun was l o s t . A t the Ba t t l e of Gettysburg, General Warren, a na t ive of' Cold Spring, helped lay Out the l i n e of b a t t l e . He saved the North 's l e f t f l ank

WEST POINT FOUNDRY (2)

by diverting infantry and a r t i l l e r y t o L i t t l e Round Top. The h i l l was too steep f o r horses, but the men dragged these 900 pound Parrott Cannon t o the h i l l top. These f i e l d guns were accurate f o r more than a mile.

The larger seige guns ranged up t o more than ten inches i n diameter A t the Seige of Charleston, a heavy gun was needed t o fire from a swamp, A West Pointer was called upon. He facetiously asked f o r men eighteen f ee t t a l l . S e r r e l l l s volunteers were called i n and sunk f i l e s sixteen f ee t in to the swamp f o r a platform. The "Swamp Angel as the mounted Parrot gun was called, began bombarding the de- fenses of the city. This gun shot accurately six miles. When the muzzle was blown off, it s t i l l operated accurately. When Richmond and Petersburg were under seige, a seige "train" with many heavy Parrott guns were brought t o bear on the for t i f ica t ions . Washington was surrounded by 900 cannon f o r defense. Many were P a m t t s .

More than 3000 guns and three million projec t i les were produced a t Cold Spring during the war. Not only were the Parrott guns most accurate but the munitions which were supplied were superior t o those put out by the South.

In the spring of 1864, the new seven-shot repeating carbine was being made a t the foundry. The growing power of the northern cavalry was greatly augmented by this new weapon. --

After the War, The Parrott cannon was i n demand i n foreign coun- t r i es . Parrott alao invented a be t t e r f i r e d l i f e l i ne f o r saving those i n danger on the seas.

During the Panic of 1873, the Foundry was i n trouble. The change of administration affected contracts. Parrott had died. The rich iron ore deposits i n the west were superior t o those near the Foun- dry and the more dis tant ores In Pennsylvania whioh were the Foun- dry t s source of supply.

A t times, ae many as 1000 men were employed. This along with other industr ial enterprises i n the County inoreased the County's popu- la t ion a third during the war years. But by 1886, the population OR Cold Spring had declined t o what it had been fAfty years before. In 1911 the Foundry was closed, a f t e r almost one hundred years of suc- cessful operation.

PUTNAM COUNTY HISTORIAN Rorace E. H i l l e r y

P a t t e r s on, N e w York

PUTKAM COUhTTY I N THE CIVIL WAR - TFIFU) EDITION 1961

Thta t h i r d e d i t i o n on 'Putnam County i n the C i v i l karw completes h a l f of our p r o j e a t . We

n t a k e a quibk look back and ahead.-

LINCOLN AT COLD SPRINU 1862 While McClellan was r e t r e a t i n g i n t he Pen insu la r Campaign and Pope, a n u n t r i e d General was i n Western V i r g i n i a , P r e s i d e n t Lincoln, unobserved, v i s i t e d General S c o t t a t West Point . Col. D. C m McCullum, M i l i t a r y D i r e c t o r of Ra i l roads , and Lincoln's body guard accompanied him. P r e s i d e n t Samuel Sloan of the Hudson River Rai l road (now the N e w York C e n t r a l ) and General S c o t t met them a t Gar r i son a t 3 AM June 24, 1862, They croased t o West P o i n t on B e l c h e r f s F e r r y and took c a r r i a g e t o the new Cozzenfs Ro t e l .

Af t e r a 7 o ' c lock b r e a k f a s t , Lincoln and S c o t t d i scussed m i l i t a r y a f fa i r s f o r s e v e r a l houra , Then joined by Col, Bowen and hr. Sloan, they v i s i t e d West P o i n t f o r some time. F e r r y i n g t o Cold Spr ing , they observed the

W s t i n g of heavy P a r r o t t Guns a t the West P o i n t Foundry. A 100 pound s h e l l was f i r e d

1 5 times and a 200 ~ o u n d s h e l l was f i r e d 5 times. T r a d i t i o n says t r o u b l e developed i n f h i n g . F i n a l l y Lincoln s a i d , "1 b e l i e v e i t w i l l f i r e , l e t t s eat."

Returning a t 8 pm t o the h o t e l , a Levee was held . The P r e s i d e n t a d r o i t l y p a r r i e d i l l - a d v i s e d ques t ions and s u g m s t i v e sen tences . Autographs were f r e e l y dispensed. A t midnight the Academy band se re - naded the s l e e 7 i n g P re s iden t .

A f t e r b r e a k f a s t the n e x t morning, a smal l Levee and a d r i v e M r . Belcher sugpested a f e r r y t r i p up t h e River. The ? a r r o t t gun t a r g e t ac ros s the River was examined. A s they came t o t h e r a i l r o a d tunne l nor th of Cold Spring, which was be ing d ouble- t raaked, Lincoln c a l l e d i t , "one of your rat holes ."

COMINU EVENTS b y 18 Carl Carmer w i l l speak a t the P e e k s k i l l M i l i t a r y Academy.

This w i l l be worth hearing. Boscobel ho lds i t s opening, May 2 1 Governor Nelson R o c k e r f e l l e r

i s g u e s t of honor. This promises t o be a n a t i o n a l sh r ine . May 30 the Putnam County H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y p lans a n a u c t i o n of

ant iques . Tours a r e planned i n June and July. The i r e x h i b i t w i l l be opened this summer in t h e i r new home.

The ihhopac-Carml Rotary Club w i l l man the I n s p i r a t i o n Po in t 111- f o r m t l o n Serv ice , Thoy a r e a sk ing s e r v i c e C l u b t o c o n t r i b u t e l i t e r a t u r e t h a t w i l l p u b l i c i z e our County.

The Enoch Crosby DAR expec t t o goon announ- t he d$e of the e r e c t i o n of the S t a tue of S h l l 1,udingtonts Ride on Carmelts l a k e f r o n t .

&IS EDITION BAS ? a N Y COYTRIBUTORS The 59th Reglment photo of Captain Adam h h t t i c e and new8 from the

Dean Boys was given by Xrs. Addison Hopkina. Al f red D m Vores, has Charles Vorea l e t t e r .

%incoln a t Cold s p r i n g n i s a d i g e s t of a New York Times a r t i c l e

PUTMAM COUNTY I N THE CIVIL WAR - THIRD EDITION 1961 ( 2 )

loaned by M r s . Maeguerite Rogers, granddaughter of Railroad Presi- dent Samuel Sloan. Lincoln1 s quips a r e traditions i n the Xnmble- Parro t family by Mrai. Beata Por ter , and i n t he Belcher family by Col. Taylor Belcher.

Col, N. B. Wilson of West Point Mi l i t a ry Academy gave us Hagor- General Warrenls biography. The accompanying photo i s of the

s t a t u e which s tands on L i t t l e Round Top, Gettysburg. The Highland Chemical Works'photo was loaned by Mrs. Henry Be l -

l e f e u i l l e of Peeksk i l l and Mrs. Charles Fel ton of Osalnlng, daughters Of Mr. Ed Nation, p a r t owner and opera tor of the p l an t f o r over 40 years. We p a r t i c u l a r l y thankMiss Henr ie t ta Gerwig f o r her research and wr i t e up.

TYING OFF Requests have come t o i d e n t i f y the men i n the Fourth Heavy A r -

t i l l e r y p ic tu re s h o h i n our l a s t edi t ion . With t he he lp of Col l in T. Naylor Jr. of the'Highland Press and E r l i n g Abel, I make a t 6n t a t i ve i den t i f i c a t i on . From l e f t t o r i g h t , Lindon Cowl,

Brig.Gen. Thomas Allcock, Col. Frank W i l l i a m s , Sgt. Oscar $napp, Capt. Marshall McKeel, Maj. Heni-y T. Lee, 1st L t . M.V.B. Akin, Mag. Thomas Sears , E l i j a h Penny. The l a s t two a r e unident i f ied ,

Fourth Heavy A r t i l l e r y , Company A Veterans f r o m Putnam County, missing from our Ronor.Rol1: George Benedict, Mitchel l W. Brooks, Ahos But ler , W i l l i a m J. Corbon, Josiah Davis, Ol iver D a v i s , John X. Farrington; Ferdinand LBbanon, Charles Eorgan, Bernard H c h l l y , David Parker, Henry Rusco, David A. Shears, James H. Stil l .

SPORTSHAN SHOW We thank the sponsors of the Sportsman Show f o r the opportunity

of meeting so many people i n t e r e s t ed i n our County's h i s t o r i c backgrounds some old-some new.

These people gave of t h e i r time i n manning the C i v i l War D i s - playr Mrs. W i l l i a m Mi l ler , Mrs. Walter Bell inger , Mrs. Charles Bloomer, Mrs. Evelyn Agor, Mrs. George Crosswell, Nicholas Smith, John Madden, Geor e Buechel, Fred Haida.

Fred DeWittls f f $ l O O , O O O Rewardw caught t he eye. Nicholas Smith, Librar ian of t he F i e ld Library i n Peekskil l , loaned samples of the

most extensive C i v i l War c o l l e c t i o n i n Westchester County, among them the 60 voluine s e t s on the Amy and Navy. Er l ing Abel, Mrs. Evelyn Agor, Mrs. Frank Lloyd loaned books. Mrs. Cieorge Crosswell

and Fred Haida gave books t o our s i z ab l e county l i b r a r y on the C i v i l War. Joseph Schachinger and Walter Held added to our genealogical materials . Thanks t o a l l these f r i ends and t o the Sportsmen magazine f o r t h e i r h i s t o ry write-up.

You who examined our d i sp lay of C i v i l War sketches w i l l be in - t e res ted t o see some of them reproduced i n the Hational Geographic of Apri l ,

WANTED BY JULY Putnam County Civ i l War veteran photos o r t in types . The o r ig i -

na l and a copy w i l l be re turned t o you. Some one t o e d i t Pe l l e t r au ' s veteran l i s t of t he S ix th Heavy

Ar t i l l e ry . MORE VETERANS FOR OUR HONOR ROLL

We thank Miss Jean Saunders f o r he lp i n l oca t i ng about f o r t y more C i v i l War Veterans. When s i f t e d down we hope t o add 1.50 men t o our Honor Roll.

r - - -- SL 59th INFANTRY REGIMENT 9 CO?dPANY I

I P r e s i d e n t L inco ln*s f i r s t c a l l f o r 75,000

J vo lun tee r s from the n a t i o n soon brought more than lOO,OOO men of which 40,000 were from N e w York S t a t e .

The 38 th I n f a n t r y Regiment had a lmost the only I men from Putnam County when the B a t t l e of Bul l I , Run was fought . These were e n l i s t e d by Gerald , Brown of Croton F a l l a .

With t h e i r d e f e a t a t Bul l Run, a a a l l f o r 509,000 th ree year vo lun tee r s went out. This

, g r e a t army was assembled, d r i l l e d , equipped over a per iod of n ine months, We have fol lowed the

I e n l i s t m e n t of Company A of the Four th Heavy A r t i l l e r y , Thomas Seara of Pa t te r son , having e n l i s t e d the men, was e l e c t e d Captain,

Wn ti1 then, eve ry th ing was done haphazardly. I n o rde r t o b r i n g order o u t of chaos, beginning

September 7, the O o v e r n o r ~ s OK was r equ i r ed of any one seek ing t o en- l i s t vo lun teers . Ada~l B. Ma t t i c e p resen ted h i a c e r t i f i c a te a t Carme1 on t h a t day and began e n l i s t i n g . (The above photo of Captain hlat t ice was taken shor t l y a f t e r encampment a t Washington. ) Corne l ius P r i c e of Mahopaa was chosen F i r s t Lieutenant . Ten more ve te rans i n t h i s Company w i l l b e added t o our County Honor Roll .

John Dean, from Horae Pound Road, no r th of Cartml, descr ibed their exper iences a f t e r a r r i v i n g a t Waahington. "We have p l e n t y t o e a t and d r i n k and too much t o wear a t p r e s e n t , though we may need i t by and by. The weather here is coo l and p l e a s a n t , t he ground i s f rozen about a n inch deep. We have bread and b u t t e r , pork, bee f , beans , f i s h , coffee and wate r t o e a t and d r ink . We have a t e n t and s tove and p l e n t y of wood of which we make f i r e . We have leaves and c o r n s t a l k s f o r a bed upon which we p u t a b l anke t , l a y down and cover up w i t h 2 o r 3 others." ( ~ o h n and h i e b r o t h e r W i l l i a m had t h e i r p i c t u r e s taken and w i l l appear i n a l a t e r e d i t i o n . ) An epidemic of measles caused John's death . It occured jus t when a l l leaves were cance l led and no one was al lowed t o e s c o r t h i s body home. John "was the f i r s t c a s u a l t y from Carmel and a g r e a t f u s s was made wi th a f l a g draped c a s k e t and a m i l i t a r y f u n e r a l i n the Bapt is t Church."

It was j u s t a year a f t e r en l i s tmen t began of t h i s Company i n Putnam County before t hey were i n b a t t l e . The regiment l e f t New York i n November. This 59th Regiment was a mlxture of small u n i t s . While they were i n camp, they were reorganized. A group from C o r t l a n d t under Capt. James L. Paulding, a few from White P l a i n s and from Rockland County were conso l ida ted t o make a f u l l company. The Putnam County group were h a l f t h e Compmy. Capt. Paulding ree igned and Mat t ice be- came Captain of Company I.

M The f a i l u r e of Gen. McClellan i n t he P e n i s u l a r Campa i s and of Gen.

Pope a t the Second B a t t l e o f B u l l Run took p l ace whi le the 59th Regiment 1s f i n a l p r e p a r a t i o n s were go ing on.

Gen. Lee determined on a bo ld s t r o k e , t o invade the n o r t h , t o wrest the S t a t e of Haryland from the North and t o p o s s i b l y cap tu re Washington. Maryland f a en l i s tmen t s were few. A s Lee marched North, a n army was de tached again3 t Harper ' s F e r r Over 11,000 Union s o l d i e r e Were captured, But the d e l a y kept E e f s army a p a r t l one enou[.fi t o endanger h e f s plans.

General McClellan had been r e c a l l e d t o command the Army of the Potomac. FIe joined b a t t l e wi th Lee a t Antietam ~ e p t e m b e r 17, about

5 9 t h INFANTRY - COMPANY I 2

40 mi les nor thwest of Washington. This was t h e b l o o d i e s t one day of b a t t l e of t h e war. Each s i d e l o s t abou t 13,000 men k i l l e d and wounded,

Under h n , Sedgwick, l a t e r one o f G r a n t ' s t h r e e major corps l e a d e r s , t he 5 9 t h Regiment exper ienced t h e i r f i r s t b a t t l e . A bulge had been made i n t he South1 s ' l e f t c en t e r . The f i r s t corps was withdrawn and'Sedgwick went in. A s h a r p wedge was d r i v e n i n t o t h e Southern l i n e , But a heavy c o u n t e r a t t a c k wrought havoc on the 59th. Th i s was t o b e ' t h e i r wor s t b a t t l e . A f o u r t h o f the 5 9 t h was k i l l e d o r wounded. Putnam County l o s t h a l f t U f r en l i s tment .

W i l l i a m Dean was s h o t through t h e jaw and h i s back was in jured . A btidd dragged him o f f the f i e l d . He was never a b l e t o use h i s Jaw. 'Speech was d i f f i c u l t a t f i r s t and he could o n l y e a t f i n e l y chopped food which he g u t i n t o h i s mouth through t h e ho le i n h i s jaw. H i s back i n j u r y curved more and more u n t i l he was b e n t nea r ly ' doub le b u t he l i v e d t o be 70 and became a n e x p e r t f r u i t - grower.*

A t ' t h e c l o s e of t h e day, Lee had l o s t a - t h i r d of h i s f i g h t i n g fo rce . Durfng t h e n i g h t , t h e North rece ived a s many f r e s h t roops a s a l l of Lee 's exhausted army, It i s g e n e r a l l y conceeded t h a t i f McClellan had f o r c e d b a t t l e t h e n e x t day, Lee ' s army would have been pushed i n t o t he Potomac River. During t h i s day o f i n a c t i o n , t he two'armies f aced each o the r . That n i g h t Lee c ros sed t h e Potomac,

Though t h e i s s u e of Union o r S t a t e s Rights was t h e major motive which d iv ided t h e n a t i o n , t he problem o f s l a v e r y was always pre- s e n t ,

A; on ly t e n p e r c e n t of t h e South he ld s l a v e s , i n t ime i t was thought t h e South would f r e e t h e s l aves . Be t h a t a s i t may, t h e t h r u s t o f s l a v e r y brought f o r t h t h e proposa l t o buy t h e freedom of

a l l ' s l a v e s . Coming d u r i n g t h e f e v e r o f war, i t proved unaccept- able .

A s a r e a s o f t h e South came under Northern domination, t h e mass a t tachment of co lored people t o t h e Amy became a problem. The g e n e r a l sen t iment of t h e Northern s o l d i e r became more f a v o r a b l e t o freedom as t h e co lored man proved himself s e r v i c e a b l e t o t he army i n a mu l t i t ude o f ways.

A f t e r the B a t t l e of Antietam, t h e growing a t t i t u d e i n t h e Army and a t home found exp res s ion i n P r e s i d e n t L inco ln t s Emancipation Proclamation. But Char les Vores found himself encamped i n V i r - g i d a two weeks a f t e r co lo red freedom began. Great numbers of co lored people were f i l t e r i n g through t h e army on t h e i r way t o Washington. He wrote home i n a b i t t e r s t r a i n of t h e co lo red m a n ' s exuberant s p i r i t o f freedom and the n o r t h e r n s o l d i e r t s gr im pros- pec t be fo re him.

To r e t u r n t o t h e 5 9 t h Regiment a f t e r Antietam. Within a month t h e r e was a shake up. Captain A. Mat t ice res igned. Edward F. Richards of Southeas t became Capta in of Company D and was l a t e r made major by breve t . Major R i c h a r d v s name i s mis s ing from o u r County's Honor Ro l l ,

From then t o t he c l o s e o f t h e war, t h e 59 th was i n every i m - p o r t a n t b a t t l e of the Army o f t h e Potomac. While s h a r p l y engaged and l o s s e s were exper ienced i n every engagement, i t was under Grant t h a t ano the r f o u r t h of t he Regiment was l o s t i n t h e f o u r months from t h e Wilderness t o t h e heavy b a t t l e s of Pe te rsburg and o f Ream's S t a t i o n . They were p r e s e n t a t Lee ' s s u r r e n d e r a t Apgoma t ax.

MAJOR GENERAL GOWVERNEUR KEMBLE WARREN HIS MONUMENT STANDS O N LITTIE ROUND TOP, GETTYSBURG

Gouverneur was born i n Cold Spring i n 1830. He was a s tuden t a t Kingsley la C lass i ca l and MBthematical School when he reueived h i s appointment t o West Point, He graduated i n 1850,

For f o u r years he surveyed the Mississ ippi d e l t a , I n 1854 he was s e n t west of the !blississippi t o survey and t o eea lua te three poss ib le r a i l r o a d rou tes t o the Pac i f i c . H i s explore t ione passed through a r e a s where Indians and Whites were a t war. I n 1859 Warren was ordered t o West Point.

When the C i v i l War began, Warren became Lt, Colonel of the F i f t h New York Volunteers. H i s regiment with t h e i r b r i l l i a n t Zouave u n i f o r m was under General Butler a t For t r e sa Monroe, They fought a t Big Bethel on June 10, In Augast he commanded the regiment. He was t r ans fe r red t o Washington t o a i d i n bu i ld ing its deferses .

H i s regiment was i n the Pen i su la r Campaign where he was commended f o r bravery a t k i n e M i l l .

m n a f e r r e d t o Pope 9s Command, h i s regiment 10s t more than h a l f t h e i r man a t the Second B a t t l e of Bull Run, In September he was made Brigadier General. He p a r t i c i p a t e d i n the B a t t l e s of Anteta;m, Fred- ericksburg and Chancel lorsv i l le . On June 8 he was appointed Chief Engineer of the Army of the Potomac,

Hookerls r e s igna t ion three days before Gettysburg caused Meade t o misa the f i r s t day of b a t t l e , Meade, Hancock and Wamen l a i d out the l i n e of b a t t l e , The next day Hood a t tacked the Wnionrs l e f t flank. Warren d iver ted men and a r t i l l e r y t o the top of L i t t l e Round Top jus t i n the nick of time. H i s monument which you see here standa on L i t t l e Round Top f o r saving "The key of the Union pos i t ionn.

On August R he was appointed Major General i n uommand of the Second Corps. In October a t the B a t t l e of Cen te rv i l l e , h i s corps held the l i n e aga ins t g r e a t odda,

When Grant came Eas t , Warren commanded the F i f t h Corps. During the Campaign from the Wilderness t o Pe tersburg, h i s corps auf fe red heavi ly due t o "trencht' warfare,

The Bat t le of Five Forka was the beginning of Lee f s l a s t r e t r e a t . Grant had given Sheridan commnd of the l e f t f lank. After the b a t t l e , Sheridan re l i eved Warren of h i s command and was l e f t i n defense of Petersburg. When t r ans fe r red t o Miaaiss ippi , he reg igned, He asked f o r a t r i a l but i t was not granted u n t i l a f t e r h i s death, The t r i a l exhonorated him.

A t h i s dea th a t 52, he refused the honors usua l ly accorded our Nation's heroea because h i s name wag s t i l l under shadow,

For 17 yeare following the War, he distinguished h i m e l f a s one of the bea t engineera i n the na t ion ,

I T STARTED IN THE CIVIL WAR By H e n r i e t t a gemrig

Manitou i n t he sou thwes te rn c o r n e r o f Putnam County was once a t h r i v i n g i n d u s t r i a l a r e a marked f o r r a p i d growth.

The s t o r y beg ins i n 1863 i n t h e mids t of t h e C i v i l War when the Hudson River Copper Company, p r e c u r s o r o f t h e Highland Chemical Co., ob ta ined a l e a s e of 300 a c r e s on Manitou Mountain, " f o r g e t t i n g minera l s o f a l l kinds," from Will iam H. Denning, an h e i r o f t he Will iam Denning who had bought up a s a s p e c u l a t i o n so much of t he land c o n f i s c a t e d i n Revolut ionary t imes f rom t h e Tory Bever ly Robin- son and h i s wi fe Susanah. F ive yea r s l a t e r , t h e Company secu red an a d d i t i o n a l l e a s e , t h i s time from Cather ine and P i e r r e VanCortlandt, g iv inq t h e r i g h t t o o p e r a t e mines on Anthony's Nose, o v e r t h e Put- nam-Westcheater bo rde r f o r no one could a c c u r a t e l y l o c a t e t h e county l i n e , marked by an o l d cedar t r e e - i n the e a r l y n i n e t e e n hundreds F rede r i ck Oore'King, owner o f t h e mine p rope r ty , was s t i l l looking

f o r t h a t t ree . Be t h a t a s - i t may, everyone i n Manitou today knows the Old Cop-

p e r Mine Road, knows too how dangerous i t i s t o explore t h e un- p r o t e c t e d openings of t h e miners twin s h a f t s o r t h e dark, s l imy p i t a , t e r r i f y i n g w i t h t h e memory o f t h e geology i n s t r u c t o r l s acc i -

d e n t a l plunge t o d e a t h i n 1921 wh i l e h i s c l a s s o f ban-cage boys looked on aghast . Everyone knows o f t h e u n s i g h t l y o l d mine dumps and how they g ive t h e i r b i t t e r r l a v o r t o Copper Mine Brook, But

not everyone knows, o r a t l e a s t I d i d n o t , t h a t t h e o re f rom t h e mine was hauled o u t by team and wagon down a long the t hen e x i s t i n g

roads - South Mountain pas s Road, Bever ly Lane, whioh i s now 9D, below Col. Tay lo r B e l c h e r ~ s where i t was loaded on scows, There wee a t f i r s t no d i r e c t road from t h e mine down t o t h e r i v e r ,

Copper was what t h e Hudson R i v e r Copper Company had hoped t o f i n d b u t i t was i r o n s u l p h i d e which was r e a l l y mined i n g r e a t e s t abundance. And so t h e i d e a of a Chemical Company was born, In January 1873, t he newly organized Highland Chemical and Mining Com- pany secured "a p i e c e of l and , marsh and i s l a n d s , " n e a r t h e r a i l r o a d s t a t i o n s t o p o f t h e Hi@land, a s Manitou was t h e n c a l l e d , Here docks were b u i l t a t which the ore -bear ing scowa could l a n d and a l s o a b i g wooden s h e l l of a p l a n t e n c l o s i n g v a t s and o t h e r equipment t o p rocess t he ore . By 1877,"'some 80 men were employed a t t h e w ~ r k s

ana 180 more a t t h e mines.' Re id ' s county map of t h i s pe r iod rhowr t h e mines very c l e a r l y and a l s b a n "Engine House' and *Mine Boarding House* up n e x t t o t h e mineso In 187TAugust , accord ing t o a n ' o l d newspaper c l i p p i n g , t h e p l a n t war produoi 200 carboys o r 52,000 poundb of' sulphul ' io a c i d eve ry 24 hours -'oil of v i t r o l , " they' 'then c a l l e d t h i s "inoat u s e f u l ohemical e v e r made,' whioh oould be u t i l i z e d i n t h e p roduc t ion o f n l t r i c , m u r i a t i c and many l e r r Important a c i d r , supe r phosphater , gum co t ton , d i s i n f e c t a n t s , b le iohes , p u r i f i e d kerosene, r u s t ' r e m o v e r r , a c i d d r i n k r , shoe b l r o b n l n g and medical a p p e t i ~ e r s l The p l a n t s e n t i t r fumer f a r o u t on the r i v e r b u t towers were be ing b u i l t t o recover t h e g a r e r and a r a r a f e t y measure, a new p la t i num s u b s t i t u t e f o r the break- ab l e g l a r r r e t o r t had been in t roduoed a t a c o s t of' $17,000.

2 "The b u i l d i n g s o f t h i s Company," s a y s William P e l l e t r e a u i n

h i s County H i s t o r y of 1886, "p re sen t a very conspicuous appearance on t h e banks of t h e r i v e r and t h e works gave employment t o a

l a r g e number of hands." But by 1886 t h e Company had s topped us ing l o c a l o re s , which "had proved t o be n o t so r i c h a s had been sup- posed" and was i n s t h a d impor t ing s u l p h u r from I t a l y . I n 1889 f i r e dest royed the p l a n t , M r . Thomas Torpey o f Manitou, t hen f i v e years o ld , s t i l l remembers t h e h o r r o r o f t h a t Sa turday n igh t . He remembrs too how qu ick ly t h e p l a n t was r e b u i l t by t h e F o r t Montgomery c o n t r a c t o r Aaron Clark. Tom Torpey went t o work a t odd jobe around the p l a n t i n 1900 f o r 83 c e n t s a day, $5.00 a week, o r ha l f what a man cou ld earn. He was number 7 1 on a p a y r o l l of 150 o r s o which inc luded he says , n o t o n l y I r i s h , Eng l i sh and Scotch b u t Swedes, Danes, Germans and even a Turkl He was t o work a t t he p l a n t u n t i l i t s f i n a l day - i t s l a s t foreman,

The end was a l r e a d y foreshadowed f o r i n t h i s same y e a r of 1900 the Company was merged i n t o Gene+al Chemical (now a d i v i s i o n of Mammouth A l l i e d Chemical end Dye.) S e v e r a l o t h e r merged concernra moved i n t o t h e p l an t . General Commercial was an e n t e r p r i s i n g com-

pany. A t t he St. Loufs World's , F a i r f n 1904, i t took F i r s t P r i z e f o r f t a s u l p h u r f c ac id . But h igh p r o t e c t i v e t a r i f f s ware by t h i # time making imported su lphur f a r l e s s economical t o use t han the o re s from wes te rn mines, p rocessed i n p l a n t s f a r t h e r west by newer methods than those of t h e i n c r e a s i n g l y o b s o l e t e High2and works. I n 1907 the Company decided t o t e s t t h e o re from t h e o l d copper mfnci. The mine chambers were f u l l o f w a t e r and had t o be pumped ou t , How I wish I could i n c l u d e here even a b i t o f t h e f a s c i n a - t i n g p i c t u r e conveyed by young Wil l iam T. Howell who, on f i v e s epa ra t e occasions , between May 1906 and November 1908, h iked up the mountain, exp lored the windy mine s h a f t s , shouted i n t o t he echoing caverns, photographed eve ry th ing he could and even cooked and a t e p rod ig ious numbers of lamb chops w i t h h o r r i b l e mine-water cof fee n e a r a chunk of f r o z e n dynamite i n t h e d a r k watery i n t e r i o r . [It i s a l l r e l a t e d i n Ch. 4 Vol I1 of t he Hudson Highlands, to - ge the r wi th much f a c t u a l m a t e r i a l about t h e mines.

The mine o r e was ana lyzed i n 1908 and t h e v e r d i c t was i n t h e negat ive; By 1913 the p l a n t was c lo sed f o r good, The Junk House Wrecking Company from Long I d l a n d C i t y took i t down. I n 1914 t h e r a i l r o a d w i thdrew i t s s t a t i o n agent. I n 1917 a n assessment upon General Chemical p r6pe r ty of $225,000 was s t b i c k e n from t h e Phil ipatown t a x r o l l . Only the o l d founda t ions , a ohinney o r two, some p ieces of broken carbo a b i t of r o t t i n g dock and a b i g b u t neg lec ted 'For RenC OF BaleK9CIign remained t o mark t h e s p o t ae the weeds and brush took over,

F i n a l l y i n December 1942, t he s i t e was s o l d and soon a f t e rward were e r e c t e d t h e a t t r a c t i v e wa te r - f ron t houses which have g iven i t

a new k ind o f l i f e ,

PUTPIAM COUFlY EIISTORIAN Herace E. Hi l le rg

Pattersen, New Yerk

"PUTNAM COUNTY I N THE CIVIL WAR" - FOURTH EDITIOlQ 1961

This fourth ed i t ion on "Putnam County in the Civ i l War" f a d s the mext twe edi t iens f u l l y planned. The S ta te program expects t o continue the Centennial Commemoration f o r the next four years. However, our County wi l l emphasize other h i s t o r i c i n t e r e s t s next year.

What h i s t o r i c backgrounde would Interest you most? Let me know t h i s month. A few ideas a re i ahund , but they t8ke t i m e t o hatch. M r . and Mrs. H. W. Andrew8 have given our County a Rev- olutionary manuscript of captured Americms f lee ing t h e i r Cana- dian prison and the Incredible hardships experienced before reach- Ing home. This would make a fascinat ing continued s tory which has never seen pr in t . Would t h i s In te res t you?

Would some reproductions of your many g i f t s t o the County whet your appeti te? -

General Charles G. Stevenllon has sent us m addit ional facet on the peraonality of Mad. Gen. Daniel Butterfield. H i s hobby was the compoeition of Bugle Calls. During the l u l l In the Civi l War Peninsular Campaign of 1862, he became d i s sa t i s f i ed with "Lights Out" a s used by the Br i t i sh A m y . Calling Oliver W.Horton the Brigade bugler, by t r i a l and error , they arr ived at Taps" as now known.

Whenever we hear "Taps heraf ter , we nil1 thlnk of Putnam County's adopted son, General Butterfield. -

We thank Edward Joyce, author of "Lake Mahopac' md John G e m m i l l f o r t h e i r par t in making the enclosed vemiom possible.

Mrs. J.T. Rorer has beg- Somerfs Record in the Civ i l War. Our common neighborhood exchanges makes more helpful uad complete t h i s a rea ' s contributions t o t h i s h l8 tor io epoch In our s a t i o n l s history. Welcome, Mre. Rorer!

L e w i s Young of Wash$ngton, D.C., a r e l a t ive of Sybil Ludlng- ton, has added much t o his f a t h e r ' s army record f r o m Kent.

E lmer Lee has given us a lift on the Sixth Heavy Art i l lery. Your Historian i s working on t h i s now.

We thank M r . and Mrs. Henry Schouten f o r the g i f t t o the County of "The Real America". Edward Markham' 8 15 volume se t .

M r . and Mrs. H.W. Andrews has added Harperrs Civi l War records.

Thrnk you, Mrs. Addison Hopkins, f o r photos of the Dean boys, Veterans of the 59th Regiment.

We deeply regret losing Robert Weeks and Duncam Campbell who have done so much t o make t h i s ed i t ion possible. -

The Putnam County Infomution Booth in I n s p i r ~ t i o n Point needa County boostere t o take t h e i r turn one o r two rZternoons during the next s i x weeks. What c m you Bay h e a r t i l y about your County? You wi l l meet people from every s t a t e in America, md from a score of foreign countries. I t18 two t o one , you wi l l get a r ea l kick out of it. C a l l Thorns Townsend, Camel Post- master, f o r your date. -