The Greatest Highway in the World Part 3

49 M. WEST POINT (Garrison). (Train 51 pa.s.ses 9:46a; No. 3, 10:04a; No.

41, 2:19p; No. 25, 4:00p; No. 19, 6:55p. Eastbound: No. 6 pa.s.ses 8:01a; No. 26, 8:20a; No. 16, 2:34p; No. 22, 4:00p.)

Across the river from Garrison, the imposing buildings of West Point, the "Gibraltar of the Hudson," come into view. The name "West Point"

properly belongs to the village located here, but in ordinary usage it refers to the U.S. Military Academy,* America's training school for officers, which at the present time has about 1,000 cadets.

[Ill.u.s.tration: West Point from an Aeroplane _Photo Brown Bros._

The academy furnishes for those who wish to become army officers a splendid education of a standard equal to the best colleges and without cost to the student. Each cadet is paid $1,028.20 a year, an amount which, with proper economy, is sufficient for his support. West Point, therefore, offers an excellent opportunity for those who can meet the requirements and are capable of successfully undergoing the mental and physical discipline of the school. Each senator and congressman is ent.i.tled to nominate two candidates, who are appointed as cadets by the Secretary of War after pa.s.sing the prescribed examination. There are also 82 appointments at large, and the law of 1916 authorized the president to appoint cadets to the academy from among the enlisted of the Regular Army and National Guard, though not more than 180 at any one time. This law was pa.s.sed with the idea of introducing a greater degree of democracy into army life. Candidates for admission must be between 17 and 22 years, unmarried, free from physical infirmity and capable of pa.s.sing a somewhat rigorous examination in high school or preparatory school subjects. The course of instruction, which requires three years, is largely mathematical and professional. From about the middle of June to the end of August the cadets live in camp, engaged only in military duties and receiving military instruction. In general the education and discipline are so excellent that the business world is always ready with its high pecuniary rewards to tempt men away from their military vocation. The result is that graduates frequently resign their commissions, and the army loses what is gained by the world of affairs.]

The academy occupies a commanding position on a plateau 150 ft. above the river. As we approach, the power house is in the foreground, with the riding school, a ma.s.sive building just beyond, while the square tower of the Administration Building dominates the scene on the level of the parade ground above. West Point was first occupied as a military post during the Revolutionary War. In Jan. 1778, a huge chain, part of which is still preserved on the parade ground, was stretched across the river in the hope of blocking the progress of the British men-of-war, and a series of fortifications, planned by the great Polish soldier, Kosciusko, were erected on the site of the present academy.

Thaddeus Kosciusko (1746-1817) had a romantic and picturesque career.

An intended elopement with Ludwika, daughter of the Grand Hetman, Sosnowski of Sosnowica, was discovered by the Hetman's retainers.

In the fight that followed, Kosciusko was badly wounded and flung from the house. Shortly afterwards he left for America, where, as he had been well grounded in military science, Was.h.i.+ngton soon promoted him to the rank of colonel of artillery and made him his adjutant. Kosciusko especially distinguished himself in the operations about N.Y.C. and at Yorktown, and Congress conferred upon him a number of substantial rewards. He returned to his native land to partic.i.p.ate in the gallant but unsuccessful effort to free Poland (1794), and is now celebrated among the Poles as one of their greatest heroes.

At West Point were the fortifications that Benedict Arnold, their commander in 1780, agreed to betray into British hands.

Benedict Arnold (1741-1801) was, before his disgrace, perhaps the most brilliant officer and one of the most honored in the American army. It is true that shortly before he took command at West Point a court martial had directed Was.h.i.+ngton to reprimand him for two trivial offenses, but Was.h.i.+ngton couched the reprimand in words that were almost praise. The court martial had been ordered by Congress, against which Arnold had expressed his indignation for what he regarded as its mistaken policies in respect to the war. This conflict with Congress, together with certain vexatious circ.u.mstances, rising out of his command in Philadelphia--he had gone heavily into debt--led him into a secret correspondence with the British general, Sir Henry Clinton, and he asked for the a.s.signment to West Point for the very purpose of betraying this strategic post into the hands of the British.

In order to perfect the details of the plot, Clinton's adjutant-general, Maj. John Andre, met him near Stony Point on the night of the 21st of Sept. In the meantime, the man-of-war, "Vulture," upon which Andre had arrived, was forced to move farther downstream to avoid an impromptu bombardment by American patriots. As a result Andre had to start back to N.Y. by land. He bore a pa.s.s issued by Arnold, but he made the fatal mistake of changing to civilian clothes. Technically, therefore, he was a spy. At Tarrytown he was challenged by three Continentals; he offered them a purse of gold, a valuable watch, or anything they might name if they would permit him to proceed to N.Y.C. His offers were rejected and the incriminating papers were found in his boots. He was carried before the commanding officer of the lines, who, not suspecting his superior could be involved, notified Arnold. The latter was at breakfast with Was.h.i.+ngton's aides; pretending he had an immediate call from across the river, he jumped from the table, told his wife enough to cause her the greatest consternation, mounted a horse and rode to a barge which took him to the "Vulture." In spite of the protest and entreaties of Sir Henry Clinton and the threats of Arnold the unfortunate Andre, against whose character no suspicion was ever uttered, was hanged at Tappan, Oct. 2, 1780.

Maj. Andre was 29 years old at the time, and his fate aroused universal sympathy. It is said that Was.h.i.+ngton himself, whom some historians censure because he did not save Andre, wept upon hearing the circ.u.mstances of his death, but under military law his execution was inevitable. Arnold, however, escaped the punishment he so richly merited. He was commissioned brigadier-general in the British army and received 6,315 for his property losses. He was employed in several operations during the remaining period of the war but later when he went to England he met with neglect and scorn that probably hastened his death. In 1821 Andre's remains were taken to England and interred there; at the same time a memorial was erected in Westminster Abbey.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Maj. Andre

The picture was drawn by Andre without the aid of a looking-gla.s.s on the morning of the day fixed for his execution. A respite of twenty-four hours was, however, given. To Maj. Tomlinson, then acting as officer of the guard, Andre presented the sketch.]

Some time later Was.h.i.+ngton recommended West Point to Congress as a site for a military school, but it was not until 1802 that the academy was established. There are many notable memorials of early days and distinguished soldiers here.

By far the greater number of America's distinguished generals and soldiers since the War of Independence have been graduates of West Point. These include U. S. Grant, Philip Henry Sheridan, William Sherman, George P. McClellan, Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson (Confederate), Robert E. Lee (Confederate) and Richard Henry Anderson (Confederate). Grant was appointed to West Point in 1839; he was a good horseman and good in mathematics, but graduated in 21st place in a cla.s.s of 39. Sherman, on the other hand, stood near the head of his cla.s.s when he graduated in 1839.

Lee was commissioned in the engineering corps upon his graduation in 1829. The most notable commanding officers in the American army during the World War, including, of course, Gen. Pers.h.i.+ng, were West Point graduates; the most conspicuous exception, perhaps, was Maj.-Gen. Leonard Wood, who began his career as a surgeon.

[Ill.u.s.tration: West Point and the Highlands, 1868

This picture, published shortly after the Civil War, gives a good idea of the dress and uniform of the period, as well as a typical battery. Note the lady's hoop skirt and the bearded officer to whom she is speaking. The gun is one of the old muzzle-loaders, and there is a mortar in the foreground.]

Above the cliff and towards the north and east of the plain is Fort Clinton; on its east front stands a monument erected in 1828 by the Corps of Cadets to Kosciusko, while "Flirtation Walk," on the river side of the academy, leads to Kosciusko Garden, so named because it was much frequented by the Polish hero. On the parade ground is Victory Monument (78 ft. high), erected in 1874 as a Civil War memorial. The library--one of the finest military libraries in existence--contains interesting memorials by Saint Gaudens to J. McNeil Whistler and Edgar Allan Poe, both of whom were cadets at the academy and both of whom were virtually expelled.

Poe's neurotic temperament had led him into a number of escapades, but he gave evidence of improvement after he enlisted in the American Army at Boston in 1827. He served two years, and was promoted sergeant-major. He was then 20 years old, and on the basis of his army record, his uncle, John Allan, obtained for him an appointment to West Point. As a student he showed considerable facility for mathematics, but he incurred the displeasure of his superiors by neglect of duty, and was expelled in 1830, one year after he had been admitted. His temperament was of course unsuited to West Point discipline. The military discipline of the academy was equally odious to Whistler, the painter (1834-1903), who was dismissed and transferred to the United States coast survey. In his third year Whistler failed in chemistry. Col.

Larned, one of his instructors, gives the incident thus--"Whistler was called up for examination in the subject of chemistry, which also covered the studies of mineralogy and geology, and given silicon to discuss. He began: 'I am required to discuss the subject of silicon. Silicon is a gas,' 'That will do, Mr. Whistler,' and he retired quickly to private life.

Whistler later said: 'Had silicon been a gas, I would have been a major-general.'"

High above the academy on Mount Independence (490 ft.) still stands the ruins of old Ft. Putnam, one of the original fortifications, from which a magnificent view can be obtained of the academy, the river, and the surrounding country.

Our route now lies across a peninsula called Const.i.tution Island, which is the site of a preparatory school for West Point.

For many years the Island was the home of the Misses Anna and Susan Warner, authors of "The Wide, Wide World," and other stories popular with children. Through the generosity of Miss Susan Warner, who survived her sister, and Mrs. Russell Sage, the island was presented to the government a few years ago, and is now part of West Point.

We pa.s.s on the west bank Crow's Nest Mt. (1,396 ft.) a.s.sociated with Joseph Rodman Drake's fanciful poem, _The Culprit Fay_. Two M. farther we leave the Highlands through the "Golden Gate," where Storm King Mt.

rises to a height of 1,340 ft. on the west side of the Hudson, and Breakneck Mt. to a height of 1,365 ft. on the other. Near Storm King a tunnel of the great new Catskill aqueduct, carrying water to N.Y.C., pa.s.ses under the Hudson at a depth of 1,100 ft.--a depth made necessary to reach solid rock at the bottom.

N.Y. City's Catskill Mt. water supply system is the greatest of waterworks, modern or ancient. Three-quarters of the project has been completed. The waters of the Esopus Creek in the Catskills are stored in the Ashokan reservoir, an artificial lake twelve miles long, situated about 14 miles west of the Hudson River at Kings Mt. From this reservoir the aqueduct extends 92 M. to the city's northern boundary, and supplies about 375,000,000 gallons daily. From the Croton watershed New York receives a supply almost as large--336,000,000 gallons daily. Construction on the Catskill supply system was begun in 1907, and the total cost will be about $177,000,000.

The river now widens and turns to the west; on the further bank is Cornwall, near which is the estate of E. P. Roe, the writer, and "Idlewild," the former home of N. P. Willis, likewise a writer of importance in his day. The home of Lyman Abbott, editor of the _Outlook_ is also here. The proprietor of Bannerman's Island, which we now pa.s.s, is a dealer in obsolete war material; he has built on the island a number of castle-like store-houses of old paving stones taken from the streets of New York.

58 M. BEACON, Pop. 10,996 & NEWBURGH, Pop. 30,366. (Train 51 pa.s.ses 9:56a; No. 3, 10:17a; No. 41, 2:29p; No. 25, 4:10p; No. 19, 7:06p.

Eastbound: No. 6 pa.s.ses 7:50p; No. 26 8:09a; No. 16, 2:22p; No. 22, 3:48p.)

Beacon was incorporated in May, 1913, by merging the villages of Matteawan and Fishkill Landing, the latter of which lay closer to the west. The first settlement in the towns.h.i.+p was made in 1690. During the Revolutionary War it was an important military base for the Northern Continental Army. At Fishkill Landing on May 13, 1783, Gen. Knox organized the Society of the Cincinnati.

The Society of the Cincinnati was an organization of U.S.

officers who had served in the Revolutionary War. Besides the general society of which Was.h.i.+ngton was president, another was organized for each state. (The name is in reference to Cincinnati, the Roman patriot who left the plough to serve his country.) Members.h.i.+p was limited to officers, native or foreign, of the Continental army who had either served with honour for three years or had been honorably discharged for disability, and to their descendants.

Because it included several European n.o.bles, such as Lafayette and Steuben, and because it was founded on the principle of heredity the new society was denounced as the beginning of an aristocracy and therefore a menace, by such Revolutionary leaders as Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson, who were ineligible for members.h.i.+p because they had not been in the army. There was perhaps a real fear that it might become a military hierarchy which would appropriate the important offices of the new republic. At any rate, several states adopted resolutions against it and so great was the antagonism at the first general meeting in 1784 Was.h.i.+ngton persuaded the members to abolish the hereditary feature. In spite of this condition, the excitement did not die, and in 1789 the Tammany Society was founded in N.Y.C. in opposition to the Cincinnati, and as a wherein "true equality" should govern. This was the origin of Tammany Hall, which became conspicuous in N.Y. politics.

Alexander Hamilton succeeded Was.h.i.+ngton as president, but by 1824 most of the state branches of the Cincinnati and the general society itself were dead or dying. For a long time little was left but a traditional dinner held each year in N.Y.C. In 1893 the general society made an effort to revive the state organizations, with some little success. The hereditary feature has been restored and the living members number about 980. The motto is "Omnia relinquit servare rem publicam." (He abandons everything to serve the republic.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: Was.h.i.+ngton's Headquarters at Newburgh

An early picture showing American soldiers on guard at the headquarters of Gen. Was.h.i.+ngton at Newburgh. The house itself was built about 1760 and was occupied by Was.h.i.+ngton from the spring of 1782 to August, 1783. It is now open to the public as a museum.]

Back of Matteawan are seen Beacon Mts., their name recalling Revolutionary days when beacon fires were lighted as signals on their summits. The summit of the highest of the group, Beacon Hill* (1,635 ft.) can now be reached by means of a cable railway, making possible a very pleasant excursion. The Matteawan State Hospital for the Insane is at Beacon on the north side of Fishkill Creek. Beacon's products include hats, silks, woolens, rubber goods, engines, brick and tile; the total annual value of manufactures is about $4,500,000. Four miles to the northwest on Fishkill Creek is the village of Fishkill, notable for two quaint old churches, both still standing, and interesting enough to repay a visit: the First Dutch Reformed (1731), in which the New York Provincial Congress met in Aug. and Sept., 1776, and Trinity (1769).

After Congress moved elsewhere, Trinity was used as a hospital, and the Dutch church, being constructed of stone, was converted into a prison. Its most famous prisoner was Enoch Crosby (who served as the original for Cooper's hero in _The Spy_), a patriot who twice escaped with the help of the Committee of Safety, the only persons who knew his true character.

Across the river Newburgh is visible rising above the Hudson. From the Spring of 1782 to Aug. 1783 Was.h.i.+ngton made his headquarters in the Jonathan Hasbrouck house* (to the south of the city), built between 1750 and 1770. The house, a one story stone building with a timber roof, has been purchased by the State of N.Y. and is open to visitors. It contains many interesting Revolutionary weapons, doc.u.ments and other relics. Here in May, 1782, Was.h.i.+ngton wrote his famous letter of rebuke to Lewis Nicola, who had written in behalf of a coterie of officers suggesting that he a.s.sume the t.i.tle of king.

Was.h.i.+ngton's reply was peremptory and indignant. They could not have found, he said, "a person to whom their schemes were more disagreeable," and charged them, "if you have any regard for yourself or posterity, or respect for me, to banish these thoughts from your mind, and never communicate, as from yourself or any one else, a sentiment of like nature." Here also he made his reply to the so-called Newburgh addresses written by John Armstrong and calling for action on the part of the army to redress its grievances.

Newburgh was still his headquarters when Was.h.i.+ngton by the force of his influence secured the quiet disbandment of the Continental Army at the close of the war. Upon the occasion of the centennial celebration (1883) of this event, a monument called the Tower of Victory, 53 ft. high with a statue of Was.h.i.+ngton, was erected.

Newburgh is the center of a rich agricultural region, but it is a manufacturing center as well; its output comprises machine shop products, plaster, cotton, woolen and silk goods, felt hats, furniture, flour, lumber and cigars. Above Newburgh can be seen the lighthouse (on the west bank) called the Devil's Danskammer, or Devil's Dance Hall, recalling the time when Henry Hudson and his crew landed here to witness an Indian pow-wow. The Dutch, who were considerably startled by the affair, thought that it could be nothing less than a diabolical dance; hence the name.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Robert Fulton's First Steamboat

(_From Fulton's own Sketch_)

On Sept. 1, 1807, the Albany "Gazette" announced that the "North River Steamboat [i.e., the "Clermont"] will leave Paulus's Hook [Jersey City] on Friday, the 4th of September, at 6 in the morning and arrive at Albany on Sat.u.r.day at 6 in the afternoon." The New York Central train now takes only a few minutes more than three hours to make the trip. The same paper on Oct. 5, 1807, announced that "Mr. Fulton's new steamboat left New York against a strong tide, very rough water, and a violent gale from the north. She made headway against the most sanguine expectations, and without being rocked by the waves."]

73 M. POUGHKEEPSIE, Pop. 35,000. (Train 51 pa.s.ses 10:14a; No. 3, 10:38a; No. 41, 2:48p; No. 25, 4:27p; No. 19, 7:24p. Eastbound: No. 6 pa.s.ses 7:32a; No. 26, 7:51a; No. 16, 2:02p; No. 22, 3:29p.)

Poughkeepsie was the Apokeepsing of the Indians--"the pleasant and safe harbour" made by the rocky bluffs projecting into the river, where canoes were sheltered from wind and wave. The city is built partly on terraces rising 200 ft. above the river, and partly on the level plateau above. Poughkeepsie was settled by the Dutch in 1698. The most momentous event in Poughkeepsie's history and one of the most important in that of the whole Union, was the convention held here in 1788 at which the state of N.Y. decided to ratify the federal const.i.tution. The decision was carried by three votes.

The credit for bringing N.Y. into the Union must go largely to Alexander Hamilton and his supporters, John Jay and Chancellor Robert R. Livingston. Of the three N.Y. delegates to the federal convention, Hamilton was the only one to sign its report, and when the state convention was called at Poughkeepsie, June 17, 1788, two-thirds of its members voted against the proposed U.S.