Committee of Safety meeting, October 15, 1777

My studio and the New York office of Planet Waves are located in Kingston, the first capital of New York State. I am actually inside a part of the city called the Stockade, the original 1,300 foot square that was barricaded with a log wall to keep out the savage natives.

It’s no longer the capital and not a terribly exciting place, but this is an interesting weekend. Today is the anniversary of the British burning of Kingston; there is annual reenactment each year at this time. Tonight’s event, as part of the festivities, was a reenactment of the Committee of Safety meeting where the members, identified above, were informed that British vessels were about to land at Kingston Point. In 45 minutes of reenactment, outside the Hoffman House tavern and restaurant two blocks from my studio (built before October 1679, that is, nearly a century before the American Revolution, and still intact), I acquired a greater sense of our incredibly rich local history than I’ve ever had. Suddenly it was just obvious where I was standing.

According to an historical website, “Perhaps the most vivid account of that afternoon of agony is given in the journal of Colonel Abraham Hasbrouck, which also shows the spirit and the ardent faith of his Huguenot father, one of the patentees of New Paltz,” then called The Paltz. Here is Hasbrouck’s diary entry:

“October 16, 1777. Then the enemy under the command of General Henry Clinton and General Vaughan came to Kingston in Esopus, and burnt my dwelling-house, barn, cider-house or storehouse, and another barn and wagon house at my late dwelling house, and also a small out-kitchen which was left standing when my dwelling house was burnt down the 23rd of October, 1776. And the enemy burnt all the houses, barns (except one house and barn) in the town, church and county house, likewise laid everything in rubbish of ashes-fences and everything they came to. And they carried away with them one negro man named Harry, two negro wenches, jenny and Flora, and destroyed all my household goods and furniture and my library of books. My loss I sustained this time, I compute no less than five thousand pounds at least-and the house I had in New York burnt by, the enemy last year, or in the year 1776. My house was worth one thousand pounds and the house I lost by accident by fire the 23rd of October, 1776, merchandise of several sorts, household goods and furniture, tools and utensils and farmers’ implements, I lost then at least between three thousand pounds and four thousand pounds. I have lost since the fire in New York, 1776, until this time, between nine thousand and ten thousand pounds. Thanks be to God for his great goodness, I, my wife and children escaped and unhurt out of the enemy’s hands. Yet my sons Jacobus, Abraham and Daniel were in the opposing of the enemy from landing, and to oppose them to come to Kingston, and showers of shot flew on every side of them. I pray the Lord will support me under so heavy a trial and must say with Job, ‘The Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken — the Lord’s name may be praised’.”