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CHAPTER IV
Some Notable Events of
Post-Revolutionary Times
BY MARY J. MESSLER
I. Proposal to Make Trenton the Federal Capital
AFTER
a few years of comparative quiet, following the the Battles of Trenton
in 1776 and 1777, Trenton again came into prominence in 1783, due to
the controversy over the location of the federal capital. The part that
Trenton played in that controversy has been carefully studied and presented
by Dr. Hall in his History of the Presbyterian Church in Trenton
and by Dr. Godfrey in his history of the Mechanics Bank, and forms a
most interesting episode in the history of the city.
1
1 The writer is
indebted to Dr. Godfrey’s account for several citations from the Papers
of the Continental Congress. The other quotations used throughout
the chapter have been made directly from the sources quoted.
THE PERIPATETIC CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
During
the Revolution, the Continental Congress had met in various places,
depending upon the fortunes of the war and the wishes of its members.
In June 1783, when the Congress was sitting at Philadelphia, a number
of the non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Pennsylvania Line,
exasperated by the delays in settling their claims, set out for Philadelphia
to lay the matter before the authorities and demand a redress of their
grievances and a settlement of their accounts. The State of Pennsylvania
took no action in calling out the militia, and on the twenty-first of
June a party of about thirty armed men marched to the State House where
the Executive Council was in session. A message was sent in to that
body that if the demands of the mutineers were denied, they would let
the soldiers in upon the Council. The members of the Council rejected
the terms proposed, but a special meeting of Congress was immediately
called to determine upon a course of action. It was late in the day
before a quorum could be obtained, and by that time the mutineers numbered
some three hundred men. The members of Congress were panic-stricken,
and immediately adopted a resolution declaring that they had been grossly
insulted and authorizing President Elias Boudinot “to summon the members
of Congress to meet on Thursday next at Trenton or Princeton in New
Jersey in order that further and more effectual measures may be taken
for suppressing the present revolt and maintaining the dignity and authority
of the United States.” 2
2 New Jersey
Gazette, July 9, 1783.
No
sooner had Vice-President John Cox 3 of the New Jersey State Council
received President Boudinot’s letter of the twenty-third, informing
him of this decision of Congress, than he “summoned a meeting of the
inhabitants of Trenton and the vicinity; who being justly alarmed at
the daring insult offered to the Supreme Government of the American
Union, and being desirous of testifying their zeal in support of the
dignity and privileges of Congress,” immediately passed the following
resolutions: 4
At a meeting of the inhabitants of
Trenton, and vicinity, at the French Arms 5
on Tuesday the 24th June, 1783.
Having been informed, from undoubted
authority, that a most gross and daring insult has been offered to Congress,
the Supreme Government of the American Union, by a number of lawless
people in arms, assembled at the State-House in Philadelphia on Saturday
last:
Resolved unanimously, That we think
it our immediate duty to express our resentment and indignation at so
flagitous a proceeding.
Resolved unanimously, That we look upon
tyranny and anarchy with equal abhorrence; and as we have, at the risque
of everything, opposed the former, we are determined, at the same risque,
not to be wanting in our efforts to suppress the latter, on whatever
occasion or under whatever form it may present itself.
Resolved unanimously,
That we consider the support of civil government and the majesty of
the laws as one of the first of social duties, and riotous citizens
who disturb the publick order and violate the dignity of the Union as
the worst of enemies.
Resolved unanimously, That we feel the
utmost cheerfulness in pledging our lives and fortunes to the government
under which we live, in whatever way our services may be required, whether
in resisting foreign invasion or quelling intestine tumults.
Resolved unanimously, That we would
deem ourselves highly honored by the presence of Congress, and by an
opportunity of testifying our zeal in support of their dignity and privileges,
should they in their wisdom, think proper to adjourn to, or fix their
residence in this .State.
Signed by order and in behalf of the
inhabitants,
JOHN COX
DAVID BREARLEY
PHILEMON DICKINSON
SAML TUCKER
WM. C. HOUSTON
SAM. W. STOCKTON
Committee.
3 John Cox was
Lieutenant Colonel, Philadelphia Associators, and took part in the expedition
which resulted in the Battle of Trenton. General Stryker, in his account
of Washington’s reception in 1789, thus describes the event: “Colonel
Cadwalader immediately sent out scouts and adopted such a course as
the information gained might warrant. Adjutant General Joseph Reed with
Lieutenant Colonel John Cox and Major Joseph Cowperthwaite went towards
Bordentown in search of the Hessian pickets, but of course found their
post deserted.”
In 1781-82 Cox was a member of the Legislative Council.
He was also a prominent churchman and a member of the vestry of St.
Michael’s Church 1785-90. Before the Revolution, John Cox was a merchant
in Philadelphia, but he removed to Trenton to improve the condition
of his health. In 1790 he returned to Philadelphia and died there April
28, 1793. He was a man of highest character and abilities and his home
at “Bloomsbury” was the scene of numerous social functions. His wife
and two of his daughters participated in the reception to Washington
in 1789. See Schuyler, History of St. Michael’s Church, p. 91.
4 New Jersey Gazette,
July 16, 1783.
5 This famous
tavern stood on the southwest corner of King (now Warren) and Second
(now State) Streets. From April 1, 1780, to February, 1781, it was called
the Thirteen Stars, but when John Cape became proprietor in 1781 he
changed the name to the French Arms, which name was retained until January
4, 1785, when the tavern was leased to Francis Witt. He had been the
proprietor of a tavern on North King Street, called the Blazing .Star,
and merely transferred the sign to his new establishment. The name was
again changed, this time to the City Tavern, in April 1789, when Henry
Drake became its proprietor.
These resolutions, together with the report of a
subcommittee, composed of Moore Furman, Stacy Potts, and Benjamin Smith,
which stated that “sixty Persons, or upwards can be accommodated here,” 6 were forwarded to President Boudinot the following
day by the chairman of the meeting. As they did not reach him until
after his decision had been made to withdraw Congress secretly from
Philadelphia to Princeton late on the twenty-fourth of June, 1783, nothing
further was done in regard to them until Congress reconvened in Princeton
on the first of July. The following day, when the resolutions were laid
before Congress, it was unanimously: 7
Resolved, That the President inform Mr.
Cox, that Congress entertain just sentiments of the respectful manner
in which the inhabitants of Trenton and its vicinity express themselves
in their resolve of the 24th of June last, with regard to Congress.
That Congress highly applaud the proper
resentment the citizens of Trenton and its vicinity have discovered
against disturbers of the public peace and violators of the dignity
of the Union.
6 Papers, Continental
Congress, Vol. XLVI, .p. 87.
7 Journals of Congress, July
2, 1783.
The
above resolutions, together with a personal letter from President Boudinot,
were forwarded to John Cox, July 3, 1783. Congress also sent a resolution
to His Excellency William Livingston, governor of New Jersey, expressing
its “high sense of the spirit and attachment of the citizens of New
Jersey to the federal union,” but informing his excellency “that events
have rendered the call of the citizens into service unnecessary.”
8
8 New Jersey
Gazette, July 16, 1783.
In
the meantime, in view of the resolutions of Congress passed June 4,
1783, officially informing the executives of the several States of its
intention to consider propositions for selecting a “permanent residence”
for Congress on the first Monday of the following October, the Legislature
of New Jersey, on June 19, 1783, agreed to offer to the United States
jurisdiction over any district within the State to the extent of twenty
miles square, and to grant £30,000 in specie for the purchase of lands
and the erection of buildings. The resolutions also invited the inhabitants
of New Jersey desiring the national capital in their particular locality
to transmit their proposals to their representatives in Congress before
the time limited for consideration. The inhabitants of Lamberton 9 in Nottingham township, south of the Assunpink
Creek, were among those who presented to Congress the advantages of
their specific locality. 10
9 During the period
of which we are writing, the district which we now call Trenton consisted
of the city of Trenton north of the Assunpink Creek and the districts
known as Lamberton, Mill Hill and Bloomsbury, south of the creek. Lamberton
was named for Thomas Lambert who settled there about 1679. It was annexed
to Trenton in 1856. The locality immediately adjoining the Assunpink
on the south was in early times called Kingsbury, and afterwards Kensington
Hill, but when it came to be a considerable manufacturing place the
name was changed to Mill Hill. In 1840, Mill Hill was incorporated with
Bloomsbury, which had been established by Alexander Chambers as a port
for ships, to form the Borough of South Trenton. This borough was annexed
to Trenton in 1851.
10 Papers,
Continental Congress, Vol. XLVI, pp. 35, 39, 43, 49.
On
October 6, 1783, when Congress took up the question “in which State
buildings shall be provided and erected for the residence of Congress;
beginning with New Hampshire and proceeding in the order in which they
stand,” each State was successively negatived. On the following morning,
a motion was made by Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, “that buildings
for the use of Congress be erected on the banks of the Delaware near
Trenton, or of the Patowmack, near Georgetown, provided a suitable district
can be procured on one of the rivers as aforesaid, for a federal town.”
Amendments left only the names of the rivers and it was finally resolved
that the site should be “near the falls,” that is, near Trenton on the
Jersey side, or in Pennsylvania on the opposite side. Congress further
resolved “that a committee of five be appointed to repair to the falls
of the Delaware, to view the situation of the country in its neighborhood
and report a proper district for carrying into effect the preceding
resolution.”
A QUARREL BETWEEN THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH
The
question now resolved itself into a quarrel between the North and the
South. New England favored Trenton, whereas the Southern States felt
that in the selection of any site north of Mason and Dixon’s line their
claims for recognition were being slighted, and their interests sacrificed
to New England’s commercialism. Accordingly, on October 8, 1783, the
Southern members supported a motion to reconsider the proceedings of
the previous day “in order to fix on some other place that shall be
more central, more favourable to the union, and shall approach nearer
to that justice which is due the Southern States.”
11
11 Journals
of Congress, October 6, 7, 8, 1783.
This motion failed, as did other amendments, and
the selection of Trenton or its immediate vicinity appeared to be an
accomplished fact. On the thirteenth of October, 1783, Madison wrote
to Randolph: “Trenton was next proposed, on which question the votes
were divided by the river Delaware . . . . The vicinity of the falls
is to become the future seat of the Federal Government, unless a conversion
of some of the Eastern States can be effected.”
12
12 Madison
Papers, Vol. 1, p. 576.
The
continued opposition of an influential minority led, however, to a compromise,
proposed by Elbridge Gerry, and adopted by Congress October 21, 1783,
that Congress should have two residences to be occupied alternately,
the one to be on the Delaware, as already determined, and the other
on the Potomac, at or near Georgetown. A further resolution, which was
also adopted, provided “that until the buildings to be erected on the
banks of the Delaware and Patowmack shall be prepared for the reception
of Congress, their residence shall be alternately at equal periods of
not more than one year, and not less than six months in Trenton and
Annapolis.” 13 This Act was the occasion
of a humorous publication by Francis Hopkinson, of Bordentown, entitled
“Intelligence Extraordinary,” in which he described the new mechanism
of government as a “miraculous pendulum” vibrating “between Annapolis
on the Chesapeak and Trenton on the Delaware, a range of about 180 miles.” 14
13 Journals
of Congress, October 21, 1783.
14 Hopkinson’s
Works, Vol. I, p. 178.
During
the course of these discussions the citizens of Trenton were active
in their support of Trenton as the site of the federal city. Upon learning
that the members of the Continental Congress were considering leaving
Princeton because of the poor accommodations afforded, a town meeting
was held at the French Arms to “formulate attractive conveniences” to
induce the members of Congress to adjourn to Trenton. Rooms and board
were offered to the members of Congress by many of Trenton’s most influential
citizens, and “Good Hay in any quantity” was promised.
15 In spite of these inducements, Congress adjourned
from Princeton, November 4, 1783, to meet at Annapolis on the twenty-sixth
of the same month. At Annapolis the question of the federal capital
was again reopened, but no definite action was taken.
15 Papers,
Continental Congress, No. 78, Vol. XXII, pp. 283-6.
Further
evidence of Trenton’s interest in the location of the capital was shown
by the will of Dr. David Cowell, “a physician of respect, and extensive
practice,” who died December 18, 1783. He bequeathed “one hundred pounds
to the United States of America, to be thrown into the fund for erecting
public buildings at Lamberton,” which the New Jersey Gazette
of December 23, 1783, states “is the first legacy we recollect to have
been given to the United States and is respectable for a person of middle
fortune.”
On
the third of June, 1784, Congress adjourned from Annapolis to meet at
Trenton on the thirtieth of October following. One can imagine the joy
with which the citizens of Trenton greeted the news of this honor which
they had twice sought without success the preceding year.
The
New Jersey Legislature, then meeting at New Brunswick, on August 25,
1784, passed a resolution empowering James Ewing, Moore Furman and Conrad
Kotts, as commissioners, to procure a “Dwelling House” for the President,
“and also a House for Congress to sit in for the dispatch of public
Business.” 16
16 Votes of
General Assembly of New Jersey, 1781-84.
Accordingly,
on the twenty-second of September, 1784, the commissioners leased the
frame homestead of Stacy Potts on King Street, later known as the City
Hotel, and now the site of the Rectory of Saint Mary’s Cathedral, for
the official residence of the president of Congress. The house was occupied
by Colonel Richard Henry Lee from November 30, 1784, until his departure
for New York on January 5, 1785. Before his election as president, Colonel
Lee occupied a room in the house of Micajah How on the east side of
King Street below St. Michael’s Church.
17
17 Ballagh, Letters
of Richard Henry Lee, Vol. II, pp. 296, 321.
The
French Arms tavern, on the southwest corner of King and Second Streets,
then kept by Jacob G. Bergen, and the largest building in the city at
that time, had already been leased by the commissioners for the use
of Congress while in Trenton, and in October 1784 extensive preparations
were begun to furnish the Long Room of the tavern suitably for the use
of its members. The walls were repapered, the floors recarpeted and
a platform erected in the center of the south side of the room between
the two fireplaces. Thirteen new tables covered with green cloth and
forty-eight new windsor chairs were also provided. 18
18 Godfrey, The
Mechanics Bank, pp. 25-6.
The
Continental Congress assembled in Trenton on Monday, November 1, 1784,
with but seven members present. In the absence of a quorum, it was unable
to proceed with business until the thirtieth of the month, when “a quorum
of the States being represented, they proceeded to the choice of a President,
when the Hon. Richard Henry Lee, Esquire of Virginia, was elected. This
is the gentleman who is said to have originally made the motion in Congress
for declaring the States of America independent, in the year 1776.”
On December 3, the Hon. Peter Van Berckel, Minister Plenipotentiary
from the Netherlands, arrived in Trenton to confer with the officials
of the Continental Congress. He probably returned to his legation in
Philadelphia the following day. 19
19 New Jersey
Gazette, December 6, 1784.
TRENTON FAVORED
The
question of the location of the federal capital was among the first
business taken up by the Congress. On December 10 South Carolina moved
for adjournment, and every effort was made to have the alternate sessions
at Trenton and Annapolis repealed. Due to the opposition of the Northern
members, these measures failed and on the twentieth of December it was
resolved to take measures for procuring “suitable buildings” for national
purposes, and a sum, not exceeding $100,000, was appropriated for that
object. On the twenty-third of December, an ordinance was introduced
providing for the appointment of three commissioners, “with full powers
to lay out a district of not less than two nor exceeding three miles
square on the banks of either side of the Delaware, not lower than Lamberton
nor more than six miles above it, for a Federal town.” Unsuccessful
efforts were made to substitute Georgetown for Lamberton, but in spite
of the continued opposition of the South the ordinance was finally adopted
that the commissioners should “without delay” have the federal city
laid out in some district “not more than eight miles above or below
the lower falls of the Delaware,” and “enter into contracts for erecting
and completing in an elegant manner, a federal house for the accommodation
of Congress,” and houses for the President of Congress and principal
officers of the government, with a “due regard” to the “accommodation
of the states with lots for houses for the use of their Delegates respectively;
that on the 24th of December instant Congress stand adjourned to meet
at the city of New York on the 11th day of January following,” and to
continue to meet there until the buildings were ready for their reception.
The immediate expenditures of the commissioners were not to exceed $
100,000.
Congress
adjourned on the day following this decision, after acknowledging the
attentions of the Legislature of New Jersey “in providing accommodations
for their reception,” and “the exertions of the inhabitants in accomplishing
the intentions of their Legislature.”
20
20 Journals
of Congress, December 23, 24, 1784.
The
next step toward making Trenton the federal capital was taken on February
8, 1785, with the election of the three commissioners provided for in
the ordinance of December 23, 1784. The commissioners chosen by Congress
were Philip Schuyler of New York, Philemon Dickinson, of the “Hermitage,”
Trenton, and Robert Morris, the “patriot financier” of the Revolution.
When General Schuyler declined to serve, John Brown of Providence, R.I.,
was elected in his place. On May 19 he too declined the office.
The
landholders of Trenton were fully aware of the material advantages which
would accrue from the location of the federal capital near their city
and the New Jersey Gazettes of the period contain a number of
advertisements offering valuable land situated near Trenton or Lamberton
“where it is expected the Federal town will be built.” The following
passage from a letter written by Moore Furman, a prominent citizen of
Trenton, and the first mayor of the city in 1792, also expresses the
general sentiment of the times: 21
I have lately bartered some land in the country
for a piece here; the spot the Federal Town is to stand on, and if you
have an inclination to make sure of some near me believe me it may now
be had reasonable . . . . Should it ever happen that Congress fix here
it will be very valuable indeed.
21 Letters
of Moore Furman, p. 77.
Soon after the appointment of the commissioners the
personal influence of General Washington was brought to bear on the
members of Congress to crush the Trenton capital plan. On February 8,
1785, he wrote from Mount Vernon to Richard Henry Lee, president of
Congress: 22
By the time your Federal buildings on the banks
of the Delaware, along the point of a triangle, are fit for the reception
of Congress, it will be found that they are very improperly placed for
the seat of the empire, and will have to undergo a second erection in
a more convenient one.
22 Sparks, Writings
of Washington, Vol. IX, pp. 95-6.
On
the fifth of April, 1785, the first appropriation to the commissioners
was called for by the Committee of Supplies – “Federal buildings, $30,000.”
William Grayson, of Virginia, moved its refusal, but he was overruled.
On motion of Charles Pinckney, of South Carolina, that vote was reconsidered
and the report recommitted. Nothing further was done until the twenty-second
of September, when the appropriation of $30,000 coming before the House,
Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts, moved to make it the whole sum of
$100,000. As none of the States except Massachusetts and New Jersey
voted for it, the item, upon motion of Samuel Hardy of Virginia, was
entirely stricken out of the bill. 23 This was a virtual repeal of the ordinance and the death blow to Trenton’s
hopes of becoming the capital of the United States.
23 Journals
of Congress, September 22, 1785.
The
project was not yet abandoned, however, for in 1787 the convention of
New Jersey which met to ratify the Constitution of the United States
passed a resolution suggesting to the New Jersey Legislature that in
view of the provision in the new Constitution implying that the seat
of government should be placed in a district not exceeding ten miles
square, they “should offer a Cession to Congress of a district, not
exceeding ten Miles Square, for the Seat of the Government of the United
States, over which they may exercise exclusive Legislation.” 24 This the Legislature did by a bill passed September 9, 1788, offering
the requisite territory.
24 Minutes
of the Convention of State of New Jersey, December 20, 1787.
A
further attempt to make Trenton the federal capital was made by Mr.
Boudinot in the House of Representatives, September 7, 1789, when he
proposed “the banks of either side of the river Delaware, not more than
eight miles above or below the lower falls.” His motion failed by a
vote of four to forty-six. 25
25 Annals of
Congress, September 7, 1789.
QUESTION FINALLY SETTLED BY COMPROMISE
The
question of the location of the capital was finally settled by a compromise
between the North and the South. As the northern States were anxious
for the assumption of State debts by the general government, and the
southern States were opposed to the measure, an agreement was reached
whereby the South agreed to vote for the assumption of the debts provided
the North voted for the location of the capital on the Potomac. This
scheme is said to have originated with Robert Morris and Alexander Hamilton
and to have been consummated at the dinner-table of Thomas Jefferson,
then Secretary of State. Thanks to this scheme, in July 1790 it was
determined to have the seat of government on the Potomac, and in 1791
Washington selected the spot which now bears his name. According to
the terms of this Act, Congress remained in Philadelphia until December
1800.
The
final attempt to have Trenton made the seat of the national government
was undertaken December 2, 1801, when the Legislature of New Jersey
unanimously resolved
That the members representing the State, in the Congress
of the United States, be and they are hereby requested, if Congress
should resolve to move, for the purpose of better accommodation from
the city of Washington, to use their best efforts to procure their removal
to the city of Trenton, and they are hereby authorized to proffer, in
the name of this State, the State House and other public buildings belonging
to the State for the use of Congress and their officers, for any length
of time that the Congress shall wish to occupy them and that his excellency
the governor, be requested to transmit a copy of this resolution to
the members of Congress from this State, to be used by them as occasion
may offer. 26
26 Journal
of Proceedings of Legislative Council of New Jersey, December 2,
1801.
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III. Washington’s Reception by the People of Trenton, 1789
ONE of the most pleasing celebrations ever held in
Trenton was the reception to Washington in 1789, when he passed through
the town en route to New York to be inaugurated the first President
of the United States. This event received considerable notice in the
press of the day, and has also been graphically and accurately presented
by the late William S. Stryker in his monograph entitled Washington’s
Reception by the People o f New Jersey in 1789, which was published
in 1882.
On the sixth day of April, 1789, Congress, then sitting
in New York, declared General Washington to have been elected the first
President of the United States. On the fourteenth of April, Mr. Charles
Thompson presented to him at Mount Vernon the official notice of his
election. Knowing well that the urgency of the public business required
the immediate attendance of the President at the seat of government,
Washington hastened his departure; and on the second day after receiving
notice of his appointment, he took leave of Mount Vernon.
MANY DEMONSTRATIONS OF AFFECTION
Although
Washington looked forward to a quiet journey from Mount Vernon to New
York, he soon found that it was impossible to prevent the demonstrations
of affection which the people of the towns along his route eagerly bestowed
upon him. On the twentieth of April he reached Philadelphia, where he
was received with great enthusiasm. The following morning, the military
paraded at ten o’clock to accompany Washington to Trenton, but “being
obliged on account of the weather to proceed in his carriage, he declined
the honor, for he could not, he said, think of riding under cover while
his friends were exposed to the rain on horseback.”
29
29 Griswold, Republican
Court, p. 128.
It was about two o’clock . . . when the carriage
arrived at the old stone ferry house at Colvin’s Ferry, now Morrisville.
Here Patrick Colvin, the owner of the ferry, took charge of the Presidential
party and personally ferried them over the Delaware river . . . . A
troop of horse, commanded by Captain Carle, and a company of infantry
commanded by Captain Hanlon, compleatly equipped, and in full uniform
with a large concourse of the gentlemen and inhabitants of the town
and neighborhood, lined the Jersey bank of the Delaware, to hail the
General’s arrival. As soon as he set foot on shore, he was welcomed
with three huzzas, which made the shores reecho the chearful sounds.
After being saluted .by the horse and infantry, he was escorted to town,
in the following order: A detachment of the horse. The Light Infantry.
His Excellency, on horseback, attended by Charles Thomson, Esquire,
and Colonel Humphreys. The troop of horse. The gentlemen of the town
and neighborhood on horseback. 30
30 Pennsylvania
Packet, May 1, 1789; Stryker, Washington’s Reception, p.
4.
While the gentlemen of the town were meeting “their
beloved General with peals of thunder” and honoring him “with all the
pompous parade of war,” it remained for the ladies of Trenton to meet
“their defender with sentiment and touch the tender feelings of the
Hero’s heart.” At the bridge over the Assunpink Creek, the most prominent
matrons of the town had planned a testimonial “as new as it was pleasing,”
in memory of General Washington’s heroic deeds at the Battles of Trenton
in 1776 and 1777, and as an expression of their gratitude for the successful
culmination of the Revolutionary struggle.
On the north side of the bridge an arch
about twenty feet high was raised, supported on one side by seven and
on the other by six pillars. The arch was nearly twenty feet wide and
about twelve feet in length. Each of the thirteen pillars was entirely
covered with masses of evergreens and wreaths of laurel, and the arches
above were closely twined about with the same material, and festooned
inside with long ropes of laurel and the flowers of early spring. On
the south side of the archway, the side which first appeared to the
presidential party, an inscription in large gilt letters on a blue ground
was fastened, and beautifully ornamented with flowers:
THE
DEFENDER OF THE MOTHERS WILL BE THE PROTECTOR OF THE DAUGHTERS.
Above this arch was a circlet of laurels
and flowers, wreathing the dates of those two events just referred to:
December
26, 1776 - January 2, 1777 31
The summit of the dome displayed a large
sun-flower, which, always pointing to the sun, was designed to express
this sentiment, or motto, “To you alone,” as emblematic of the affections
and hopes of the People being directed to him in the united suffrage
of the millions of America. 32
31 Stryker,
Washington’s Reception, p. 6.
32 Pennsylvania
Packet, May 1, 1789.
The
framework of the arch had been erected the previous day by workmen in
charge of Benjamin Yard, but it had been decorated by the ladies of
Trenton with their own hands.
The
weather had cleared during the day, and as Washington came to the high
ground on Mill Hill 33 the sun lit up the beautiful
arch through which he must pass. “But as he passed through the archway
with uncovered head a still more lovely sight greeted him. On the one
side of the arch he saw six little girls dressed in white, carrying
baskets of flowers; on the other side, thirteen young ladies to represent
the several States, who were dressed in similar style, and also had
baskets filled with flowers.” Behind them stood twenty-two of the most
prominent matrons of the town.
33 See note 9,
above.
As
Washington rode beneath the arch, the choir began to sing a beautiful
ode, which had been written for the occasion by Major Richard Howell,
afterwards governor of New Jersey. The song, which was rendered “with
exquisite sweetness,” was as follows:
34
Welcome, mighty Chief ! once more
Welcome to this grateful shore!
Now no mercenary foe
Aims again the fatal blow-
Aims at thee the fatal blow.
Virgins fair, and Matrons grave,
Those thy conquering arms did save,
Build for thee triumphal bowers.
Strew, ye fair, his way with flowers-
Strew your Hero’s way with flowers!
34 Stryker, Washington’s
Reception, p. 7.
Extensive research on the part of Dr. C. E. Godfrey
has established the fact that this sonata was sung to the tune of “See
the Conquering Hero Comes” from Handel’s “Judas Maccabaeus.” 35
According to General Stryker, “The first four lines were sung by both
matrons and young ladies, the young ladies sang the fifth line, the
matrons the first part and the young ladies the last part of the sixth
line, then both sang the two next lines, the matrons the ninth, the
young ladies the tenth line.”
35 Trenton
Sunday Advertiser, December 29, 1912.
While the ode was being sung, General Washington
bared his head and listened “with deepest emotion.” In commenting upon
this occasion, Irving, in his life of Washington, says:
We question whether any of these testimonials of
a nation’s gratitude affected Washington more sensibly than those he
received at Trenton.
From information “obtained from one of the participants
in this reception who was living in the year 1850, from one who died
in 1864, and another in 1877, from others who remember to have seen
it, and from tradition in the families of Trenton,” General Stryker
has been able to identify all of the ladies of Trenton and vicinity
who took part in this reception.
The ladies who planned the celebration and who met
Washington at the bridge were Mrs. Susannah Armstrong, wife of Rev.
James F. Armstrong, Mrs. Mary Borden, Mrs. Susannah Calhoun, Mrs. Elizabeth
Chambers, Mrs. Esther Cox, Mrs. Mary Dickinson, Mrs. Elizabeth Ewing,
Mrs. Sarah Furman, Mrs. Susannah Gordon, Mrs. Mary Hanna, Mrs. Sarah
How, Mrs. Keziah B. Howell, Mrs. Mary Hunt, Mrs. Esther Lowrey, Mrs.
Sarah Milnor, Mrs. Ann Richmond, Mrs. Mary Smith, Mrs. Rachel Stevens,
Mrs. Annis Stockton, Mrs. Catherine Stockton, Mrs. Jane Tate and Mrs.
Grace Woodruff.
The thirteen young ladies who represented
the several States were Miss Eleanor Armstrong, Miss Elizabeth Borden,
Miss Elizabeth Cadwalader, Miss Catherine Calhoun, Miss Esther Cox,
Miss Mary Cox, Miss Mary Dickinson, Miss Maria Furman, Miss Mary C.
Keen, Miss Mary Lowrey, Miss Maria Meredith, Miss Sarah Moore and Miss
Margaret Tate.
The six little girls who strewed flowers
in front of Washington as he passed under the arch were Sarah Airy,
Jemina Broadhurst, Sarah Collins, Sarah How, Sarah B. Howell and Elizabeth
Milnor.
WASHINGTON'S LETTER TO THE
LADIES OF TRENTON
After
the reception at the arch, General Washington proceeded up Queen Street,
now Broad, to the City Tavern, formerly the French Arms, on the southwest
corner of Second and King Streets, where he dined with the principal
citizens of the town. During the afternoon, before he left for Princeton
in the company of his friend, the Rev. James Armstrong, pastor of the
Presbyterian Church, a copy of the song which had greeted him at the
bridge was given to him, and that evening he handed to Mr. Armstrong
the following letter: 36
General Washington cannot leave this place without
expressing his acknowledgments, to the Matrons and Young Ladies who
received him in so novel and grateful a manner at the Triumphal Arch
in Trenton, for the exquisite sensation .he experienced in that affecting
moment. - The astonishing contrast between his former and actual situation
at the same spot, the elegant taste with which it was adorned for the
present occasion, and the innocent appearance of the white-robed choir
who met him with the gratulatory song, have made such impressions on
his remembrance as, he assures them, will never be effaced.
Trenton April 21st, 1789
36 Stryker,
Washington’s Reception, p. 19.
This
letter was read the following afternoon at a gathering of ladies at
the home of Dr. Isaac Smith on King Street, and was later printed and
a copy distributed to each lady who aided in the reception. The original
note was preserved in the family of Dr. Smith, and later was presented
to Chief Justice Ewing by Miss Lydia Imlay, an adopted daughter of Judge
Smith. Judge Ewing placed the letter “in a handsome frame” and for many
years it was “preserved by his family as a most gracious relic.” In
1927, the letter was placed in the permanent custody of the Free Public
Library by William E. and Caleb S. Green.
The
arch was preserved on the premises of the Misses Barnes on King Street,
near the Episcopal Church, until 1824, when it was placed in front of
the State House to grace the reception to General Lafayette. A portion
of it was again used on May 10, 1855, on Chancery Lane, upon the occasion
of a firemen’s parade given in honor of a visit of the Phoenix Hose
Company, of Easton, Pa. Later it came into possession of Mrs. Armstrong
and Dr. Francis Ewing. In 1876, it was exhibited at the Centennial Exposition
in Philadelphia, and later deposited in Independence Hall, where it
remained until 1897, when it was returned to Trenton and placed in the
Battle Monument. Recently it was transferred to the Old Barracks, where
it now occupies a place of honor on the wall of the armor room.
37
37 Podmore, “Washington
Arch,” Trenton, February 1928.
About
a month after the reception to General Washington, on May 25, 1789,
Mrs. Washington, with her grandchildren, Eleanor Custis and George Washington
Custis, spent a night in Trenton, while en route to New York to join
her husband. The following year, on September 1, 1790, Washington and
his family stayed over night at the City Tavern, while travelling from
New York to the southward. “Beside the President and Mrs. Washington,
the travelling party comprised . . . the two grandchildren of Mrs. Washington,
Major William Jackson, Thomas Nelson, two maids, four white and four
black servants and sixteen horses.”38
38 Baker, Itinerary
of Washington, Vol. 11, p. 194.
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IV. Trenton Made the Capital of New Jersey, 1790
ALTHOUGH
Trenton was unsuccessful in its attempts to become the federal capital
of the United States, it was honored by being selected, in 1790, as
the capital of the State of New Jersey. As early as September, 1776,
Governor Livingston, in his message to the House, had recommended that
the capital of the State of New Jersey be located “in some convenient
and plentiful part of the State,” but in spite of the suggestion no
definite action was taken. During the Revolution, the Assembly and Council
met at such places as convenience and safety required, occasionally
visiting Perth Amboy, the old capital of East Jersey, and Burlington,
the old capital of West Jersey. With the establishment of peace, interest
in the subject was revived, due partly to the presence of Congress in
Trenton and partly to the efforts of Trenton to become the seat of the
federal government.
As in the case of the location of the federal capital,
the North and the South were on opposite sides of the question. A conservative
spirit desired the retention of both Burlington and Perth Amboy, while
other members were equally active on behalf of Woodbury and New Brunswick.
The convenience of Trenton’s location on the route of the “flying machines,”
as the stage coaches which ran between New York and Philadelphia were
modestly called, finally outweighed all other considerations, and on
November 25, 1790, “An Act for fixing a permanent seat of government
in this State” was enacted, providing:
That Trenton, in the county of Hunterdon, shall
henceforth be considered as the seat of government; and that the first
meeting of the Legislature, after the next, and every further annual
election for the members thereof, shall be at Trenton, in the County
of Hunterdon. 39
39 Laws of
the State of New Jersey, November 25, 1790.
The
following year, “An Act to provide suitable buildings for the accommodation
of the Legislature and public offices of the State” was introduced and
finally passed November 22, 1791, in spite of renewed efforts to have
New Brunswick and Woodbury inserted in place of Trenton. In pursuance
of the Act, Joseph Cooper, Thomas Lowery, James Ewing, Maskell Ewing,
George Anderson, James Mott and Moore Furman were appointed commissioners
with power to purchase or accept a suitable tract of land for the erection
of buildings for the use of the State. The tract secured was located
where the present Capitol building now stands and consisted of three
and three-quarters acres, purchased from Joseph Britain, George Ely
and Mrs. Mary McCall at a cost of £250 5s. The erection of the State
House was immediately begun and by 1794 the Legislature was able to
hold its sessions there. The total cost of the building was £3,000,
which was raised by State appropriation, by a subscription of £300 from
the inhabitants of Trenton and by the sale of articles belonging to
New Jersey. 40
40 True American,
June 25, 1897.
THE ORIGINAL STATE HOUSE
The original State House was a quaint-looking building,
sixty by one hundred feet, with a bow at either end containing rooms
for the Assembly and for the Council. It was rough-cast, of a bluish
color, and had a cupola which, in 1806, was provided with a bell which
was used for announcing the hour of meeting of both Houses and occasionally
for giving an alarm of fire in the town.
By an Act of the Legislature, passed March 3, 1795,
a building was erected for the quarters of the secretary of state and
for the preservation of the public records. About this time, Second
Street, now State Street, was extended westward a short distance and
a gravel walk laid from Chambers corner, now State and Willow, to the
Capitol building. In 1798, the lot was enclosed with a fence, and, in
1799, a brick pavement was laid around the building.
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At
first, the use of the State House appears to have been permitted for
other purposes than for the accommodation of the Legislature and State
officials, but on November 3, 1803, it was resolved by the General Assembly
“that a committee be appointed to inquire into the cause and conduct
of a mob assembled in Trenton in the month of February last, and also
by whose direction or approbation the State House was occupied as a
ball room on the 4th of July.” This inquiry led to the appointment of
a custodian of the State House and also to the decision that the building
was not “to be occupied for any other purpose than for the accommodation
of the constituted authorities for which it was erected.”
41
41 Votes and
Proceedings of General Assembly of New Jersey, November 3, 10, 1803.
Numerous repairs were made to the State House from
time to time, and some attempt was made to beautify the grounds around
the building. Several small office buildings were erected adjoining
the main building, and in 1848 very extensive additions were made to
it. At that time, the rough-casting was removed and a rotunda was added.
After the erection of the State House, it was thought
desirable to have a permanent residence for the executive of the State,
and consequently on the ninth of March, 1798, the Legislature passed
an Act appointing James Mott and John Beatty commissioners to contract
for and purchase a house and lot of land for the residence of the governor.
A sum of $10,000 was appropriated for this purpose and on March 12,
1798, the commissioners purchased a house and lot from Moore Furman,
located on Second Street, a block or so east of the Capitol. A letter
of Moore Furman’s, dated April 4, 1798, shows that the house was occupied
by the governor the following month: 42
Trenton April 4th 1798.
Dear Sir,
. . . I have sold my house for $10,000
and conveyed it to our present Governour [Richard Howell] and to his
successors forever . . . . I am moving in the Storm to a new house,
a few doors to the westward of the house I sold, and . . . the Governour
is fixing himself and family in the Government house.
42 Letters
of Moore Furman, pp. 108-9.
Most of the subsequent governors, however, appear
to have preferred to live in their own homes and rent the house provided
for them. Consequently, whenever the question of repairs to the house
came before the Legislature, a commission was appointed to inquire into
and report the propriety of selling the same. On November 12, 1801,
a committee of both Houses of the Legislature reported:
That convinced of the propriety of having the governor
as well as the heads of departments to reside at the seat of government,
the convenience which will necessarily result to persons having business
in chancery, the immediate access which the executive at all times have,
and the frequent necessity of recurring to the public documents, are
of such importance, and we trust so obvious, that the Legislature will
at all times, hold out the inducement of a good and convenient house
for the immediate accommodation of the governor .... For the above reasons
it is the opinion of your committee it would be inexpedient to sell
the same at present. 42a
42a Journal
of the Proceedings of the Legislative Council of State of New Jersey,
November 12, 1801.
In
spite of this and similar reports, other attempts were made to sell
the house, and in 1824 commissioners were appointed to sell part of
the government lot, commencing on the southwest corner and extending
twenty feet to the east, the money received from the sale to be applied
to the school fund.
On
March 1, 1830, a resolution was adopted, that in case the governor saw
fit to make the government house his residence, the treasurer should
be authorized to put it in proper repair, and in February 1833 two commissioners
were appointed to repair the dwelling-house, carriage-house, and fences,
at a cost not exceeding $300.
The house was finally sold, in 1845, to John A. Weart,
Joseph C. Potts and Dr. John McKelway for the sum of $10,000. About
1862, the house was considerably enlarged and reopened as the State
Street House. In 1903, the house was thoroughly remodelled and refurnished
throughout, and on January 1, 1904, it was reopened as the Hotel Sterling,
which name it still bears. The part of the building that abuts State
Street is the original governor’s mansion, the governor’s reception
and sitting-room now serving as the hotel office.
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V. Lafayette’s Three Visits to Trenton
THE most distinguished visitor received by the Continental
Congress while in session in Trenton in 1784 was General Lafayette,
who on the sixth of December wrote to President Lee that he would wait
upon Congress the Friday following, and in taking leave of that body
would be “happy to receive what Commands they may please to lay upon
one of their Most Affectionate and devoted servants.”
43 On the ninth of December, the matter was referred to a congressional
committee, consisting of Messrs. Jay, Williamson and Hardy, which immediately
reported that “the merit and services of the Marquis renders it proper
that such an opportunity of taking leave of Congress be afforded him.”
A special committee, consisting of one member from each State, was then
appointed “to receive the Marquis and in the name of Congress to take
leave of him,” and also to prepare a letter commending him to the favor
and patronage of his Most Christian Majesty, the King of France.
44
43 Papers,
Continental Congress, No. 19, Vol. II, p. 253.
44 Journals
of Congress, December 9, 1784.
THE FIRST VISIT
On
Friday afternoon, December 10, General Lafayette arrived in Trenton
and on the following day, immediately after the close of the congressional
session, was formally received by John Jay, chairman of the special
committee, and his fellow-members, in the Long Room of the French Arms
tavern. The resolution of the ninth of December assuring him “that Congress
continued to entertain the same high sense of his abilities and zeal
to promote the welfare of America, both here and in Europe, which they
had frequently expressed and manifested on former occasions,” and that
they would not “cease to feel an interest in whatever may concern his
honor and prosperity” was then communicated to him.
Lafayette then replied to Congress in the following
terms: 45
Sir:
While it pleases the United States in
Congress so kindly to receive me, I want words to express the feelings
of a heart which delights in their present situation and the bestowed
marks of their esteem.
Since I joined the standard of liberty,
to this wished for hour of my personal congratulations, I have seen
such glorious deeds performed, and virtues displayed by the sons of
America, that in the instant of my first concern for them, I had anticipated
but a part of the love and regard which devote me to this rising empire.
During our revolution, sir, I obtained
an unlimited indulgent confidence, which I am equally proud and happy
to acknowledge; it dates with the time, when an unexperienced youth,
I could only claim my respected friends paternal adoption. It has been
most benevolently continued throughout every circumstance of the cabinet
and the field; and in personal friendships, I often found a support
against public difficulties. While, on this solemn occasion I mention
my obligations to Congress, the State, the people at large, permit me
also to remember the dear military companions, to whose services their
country is so much indebted.
Having felt both for the timely aid of
my country and for the part she, with a beloved king, acted in the cause
of mankind, I enjoy an alliance so well rivetted by mutual affection,
by interest, and even local situation. Recollection insures it. Futurity
does but enlarge the prospect; and the private intercourse will every
day increase, which independent and advantageous trade cherishes, in
proportion as it is well understood.
In unbounded wishes to America, sir,
I am happy to observe the prevailing disposition of the people to strengthen
the confederation, preserve public faith, regulate trade, and in a proper
guard over continental magazines and frontier posts, in a general system
of militia, in foreseeing attention to the navy, to insure every kind
of safety. May this immense temple of freedom ever stand a lesson to
oppressors, an example to the oppressed, a sanctuary for the rights
of mankind! and may these happy United States attain that compleat splendor
and prosperity which will illustrate the blessing of their government,
and for ages to come rejoice the departed souls of its founders.
However unwilling to trespass on your
time, I must yet present you with grateful thanks for the late favors
of Congress, and never can they oblige me so much as when they put it
in my power, in every part of the world, to the latest day of my life,
to gratify the attachment which will ever rank me among the most zealous
and respectful servants of the United States.
LAFAYETTE.
45 ibid.,
December 13, 1784.
At the conclusion of the formal ceremonies, President
Lee handed to General Lafayette an autograph letter containing his personal
congratulations and farewell, together with a sealed envelope, which
he requested the Marquis to deliver personally to the Hon. Benjamin
Franklin, Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States to France. 46 This packet also contained the congressional letter to the French
King commending the Marquis to his royal favor in recognition of the
invaluable services which he had rendered to this country during the
Revolution.
46 Papers,
Continental Congress, No. 16, p. 315.
On
the same day that Lafayette was received by Congress, he was also received
by the Legislature of New Jersey, then sitting in Trenton. An address
was presented to him by order of the Council and House, expressing “fervent
wishes” for his welfare and prosperity, and assuring him that “the citizens
of New Jersey will ever retain an excellent sense of your disinterested
friendship and important services.” To which the Marquis replied that
his heart felt “deeply interested in the warmest wishes for the particular
welfare of the State of New Jersey,” and that he wished to present them
“with the most grateful acknowledgements and affectionate assurances”
of his respect. 47 The following Monday morning, Lafayette left Trenton for Elizabeth-town
and New York, and on Thursday, December 15, he sailed on La Nymphe
for France.
47 New Jersey
Gazette, December 27, 1784.
LAFAYETTE RETURNS IN 1824
In
1824, Lafayette returned to the United States for his fourth and farewell
visit. As soon as it was known that he would visit Trenton, preparations
were begun for his reception. On August 17, 1824, the citizens of Trenton
assembled at the City Tavern, formerly the French Arms, and passed resolutions
providing ways and means for the entertainment of the General and his
party, which comprised his son, George Washington Lafayette, and his
secretary, Auguste Le Masseur. At this meeting, it was “Resolved, That
Charles Ewing, Pearson Hunt and William Halstead, junior, esquires,
be a committee of the citizens to cooperate with the committee appointed
by the Corporation to make and carry into effect the arrangements required
by this interesting occasion.”
The
committee of the Corporation, which had been appointed the previous
day, consisted of Evan Evans, David Johnston and Charles Burroughs. 48 These two committees entered upon their work with great enthusiasm, so
that by the time of Lafayette’s arrival on the twenty-fifth of September
everything was in readiness for his reception and the whole city in
holiday attire. An account of the celebration in the True American
for September 25, 1824, shows the excitement prevailing in the city:
“In this city, ordinary business is suspended, the common affairs of
life are forgotten, and one general feeling of enthusiasm prevails in
favor of La Fayette . . . . We can say no more but run to mingle with
the enraptured multitude.”
48 Trenton
Federalist, August 23, 1824.
General Doughty had been selected by Governor Williamson
to command the escort that met Lafayette at the State border and conducted
him across the State. A medal, bearing on one side the likeness of Washington
and on the other that of Lafayette, was issued by the State and worn
by those who participated in the march.
On
the twenty-fifth of September “the Committee of Arrangement from Trenton,
with a corps of cavalry, met the General [at Princeton] to conduct him
to Trenton. He was accompanied by the Governor and suite, and followed
by a train of Citizens on horseback and in carriages. The General rode
in an open Barouch, drawn by four white horses.” The parade ground on
the Brunswick Road was reached about two o’clock, and there the military
of Hunterdon, Somerset, Burlington and Gloucester, consisting of about
2,000 men, were reviewed by the famous General. Immediately afterwards,
a procession was formed in the following order - Cavalry, infantry,
marshal, committee of the citizens, Governor Williamson and his suite,
marshal, General Lafayette and his companions, officers of the Army
and Navy, visitors of distinction, clergy, members of the bar, physicians,
societies, citizens, marshal. The “arrival of the Procession at the
head of Warren Street was announced by the firing of cannon and the
ringing of bells. The bells continued to ring until the procession arrived
at the State House.”
At
the head of Warren Street the procession passed under an elevated arch,
“irradiated with stars and bearing the name of Lafayette stretched across
the street. Its whole upper surface was mantled with verdure and beneath
its curvature, the whole width of the intercolumniation was beautifully
festooned with intertwisted wreaths of flowers and laurel. From its
central summit, as also from the lateral arches on the right and left,
sprang each a living cedar, their greenness studded over with flowers
of various hues.”
The
procession moved down Warren Street, passing under another decorated
arch that stood near the corner of Warren and State Streets, to Bloomsbury
Street (now South Warren), thence through Market Street to Greene Street
(now Broad), up Greene Street to Perry Street, down Perry to Warren,
down Warren to State, and up State to the State House. The streets were
thronged with spectators from all parts of the adjacent country, and
“there was one universal burst of feeling throughout the city.” A Philadelphia
newspaper of the period notes that “such was the immense crowd that
mail from Philadelphia had to pass around the city and enter the east
street and the carrier had to lug the bag on his head and shoulders
a distance of about 200 yards.”
THE WASHINGTON ARCH USED
ONCE MORE
As
Lafayette stepped from his barouche in front of the State House and
advanced through an aisle formed by the military and the citizens, he
was greeted by a sight of the Washington arch which had been erected
at the gateway to the Capitol. At the arch, he was met by a group of
twenty-four young women, representing the States of the Union, each
bearing the name of the State she represented on a white belt which
encircled her waist. As Lafayette advanced under the arch, thirteen
members of the group, each representing one of the thirteen original
Colonies, stepped forward and sang the following lines:
A welcome gallant chief
From Gaill’as sunny clime,
To glad our grateful hearts
Still spared by heaven and
time,
Ten million voices raise
Their grateful notes today
Accept our feeble lays‑
All we can pay.
The spirit of our sires
Still burns as free and bright
As burned its vestal fires
In the battle’s stormy night,
It taught us to be free,
And ne’er will we forget
It bade us honor thee
Love La-Fayette.
Lafayette listened closely to the “dulcet notes of
this interesting choir” and when the song was ended, replied: “Young
ladies, I thank you very much.” Later, upon being introduced to the
young ladies of the choir, he remarked that he had never seen the States
so handsomely represented.
The
General was next escorted into the Assembly Room, which had been converted
into a bower of beauty for the occasion. Here Lafayette was received
by the mayor of Trenton, Robert McNeely, and Common Council, convened
for the purpose of welcoming the distinguished visitor. The exercises
were opened by an address of welcome by the mayor, expressing the joy
it afforded the citizens of Trenton to receive Lafayette as their guest.
The General returned a “feeling and appropriate answer,” and after receiving
a number of the citizens of the town, was conducted with great pomp
to the Trenton House, on North Warren Street, where lodgings had been
provided for him, and where a sumptuous banquet was served to a distinguished
gathering of about one hundred guests.
In
the evening, Lafayette attended a “handsome Entertainment ordered by
the New Jersey Society of Cincinnati at the City Tavern.” Most of the
night was spent there in conversation with his brother officers of the
Revolutionary Army. Trenton was all aglow and the arches were illuminated
with lanterns.
The
next morning being Sunday, General Lafayette attended service at the
Presbyterian Church. Upon his entrance, the congregation rose in a body,
and remained standing until he took his seat in the mayor’s pew. At
the close of the services, Lafayette was the guest of Mayor McNeely
at his home on North Warren Street. In the afternoon, Lafayette rode
to Bordentown, to visit Joseph Bonaparte, but returned to his apartments
in the Trenton House the same evening. The following morning, under
military escort and accompanied by the governor and a number of prominent
citizens, he left Trenton for Philadelphia. 49
49 The full account
of this celebration, from which the above quotations have been taken,
may be found in the Trenton Federalist of September 27, 1824, and in
the True American for October 2, 1824.
LAFAYETTE 'S THIRD VISIT TO TRENTON
The
third and last visit of Lafayette to Trenton was on Saturday, July 16,
1825, when he breakfasted at the City Tavern, before proceeding to the
home of Joseph Bonaparte at Bordentown, whence he went to Philadelphia. 50 It was at this time that he presented to Joseph Justice, of Trenton,
the stamp which he had used to frank his correspondence during his visit
to the United States in 1824, a privilege which had been granted him
by special Act of Congress. Mr. Justice was then postmaster of Trenton,
and editor of the True American, and had been a member of the
reception committee at the time of Lafayette’s visit of the previous
year. 51
50 Trenton
Federalist, July 18, 1825.
51 Heston, Jersey
Waggon Jaunts, Vol. II, p. 217. There is a facsimile of this stamp
in the Trentoniana collection of the Free Public Library.
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VI. Other Interesting Celebrations and Distinguished Visitors
THE citizens of Trenton were very active in the matter
of celebrations in these early days and the newspapers of the period
contain detailed descriptions of many of these festive occasions. On
October 27, 1781, the capture of Cornwallis at Yorktown was celebrated
by the inhabitants of Trenton “with every mark of joy and festivity.”
The day was ushered in with the beating of drums, and at eleven o’clock
the governor, Council and Assembly attended a service at the Presbyterian
Church conducted by the Rev. Elihu Spencer. In the evening the town
was brilliantly illuminated.
The
following year an event of state and national importance occurred at
the French Arms tavern in celebration of the birth of a Dauphin and
heir to the Crown of France. The birth was formally announced to Congress
on May 2, 1782, and by Congress to the governors of the States. It was
celebrated in Trenton May 24, 1782, when the “town artillery paraded
at the market-place” and a dinner was attended by the officers of the
State at the French Arms. The New Jersey Gazette for May 29,
1782, comments upon “the joy and satisfaction manifested on this occasion”
and adds that “the liberal principles of the alliance, the generous
aids offered to these States in consequence of it, and the great end
it has been instrumental in securing, must ever interest us in the happiness
of a nation whose character and conduct is the laudable reverse of that
of our enemies.” It was in connection with this celebration that the
first American flag definitely known to have been hoisted in Trenton
was unfurled to the breeze from the French Arms tavern.
A
year later, on April 15, 1783, the citizens of Trenton held a gala celebration
incident to the ratification of the “glorious peace” lately concluded
with Great Britain at Versailles. About eleven o’clock in the morning,
His Excellency Governor Livingston, the vice-president of the State,
members of the Legislature, judges of the Supreme Court and other public
officials, together “with a great number of the inhabitants of the town
and vicinity,” including the trustees, teachers and students of the
Academy, met at the tavern of Rensselaer Williams on upper King Street,
and from there went in procession to the Court House, where the governor’s
proclamation, declaring a cessation of hostilities in pursuance of the
proclamation of Congress of April 11 was read, after which thirteen
cannon were fired, succeeded by the cheers of the people. At noon divine
service was attended, the discourse being delivered by Dr. Elihu Spencer,
pastor of the Presbyterian Church. At three o’clock entertainments were
held in the French Arms, the Blazing Star 52 and
Royal Oak taverns in King Street, where numerous toasts were drunk.
At seven o’clock the houses of the town were illuminated, and the festivities
of the day closed with a ball given in the French Arms.
52 This tavern
was located on North King Street and was kept by Francis Witt. When
he leased the French Arms, on the southwest corner of King and Second
Streets, in January 1785, he transferred the name Blazing,Star to that
tavern. The former Blazing .Star tavern was later known as the Indian
King.
In striking contrast to these festive occasions was
the public commemoration of Washington’s death which was observed by
the town on the fourteenth of January, 1800, just one month after his
death at Mount Vernon. In the morning, an oration was delivered by Samuel
Stanhope Smith, President of the College of New Jersey, in St. Michael’s
Episcopal Church, of which the Rev. Henry Waddell was rector, and at
half-past ten a procession was formed in Warren Street, opposite the
church. As the bier, on which was deposited the General’s hat, gloves
and sword, was brought out of the church, preceded by the clergy and
followed by the mayor and Common Council in deep black, it was received
by the assembled troops with presented arms. Accompanied by the tolling
of the bells, the procession moved off to the State House, where the
ceremonies were performed. At a certain stanza in one of the elegiac
songs, “eight beautiful girls, of about ten years of age, dressed in
white robes and black sashes, with baskets on their arms filled with
sprigs of cypress, rose from behind the speaker’s seat” and strewed
the cypress on the mock coffin. 53
53 Hall, History
of the Presbyterian Church in Trenton, pp. 206-7.
DISTINGUISHED VISITORS OF THE LATE EIGHTEENTH AND
EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURIES
A
number of distinguished visitors passed through Trenton during the early
years of the nineteenth century and practically all of them, with the
exception of Thomas Paine, were warmly received and entertained. The
latter rode up to Trenton from Bordentown, February 28, 1803, to take
the stage for New York. Refused a seat in the stage; he set out in his
own chaise, but “a mob surrounded him with insulting music and he had
difficulty in getting out of the town.” The author of those ringing
lines, “These are the times that try men’s souls,” showed neither fear
nor anger, and “calmly observed that such conduct had no tendency to
hurt his feelings or injure his fame, but rather gratified the one and
contributed to the other.”54
54 idem.,
p. 210.
Early in November 1798 General Charles Cotesworth
Pinckney, Ambassador to France, visited Trenton and was tendered a reception
at the City Hotel, on north King Street, which was attended by the mayor,
other city officers and heads of the government departments, and on
January 18, 1806, a public dinner was given to Captain (afterward Commodore)
Bainbridge, upon his return from Barbary. President Monroe, who was
wounded in the Battle of Trenton, arrived in the city on Saturday, June
7, 1817, and the following morning attended service at the Presbyterian
Church. On November 27, 1824, De Witt Clinton, governor-elect of the
State of New York, who was in Trenton to demonstrate the practicability
and utility of the proposed Morris Canal, was presented with an address
by the vice-president of the Council, and later entertained at the City
Tavern by a large number of the members of the New Jersey Legislature.
In
1799, 55 Trenton had the honor of becoming the seat
of the federal government for a few weeks, while President Adams and
his Cabinet were meeting in the city. Due to the prevalence of yellow
fever in Philadelphia the public offices of the government were removed
to this city on the twenty-sixth of August, and on the twenty-ninth,
Benjamin Stoddert, Secretary of the Navy, wrote to President John Adams,
who had already gone to Quincy, Mass., to escape the epidemic, that
“the offices are now at this place and not badly accommodated” and urged
the President to come to Trenton before the departure of the envoys
to the French Republic.
55 Accounts differ
as to just when the public offices were removed to Trenton. Raum, in
his History of Trenton, says that “in September 1793 the yellow
fever made its appearance in Philadelphia and as a precautionary means
to prevent the fever spreading among the inhabitants should it make
its appearance here, the Common Council of the city appointed Messrs.
Axford and Howell a committee to procure a house for travellers and
for poor persons who might be taken ill of that malignant fever. The
public offices of the United States government were removed here during
the prevalence of the fever in 1793.” The History of Philadelphia,
by Scharf and Westcott, states that in 1797 “the office of Secretary
of State was opened at Trenton, New Jersey, and the heads of the State
and Post-Office departments went to the same town,” while other histories
refer to the removal of the offices to Trenton in 1798. As the yellow
fever was prevalent in Philadelphia during all these years, it is probable
that the offices were removed here upon several different occasions.
From a study of the letters of President Adams, we conclude that he
did not come to Trenton until 1799.
The President was most reluctant to come to Trenton,
however, and replied to Stoddert that for him “to spend two or three
months at Trenton with unknown accommodations cannot be very agreeable.
Alone, and in private, I can put up with anything; but in my public
station, you know I cannot.”
In
spite of Adams’ reluctance, the members of his Cabinet, who were opposed
to the French mission, continued to urge the desirability of his presence
in Trenton, and on the second of September the President wrote to Stoddert
that he would be at Trenton by the tenth or twelfth of October but that
Mrs. Adams would not accompany him. Regarding accommodations he wrote:
I can and will put up, with my private secretary
and two domestics only, at the first tavern or first private house I
can find.
President
Adams arrived in Trenton on the tenth of October, and the next day was
greeted with fireworks. He found “the inhabitants of Trenton wrought
up to a pitch of political enthusiasm that surprised him” in the expectation
that Louis XVIII would soon be restored to the throne of France.
All
of the Cabinet members were in Trenton, with the exception of the Attorney-General,
who was in Virginia, and for six days, from October 10 to 15 inclusive,
the President was employed in conference with them, either at his own
apartments in the Phoenix Hotel, which stood on Warren Street where
West Hanover now joins Warren, or at their respective offices. An agreement
on the French mission was finally reached and, on the fifth of November,
the commissioners sailed for France. By the middle of November it was
considered safe to return to Philadelphia and the offices were removed
there. 56
56 Works of
John Adams, Vol. IX, pp. 18, 19, 33, 252-3.
SOME CONTEMPORARY DESCRIPTIONS
OF THE CITY
From
the writings and journals of the travellers who passed through Trenton
in these early days it is possible to get some idea of the appearance
of the town. Trenton had been incorporated as a city in 1792 and, being
on the stage route between New York and Philadelphia, had developed
into quite a thriving place. The celebrated French naturalist, Francois
Michaux, who passed through Trenton in 1802, says that “among the other
small towns by the road side, Trenton seemed worthy of attention. Its
situation upon the Delaware, the beautiful tract of country that surrounds
it, must render it a most delightful place of abode.” The beautiful
surroundings of the town impressed more than one traveller, and James
Flint, in his Letters from America in 1818, notes that “Trenton
is beautifully situated at the head of the tide-water of the river Delaware.
The orchards are luxuriant and the pasture grounds richer than any that
I have hitherto seen in the country.”
As
most of these travellers spent only one night in Trenton, their comments
are largely confined to the general appearance of the town and the condition
of the taverns, which were “much dearer on this road than in Massachusetts
and Connecticut.”
An
English tourist, Henry Wansey, writing in 1794, says of the town: “The
houses join each other and form regular streets, very much like some
of the small towns in Devonshire. The town has a very good market, which
is well supplied with butcher’s meat, fish and poultry. Many good shops
are to be seen there, in general with seats on each side of the entrance,
and a step or two up into each house.” Isaac Weld, Jr., a native of
Ireland, who passed through Trenton in July, 1796, writes that “the
streets are commodious, and the houses neatly built.”
The
Duke de la Rochefoucauld, writing in 1797, says that the houses of the
town were mostly wooden, those on the high street being best, “but very
modest in appearance.” He comments, however, upon the “number of handsome
villas which greatly enrich the landscape” in the environs of the town.
In
1825 the Duke of Saxe-Weimar describes Trenton as a “very handsome place,”
with a “remarkable bridge crossing the Delaware.” This bridge was begun
in 1804 and on January 30, 1806, the completion of the span was celebrated
with appropriate ceremonies. Gordon, in his Gazetteer of New Jersey,
describes it as “a span of 1100 feet, having a double carriageway and
footpaths resting on the chords of, and suspended from, a series of
five arches, supported on stone piers. This structure has been much
admired for its lightness, grace, and strength.”
In
1834, according to Gordon’s Gazetteer, Trenton proper contained:
425 dwellings, 13 taverns, about 30 stores, among
which are 3 bookstores, and 3 silversmith shops; 3 printing offices
. . . a public library . . . and a lyceum or literary association .
. . . The Philadelphia steam-boats ply daily, and sometimes several
times a day, one from Lamberton, and others from Bloomsbury;
57 and stages run 3 times a day by the rail-road to New York
and Philadelphia.
57 See note 9,
above.
Gordon adds that “for some years past Trenton has
not been in a very thriving state, but the late improvements have given
new life to business and enterprise, and much prosperity is anticipated.”
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