[Editor's Note: Richard J. Koke authored a series of five articles that appeared in Volumes 19 -23 of the OCHS Journal between 1990 and 1994. These articles will be presented in multiple sections over the next few years.]
Part IV:
1779: A Crucial Year
Chapter 1:
Intro
Seventeen seventy-nine has been called the forgotten year of the Revolutionary War, inactive and uneventful and devoid of great battles or great marches, but it was the year in which Smith's Clove attained its significant renown as a strategic appendage of wartime activity in the Hudson Highlands; a year in which thousands of soldiers funnelled into its snake-ridden confines in a waiting game between two armies.
On May 31, Sir Henry Clinton, in his third thrust up the Hudson, again appeared in Haverstraw Bay with a fleet and a military force, and by 11:00 the next morning, June 1, was in possession of the fortified American posts on Stony and Verplanck's Points at either end of King's Ferry. The vital line of communication across the Hudson between New England and the middle states was severed and a British base was established at the gate of the Highlands, barely twelve miles from West Point.
Two days later, British ships moved into Peekskill Bay in a threatening move towards West Point and Sir Henry and a force reported at between 3,000 and 5,000 reconnoitered Peekskill and the eastern approaches into the mountains at the Continental Village - then he pulled back towards the ferry and no further aggressive move was made.
Unknown to the Americans, Clinton's strategy was not to possess a Hudson River fortress, important though it was. With limited forces, he was not ready for West Point and had no intention of fighting his way into the mountains. What he wanted, essentially, was to engage Washington in a general battle on low ground below the Highlands where he could maneuver to advantage and crush the rebel army. The possession of Stony and Verplanck's Points, he surmised, was of "such great importance" (his words) that he firmly believed Washington could be lured from the mountains into the hazard of battle for their recovery, but with little or no risk for himself.
The captured ferry forts were strengthened and a strong garrison was placed in them, and Clinton withdrew downstream with the major part of his force, but held it in readiness to move at a moment's notice to take advantage of any opportunity that presented itself. He dispatched a raiding expedition along the Connecticut coast and bided his time, waiting for Washington to make the next move.
Part I
Introduction
Clove and Precinct
The Clove Road
The Clove Taverns
Clove Taverns II
Part II
Prelude to War
The Continentals Arrive
Blocking the Clove
In the Midst of Tories
Offensive from the Highlands
The Militia Take Over
The Post at Ramapo
The Reluctant Militia
Holding the Line
An Embarrassing Situation
To Galloway's and Back
The Scotsman's Regiment
September Raid
Prelude for Disaster
Clinton Takes the Highlands
Sidman's Bridge: The Last Holdout
Part III
Introduction
Summer, 1778
A Cogent Appraisal
Villains and Robbers
Part IV
Introduction
Aaron Burr's Ride
March to the Clove
The Barren Clove
Bracing for Attack
Among the Rocks and Rattlesnakes
The Present Interesting Occasion
A Waiting Game
Redeployment
The Continental Road
The Taphouse Keeper's Daughter
The Indian Fighters Appear
March to Morristown
Part V
Introduction
A Fruitless Excursion
Summer at the Clove
A Frenchman's Journey
Pompton Mutiny: Blood in the Snow
Blockhouse in the Clove
The Allies at New Antrim
The Intercepted Messenger
A Questionable Story
What Really Happened
Perils of A Post Rider
New Yorkers at the Clove
Congress' Own Regiment
The Last Garrison
A Man of Passion
Homeless Canadians
The Last March
Part VI
Introduction
The Post at Sidman's Bridge
Marking the Site