September 27, 1778
After 4 days of assisting the local militia in driving cattle out of reach of British foragers, Colonel george Baylor moved his troops north and located quarters for them throughout barns and homesteads in what is now River Vale, NJ near Tappan. To keep their position secure in such proximity to the enemy, Colonel Baylor positioned 12 men on the only bridge across the river, so as to provide sufficient alarm of an approaching enemy. According to Blauvelt tradition, this guard near the bridge was stationed at the Cornelius Blauvelt farm just above the bridge with the officers stationed in the house itself. The Blauvelts recalled later that the men positioned on the bridge left their positions early on the evening of the massacre to rejoin their companions in the barn saying that it was useless for them to keep watch as the night was so dark that the enemy could never find their way about. The captain upon hearing this ordered them back to their posts only to have them return a short time later with the same arguements. (The return of the patrols may not reflect any dereliction of duty, but only that the patrols were relieved on regular basis)
Meanwhile, waiting for the cover of darkness, a regiment of British Dragoons under command of Major-General Charles Grey began to head toward the bridge. Using a pincer move with the other end of the point under command of Lord Cornwallis himself, they surrounded the Blauvelt farm using intel gathered from local tories. At one or two in the morning of the 28th, the British efectively cut off the militia from the main body of the force and proceded to kill or take the guard without giving any alarm to the rest of the troops quartered at farms nearby. The guard was attacked with bayonets, with only one American managing to escape. The officers inside were captured without injury. Five soldiers in the barn were injured mortally and were buried under a large tree near the site the next day. Many more soldiers were bayoneted even though they asked for quarters.
In the end 17 were wounded, 5 dead, 33 taken prisoner and 8 of those wounded. But, why would I relate this story? Sure it happened on a Blauvelt farm, but there is a dark side to this story. In 1776 Cornelius Blauvelt was listed as a 1st Lieutenant in the Bergen Militia but he was neither attacked or taken prisoner on that night with not a single cents worth of property plundered dispite the fact that American officers werer found quartered there. The initial encounter between Blauvelt and General Grey sounds like an exchange of passwords. When the British entered the house and asked who Blauvelt was he replied, "I am a man for my country and will fight for it til I die." General Grey replied that he was was also a man for his country," and complimented Blauvelt on his patriotism. Many years later an attempt of Cornelius Blauvelt's was life was made but he managed to escape.
The troops who committed this coutrage to the Americans were some time afterwards captured by a body of American soldiers and were all either shot or put to the sword. When the British captives cried for quarter they were met with jeers and shouts of "Remember Old Tappan!"
There were many Blauvelts involved in the Revolutionary War on both sides. Captain Abraham Blauvelt, Cornelius' older brother, was captured that fateful night and bayoneted while Cornelius's younger brother Theunis, who was a loyalist, eventually moved to Nova Scotia at the War's end.
More information can be found (wikipedia) and here. I've just touched the main points relevant to me but there is much more to the story. So was Cornelius and double crosser or not? How could he do that to his own brother? Facts from History left unanswered make for some of the best storylines for books.
After 4 days of assisting the local militia in driving cattle out of reach of British foragers, Colonel george Baylor moved his troops north and located quarters for them throughout barns and homesteads in what is now River Vale, NJ near Tappan. To keep their position secure in such proximity to the enemy, Colonel Baylor positioned 12 men on the only bridge across the river, so as to provide sufficient alarm of an approaching enemy. According to Blauvelt tradition, this guard near the bridge was stationed at the Cornelius Blauvelt farm just above the bridge with the officers stationed in the house itself. The Blauvelts recalled later that the men positioned on the bridge left their positions early on the evening of the massacre to rejoin their companions in the barn saying that it was useless for them to keep watch as the night was so dark that the enemy could never find their way about. The captain upon hearing this ordered them back to their posts only to have them return a short time later with the same arguements. (The return of the patrols may not reflect any dereliction of duty, but only that the patrols were relieved on regular basis)
Meanwhile, waiting for the cover of darkness, a regiment of British Dragoons under command of Major-General Charles Grey began to head toward the bridge. Using a pincer move with the other end of the point under command of Lord Cornwallis himself, they surrounded the Blauvelt farm using intel gathered from local tories. At one or two in the morning of the 28th, the British efectively cut off the militia from the main body of the force and proceded to kill or take the guard without giving any alarm to the rest of the troops quartered at farms nearby. The guard was attacked with bayonets, with only one American managing to escape. The officers inside were captured without injury. Five soldiers in the barn were injured mortally and were buried under a large tree near the site the next day. Many more soldiers were bayoneted even though they asked for quarters.
In the end 17 were wounded, 5 dead, 33 taken prisoner and 8 of those wounded. But, why would I relate this story? Sure it happened on a Blauvelt farm, but there is a dark side to this story. In 1776 Cornelius Blauvelt was listed as a 1st Lieutenant in the Bergen Militia but he was neither attacked or taken prisoner on that night with not a single cents worth of property plundered dispite the fact that American officers werer found quartered there. The initial encounter between Blauvelt and General Grey sounds like an exchange of passwords. When the British entered the house and asked who Blauvelt was he replied, "I am a man for my country and will fight for it til I die." General Grey replied that he was was also a man for his country," and complimented Blauvelt on his patriotism. Many years later an attempt of Cornelius Blauvelt's was life was made but he managed to escape.
The troops who committed this coutrage to the Americans were some time afterwards captured by a body of American soldiers and were all either shot or put to the sword. When the British captives cried for quarter they were met with jeers and shouts of "Remember Old Tappan!"
There were many Blauvelts involved in the Revolutionary War on both sides. Captain Abraham Blauvelt, Cornelius' older brother, was captured that fateful night and bayoneted while Cornelius's younger brother Theunis, who was a loyalist, eventually moved to Nova Scotia at the War's end.
More information can be found (wikipedia) and here. I've just touched the main points relevant to me but there is much more to the story. So was Cornelius and double crosser or not? How could he do that to his own brother? Facts from History left unanswered make for some of the best storylines for books.
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