OLD NEW YORK. DECEMBER, 1889. THE PRISONS OF THE REVOLUTION. At the outbreak of the Revolution most of the British residents withdrew from this city, and others followed soon after. It could not be imagined by any optimist that New York city would escape the ravages of war, and the inhabitants very largely followed the examples of the officials. Some went to England, but more withdrew to country places, so that it is probable that at the time of the battle of Long Island not much more than half of the population remained. The royalists had fled because the island was in the hands of the Americans, and the Whigs had removed. because the fortunes of war might soon make it a British post. The latter happened. The unfortunate battle of Gowanus, on August 27th, 1776, delivered the whole lower part of Manhattan Island into the possession of English and Hessian troops, being occupied by them September 15th, and on the 16th of November the surrender of Fort Washington completed the transfer. Near here, also, the battle of White Plains and of Harlem had been fought. The campaign was so far much in favor of the enemy, much spoils of war falling into his hands as well as many prisoners. One thousand are estimated thus to have been taken on Long Island, and twenty-seven hundred at Fort Washington. What should be done with these men? This was the question that confronted the English commander, and he solved it as Sherman, Grant, Thomas and Lee at a later day solved it. The large vacant buildings in the town were used for prisons and hospitals, and smaller ones were occupied for other military purposes. It is a large hospital that will have more than fifty or sixty beds, and here were hundreds of sick and wounded men. In most towns the size that New York was then the jails will not hold over thirty or forty prisoners, and few buildings are large enough to contain double that number. Yet, as the headquarters of the invading army in the American colonies, it might be necessary to have in custody several thousand at a time. The population had diminished; the rebels, who were chiefly Presbyterians and Dutch Reformed, had removed, and their churches were vacant. These edifices were accordingly the first to be used. The other churches. followed, with all the other public buildings which could be spared, such as the Jail, the Bridewell, Columbia College and the Hospital. The largest buildings besides these were the sugar houses, or places where sugar was refined. Two of these were thus pressed into service. The most important prisons were the Provost, or the Jail, now the Hall of Records, and the Sugar House in Liberty street. Others were the Brick Church on Beekman street and Park row, where the Potter building now is; the North Dutch Church, on the corner of William and Fulton streets; the Middle Dutch Church, on the east side of Nassau street, between Cedar and Liberty streets; Columbia College, at the end of Park place, as it then was; the Bridewell, in the Park, near where the City Hall is; the City Hall of that time, at the corner of Nassau street and Wall street, now occupied by the Sub-Treasury; the Quaker Meeting House in the present Pearl street, north of the end of Hague street; the Presbyterian Church in Wall street, nearly opposite the end of New street; the Scotch Church in Cedar street, on the south side, half way between Nassau street and Broadway; the French Church in Pine street, at the northeast corner of Nassau, and the Rhinelander Sugar House, corner of Duane and Rose streets. Only two of these buildings are now standing, the last and the first. The rage for improvement has destroyed all the rest. Those churches which were not so occupied were the two Episcopal churches then standing, St. George's and St. Paul's. Trinity was burned down at just about this time. The Methodist Church in John street was unmolested, and the Lutheran Church in the Swamp. These were favored because John Wesley, the head of the Methodist connection, was a supporter of the British crown, and it was supposed his followers were also; and the church at Frankfort and William streets, because the Hessian troops could hear service there in their own language. The Dutch Church in Garden street was not injured, nor the Jews' Synagogue in Mill street, but no reason is known. for this exemption. The Lutheran Church on Broadway was burned in the same fire that destroyed Trinity, to which it was a near neighbor. After New York had surrendered none of the American commanders thought of making any attempt to recapture it, except when the enemy should be completely driven out of other places. There was a strong sentiment in favor of Great Britain among native New Yorkers; the island was easily defended, rough hills being at the north, and war ships completely commanding it at the south; communication was at all times open with the mother country, and there must of necessity be some place on this side of the water where military stores could be collected, and which could be used as a station for large bodies of troops. It might be devastated by fire, and this was what was charged upon the American troops by the British. Soon after the latter occupied the city, a most dreadful conflagration broke out, destroying several hundred houses. This the English writers steadily declared was done by Washington's orders. If all the houses were burned down the English must evacuate the city, there being no winter quarters, or build temporary barracks, which might also be destroyed. As a centre of operations of the King's army, 'there would naturally be brought to it all the suspected persons, the notorious rebels of the American Colonies. Many efforts were made to capture John Adams, Samuel Adams, William Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson. Probably the most noted civilian taken was Laurens, once President of the Continental Congress, who was confined for a long time in the Tower of London, and the most noted military man was Charles Lee, ranking MajorGeneral of the army. He had been ignominiously captured in his quarters, and carried off, without hat, shoes, or stockings, by a party of British dragoons. He was imprisoned in the City Hall, in Wall street, in one of the dungeons which had before been occupied by the victims of the negro plot. But many thousands of those of less rank were taken during the five years the war was in active progress. Fighting between squads of men was of daily occurrence, and many persons of consideration were set upon by small bodies of marauders and brought in by boat to the city. Others were the victims of greater contests. One of the officers thus captured has left us a record of the preliminary imprisonment that was his fate, before he reached New York: "We were marched to an old stable or outhouse, where we |