​Tired from the toil of the trip [from Philadelphia, through New Jersey] and having
formed some acquaintances in New York, I thought I would visit Boston and then return
to New York, whence I would embark for England.  The harshness of the winter held me
suspended for some time and finally made me change the plan.  The sound and the
rivers remained frozen for a long time, obstructing all navigation, and the roads,
although covered with snow, became impassable with the frequent thaws -- neither
sledge nor wheels could attempt them.  So I decided to remain here until the weather
improved and I moved to better lodging, at Maiden Lane No. 9, the home of Mr.
Ellsworth and an excellent private inn, paying seven pesos fuertes weekly (not including
fire and liquor) for myself.  The servant I had brought from Philadelphia, who was
obligated to serve me for two and a half years, escaped a few days after my arrival
here.  I had bought him for ten guineas in Philadelphia, on board an Irish ship bearing a
cargo of more than three hundred male and female slaves.  John Dean (his name) was
born in Scotland and was about sixteen years old; he seemed to me honest and without
mischievousness, but the event proved the contrary.

On the twentieth of February I set out on another foray, this one to West Point, with the intention of seeing this celebrated place and the neighboring areas, scenes of military actions in the recent war.  At two o'clock in the afternoon, provided with letters of recommendation given me by Governor Clinton, my friend Colonel Hamilton, General McDougall, Mr. Parker, etc., I started out on my sledge, accompanied by Cornet Taylor.  At three o'clock we reached the country house of Colonel Robert Morris, ten miles from New York, one of the handsomest and most pleasing of its type that I have seen in America, as much for its location as for the neatness and taste with which it was built.  Two miles farther are Land Hill and Laurel Hill, where we stopped and climbed up to Fort Washington, situated on the former, where I had the pleasure of viewing again
the famous British lines I have mentioned.  Three miles ahead we crossed Kings Bridge,
and traveling another mile, we arrived at Courtland House, where we were very well
received and were lodged for the night of the General and her two younger sons,
       
Early in the morning we sallied forth and, covering the distance of fourteen miles
over extremely broken and hilly ground, reached White Plains, where we had breakfast
in a small tavern, the only house remaining there, and then proceeded to visit the posts
and positions of the American and British armies that operated on said ground in
September, 1776.  
       
Four miles farther is another small river, the Sawmill, over which there is a wooden bridge, and one mile farther the small town of Tarrytown, on the North River.  On the highway near Tarrytown is a large tree marking the spot where Major André was arrested by three young, rustic militiamen, an incident that produced so much clatter afterwards.  From there they took him to New Salem, ten miles distant, and thence to West Point, ten miles farther on.  Nine miles from Tarrytown is New Bridge, a well-built wooden structure over the Croton River, the waters of which are quite abundant.  Here we ate middlingly in a rural tavern  and, following our route on a road that is everywhere broken, hilly, and covered with rocks, at sunset reached Peekskill, a village of some twenty or thirty small houses on the North River ten miles farther on.  Here we came upon a mediocre tavern and a most comical scene between a squire of the locality, a justice of the peace, and a drunk who thrust himself into the tavern and insulted them in a thousand ways.  Nobody dared to restrain or throw him out, notwithstanding said insulted personages comprised the police of the town and manifested a desire to do so.
       
The next day we continued our journey over the ice of the North River, the surface of which had the appearance of a very handsome and polished lamina.  The ice must have been two feet thick, and the snow on top of this one and a half feet; we did not have the least misgivings about danger, for, although it has broken many times in those places where the wind introduces itself between the surface of the water and the mass of ice, the way was already so beaten with the multitude of sledges which came and went on the river that there was no basis for the least care.  I assure you ingenuously that this entire spectacle seemed to me one of the strangest one can see in nature.  Both shores of the river are extremely elevated and the surface of its waters quite extensive, so that to look at the height of the mountains while one is traveling on the river, or, on the other hand, to observe from the heights the carriages on the ice, is a magnificent and extraordinary scene; the objects look so small in the midst of these majestic strokes of mature that the sledge and horses seemed to me the playthings of a child drawn by a pair of lap dogs.
       
At ten o'clock in the morning we arrived at West Point and directed our steps to
the tavern there, without anybody investigating or caring to know who the newly arrived
strangers were -- one of the most pleasant circumstances enjoyed in a free country. 
 At eleven o'clock, after a second breakfast, Mr. Taylor and I went to visit the commander of the post, to whom we presented our credentials and who received us with the greatest hospitality and attention, obliging us to take lodging in his own house.  [They tour the facility.]

From here we ascended the near-by mountain which commands Fort Clinton and
the plain in which is located the main buildings, that is, the quarters, the house of the
commandant, store houses, etc.; there I saw Fort Putnam (also takes its name from the
colonel who began its construction), which follows Fort Clinton in solidity and strength,
although it is much smaller, and is the work of the American General Kosciusko, a Pole
by birth, who came to this continent at the time of the revolution.  A series of mountains
which mutually dominate one another make these positions seem very precarious
defenses, to which one adds that the productions of art in fortifying them are neither
ingenious nor of much soundness.
       
Having finished the visit of all these positions, we retired, around three o'clock to
the house of the commander, Colonel Hull, who gave us a good meal.  In the evening
we enjoyed the company of the ladies of the garrison, who, because of the
novelty of foreigners, came to have tea with Mrs. Hull.

The next day, after breakfast, we resumed our military visit . . . , ascending the mountain with no little difficulty and toil, for it is quite high and perpendicular and was covered with snow and ice, we reached Points No. 1, 2, 3, and 4, in a circumference of five miles around the entire post.  These are still more redoubts, the ramparts of which can barely support light artillery.  A series of commanding grounds surrounding this post have produced such a number of weak advance works that the higher parts, which ought to be the strongest, are the weakest.

Our visit this day ended at a wooden blockhouse on the river, very well built and the most advanced work in that part, and at three-thirty, not a little tired, we reached the lgyodging of Major of Artillery Doughty, who gave us a very good meal.  In the evening we
drank tea and had supper at the house of the artillery commander, Major Bauman, who
likewise treated us very well.

Early the next day we crossed the river in a sledge and visited the fortifications on Constitution Island, which consist of three very strong redoubts (very well built and
located in dominant places) protecting the great chain and the passage of the river in
that spot.  We made an observation there: cutting the ice in the middle of the channel,
we found it to be two and a half feet thick.  We crossed the river to the location called
the Ferry and, ascending a mountain extremely high and difficult of access, visited
North and South Forts, medium redoubts located in very dominant places; from them an
immense prospectus over vast lands and the North River is revealed. 

At the foot of these heights and two miles from West Point is the house of
General McDougall (formerly of Colonel Robinson), and here we alighted at three
o'clock.  His son the Colonel, at the time the only one there, gave us a very good meal;
certainly the best apples I have ever tasted, I ate there that day (called pippins, and
those of this area are very special). 
       
West Point is the most advantageous position that could be selected to cut off the
navigation of the river, because, in addition to the narrowness of the latter at that spot, it
turn it makes forces every vessel to shift sails and consequently reduce its speed, at
which time the obstacles and batteries already mentioned can destroy it very easily.  An
attack upon the post by land would have been of more probable success, but, as the
army always maintained such a position of coming to its aid in case of necessity, this
was not possible either.  The location is extremely romantic and majestic in the higher
parts.  Butter Hill, contiguous to it, rises twelve hundred feet above the surface of the
river.  One also sees from West Point the Catskill Mountains, the highest in this part of
the continent.
  
Early on the twenty-sixth, after a light breakfast, we started out on our return to
New York by way of Jersey, with the intention of seeing the Passaic cascade.  Major
Doughty, Mr. Taylor and I accommodated ourselves very well in two sledges and went
down the river over the ice, like lightning.  Five miles from West Point, on the west bank,
are the ruins of Fort Montgomery and on the opposite bank, the extremity called
Anthony's nose, upon which had been fixed a chain in order to cut off the navigation of
the river, protected by said fort, the loss of which resulted in the Americans forming the
idea of fortifying and establishing West Point.
       
Continuing our Laplandish route over the ice, we arrived at Verplancks Point,
seven miles farther down, where we went on land.  Going about two miles, we reached
Kings Ferry, opposite Stony Point, where there is a redoubt, capacious and very well
built (perhaps the best I have even seen of its kind), called Lafayette.  Also in this
vicinity is the encampment the American and French armies occupied in 1782 upon
their withdrawal from Virginia, after the capture of Cornwallis, etc.

From Kings Ferry we crossed the river over the ice, with no slight misgiving, for in some places the water penetrated and the ice was known to be quite thin, but comforting us were a good guide we had in front and stick in the hand to support ourselves should our feet open a large hole.  So we all crossed on foot, sending before us the sledge and horses for greater safety.  The river in this spot is something more than a mile wide.  In a poor tavern there we found some fresh fish (just caught in the river through a hole made for this purpose in the ice), from which we asked them to prepare something to eat while we visited the place.
       
Stony Point is on the west bank of the North River, exactly in front of Fort Lafayette, and is by its shape and location one of the most advantageous positions for fortifications that nature has formed.  It completely commands what ground there is within (p. 91) the reach of cannon and by its configuration naturally flanks all the avenues by which it can be attacked.  So with very little help from art one can erect there the strongest fortification that can be imagined.  At present there is only a small fort of earth and wood there, which was what the Americans reduced it to after having taken it and ruined its fortifications, but one still sees very distinctly the lines, moats, etc. of these as they were built by the British, and I assure you ingenuously that, having examined them well and meditated upon the matter, I cannot conceive how the operation of the capture was effected, and with such little cost.  The garrison consisted of eight hundred well-regulated troops, a number sufficient for its defense.  We should not resort to the subterfuge of saying they were taken by surprise, knowing that the advance posts gave the alarm in time and fired upon the attacking American parties.  The strength of the latter amounted in all to twelve hundred men, selected and led by General Wayne.
       
The losses were sixty dead and forty wounded on the part of the British, thirty dead and seventy wounded for the Americans. These circumstances leave me in no doubt that this was one of the most brilliant feats of its kind one can find in military history.  Our military investigations completed, we returned to the tavern, where we found the meal we had ordered already prepared with the addition of potatoes, good butter, and abundant cider.  Our appetites were well disposed and so we are grandly, in the country style.  Soon afterward we took to the road, for it was already two o'clock.  Our friends and companions recrossed the river, to take their sledge (which had remained in Fort Lafayette) and return to West Point; Mr. Taylor and I took ours and continued our journey to Passaic Falls.
       
About two miles farther on, near the riverbank, is the house of Mr. Smith, where Major André stopped off and held his final conference with General Arnold, it is quite capacious, new, and of good architecture.  Three miles further on we found the small town of Haverstraw, situated exactly on the bank of the North river, where we noticed an enormous quantity of firewood; this was to be sent to New York whenever the ice should desist and permit the navigation of the river, because so great a shortage was being experienced there that a cartload of firewood was worth twenty or thirty pesos.  We continued seven miles to Clarkstown, which has about fifteen houses in its vicinity; here we stopped to give food to the horses and warm ourselves a bit, for the cold pressed upon us like a demon.  As darkness came, having traveled seven miles farther, we reached Orangetown (some call it Tappan, from the name of the district), the inhabitants of which are contained in sixteen houses.  We spent the night in a Dutch inn there.
       
Here one can see the position where the American army was encamped in 1781 where the unfortunate André was hanged.  I have seen the room where he was imprisoned, people who gave him assistance, and the site of the execution.  His body was buried at the foot of the gallows, and his sepulcher remains there, with two ordinary flat stones without inscription or mark indicating the least remembrance of his fame.  I do not doubt, having examined the matter thoroughly and gathered the most authentic information, that the plan of the project which led him to the mentioned punishment was his production entirely, based on the intimate friendship he had formed in Philadelphia with Mrs. Arnold (then Miss Shippen), which channel seemed to him, and without doubt was, the most suitable for managing the conspiracy.  The result revealed very clearly that he did not lack ability for closet machination and intrigue, but at the same time lets us know he was not the man for its execution, for he did not have that presence of mind which is indispensable for handling critical moments.  The way that Arnold played his role (that is, knowing through a letter that André had been arrested, he escaped, without the loss of a moment, from the midst of all his enemies, over a million hazards) forms a quite singular and characteristic contrast of the temper and spirit of both men. 

​May 28, 1784.  At five thirty in the afternoon, I set sail from Albany Pier, New York, on the sloop Schuyler, Captain Willet, for Albany.  The passengers were two Frenchmen, three American men, and two American women of fairly good manners and not unsociable.  With a lazy wind from the south we went up the North River and passed several delightful and very well situated country houses, outstanding among them those of Mr. Lespenard, Mr. Montier, Mr. Eliot, Mr. W. Bayard, Mr. Oliver DeLancey, etc.  The wind having changed to the north, we cast anchor in Tappan Bay, thirty-six miles from New York, at seven o'clock in the morning.
        [
May] 29.  We remained here the entire day, with the sole recourse of our small
society and some books, for the wind was blowing too strongly for us to venture to
disembark for a walk on land.
       
[May] 30.  The wind having calmed a bit, we set sail at four o'clock in the morning and, aided by the tide, arrived at eight o'clock at Haverstraw, four miles farther on, where it was necessary for us to drop anchor again, the wind having increased too much.  Around nine-thirty most of us went on land and took a good walk.  The Frenchman and I ate in a poor but clean tavern, and I had an adventure with a shepherdess in the manner of the shepherd Phido, but with greater success.  The wind having fallen and the tide rising in our favor, we set sail at four o'clock, in the afternoon.  At the setting of the sun we were off Stony Point and Fort Lafayette, helped by the tide. for the wind was adverse; thus we passed Peekskll and finally reached Horse Race, where we anchored at eleven o'clock, six miles up river from where we had set sail.
       
[May] 31.  At seven-thirty in the morning we set sail with a lazy wind from the north and at ten o'clock anchored about a mile farther up, in front of a beautiful cascade created by nature on the east bank.  We disembarked to take a walk with the ladies and in the shade of the trees had a colloquy somewhat gallant and amorous.  At four o'clock we set sail with the current and at the setting of the sun passed Fort Montgomery opposite Anthonys Nose.  At nine o'clock we passed by Buttermilk Falls, one mile from West Point on the West Bank, and by all the works of this post, Constitution Island, etc., having travelled seven miles.  Here we came upon a fresh wind from the south, with which we soon reached the spot they call Blowing Hole (for the reason that the wind always blows here extraordinarily).  This point is the limit of the Highlands, six miles from West Point.  Three miles up river on the east bank is the town of New Windsor, and a little before the chevaux-de-frise, in front of Polopels Island, of the same type as those on the Delaware.  Here we were becalmed, and with the tide and a light wind we continued, passing the town of Newburgh about two miles farther, exactly on the bank, and two miles farther on the opposite bank, the town of Fishkill, where we anchored at three o'clock in the morning.
       
June 1.  At eight o'clock we set sail with a lazy wind from the south, passing the town of Poughkeepsie, twelve miles up river on the east bank; at eleven, Davis Store, Livingstons Store, Duers Distillery, Shenks Mills, North's Store, and various other buildings on one or the other bank.  Here we drank the river water, exceedingly good and drinkable.  Continuing up river, six miles farther on the west bank is Devoes Ferry; farther ahead, Esopus Island; eight miles ahead, Esopus Creek; ten miles farther, Mudlane Island (to the left of the river, in the interior of the continent, are the high Catskills, part of the Allegheny Mountains); two miles farther, Red Hook Landing and Island; one mile farther, Tory Livingston House, on the east bank; on the same bank two miles farther, Widow Livingston House and Manor; four miles ahead, West Camp and East Camp, two small towns opposite each other on the banks of the river, founded by Germans; four miles up river, Livingston Upper Manor and House; four miles farther, Claverack and Lansingburgh Landing Places, the former on the east, the latter on the west bank; eight miles farther on the east bank, the remarkable Kinderhook Landing Place, nine miles up river, Coeyman's Overslaugh, a bar which not vessel drawing more than nine feet an pass; nine miles up river, Upper Overslaugh, another
bar, which at high tide only has seven and a half feet of water; here we cast anchor at
two o'clock in the morning, because it was dark and we could not see the pickets which
serve as marks.
       
June 2.  At four o'clock in the morning, the day already bright, we set sail and half an hour later tied up at the Albany wharves three miles up river on the east bank.  Half a mile from Albany is the house of Mr. Henry Cuylar, large and of good architecture; on the opposite bank and almost in front is that of General Schuyler, better in every respect.  In the northern extreme of the town, also on the river, is another famous house (not as well situated as the two previous ones, but larger), belonging to Mr. Stephen Van Rensselaer.  After disembarking, I took a long walk through the city in the company of Dr. Eliot, one of the passengers, and then obtained lodging at the Hollenbake Inn.

[June] 3.  At three o'clock in the afternoon I left Albany, with my servant, on two very good horses rented for two pesos daily.  The weather was very good and the road so pleasant that it was with the greatest delight I continued my journey on the banks of the North River as far as the spot where the Mohawk River joins its waters, about seven miles from Albany.  From here I traveled over the banks of the Mohawk to Cohoes Falls, five miles farther up, where I arrived at five o'clock.  The grasses of the fields exuded such an aromatic odor, the forests presented a sight so fertile, the grains and other crops appeared so beautiful and luxuriant, and the land so rich that I thought I was in Puerto Rico, Cuba, or part of our American continent.  The entire region is middlingly populated, and proportionately there is sufficient agriculture, but the inhabitants seem to be poor.  The women commonly walk without shoes, and the number of Negroes is large.  The latter and the whites speak Dutch generally, so that the traveler imagines himself in the middle of a Dutch colony.
When I saw this very famous cascade I confess it surprised me and gave me such contentment as few objects in nature have produced in my spirit.  The height of the falls is about 40 varas [OED: A linear measure used in Spain, Portugal, and Spanish America, of
varying length in different localities, but usually about 33 inches long; a Spanish yard. and the width about 220, but this is not all that forms its beauty; the play of the waters among the irregularities of the rock and the harmony, union, and aggregate of the whole give it an
air of majesty and symmetry exceeding what the mind can conceive without having
seen it first.  Various other effects contribute to embellish the object; some of them is the
rainbow the rays of the sun form in the particles of water floating in the atmosphere
thereabout.  Having examined all this very well and admiring more each time the land
on the banks of this river, the most fertile and luxuriant region of all North America, I
rested a little in a house nearby, where two country girls gave me the freshest water to
drink and very good conversation.  It is a peculiar thing that almost all the inhabitants of
this region speak both Dutch and English!
       
At seven o'clock in the evening I arrived at Half Moon (the river forms exactly this figure there) on the banks of the North River, where I took lodging at the home of the widow Pepples.  Here I had very good tea, supper, etc., and a conversation with the daughter of said widow, about sixteen years old, to whom I offered to send some books from New York.
       
[June] 4.  At seven thirty in the morning I sallied forth, continuing on the west bank of the North River.  At four miles are the mills for sawing wood called Funday's Mills, and three miles farther the stream they call Stillwater, or Palmer's Mills, the former because here one begins to feel the rapidity of the current of the river, the latter for some mills for sawing wood, like the preceding ones.  It is incredible the quantity of sawed wood one sees, all the distance from Albany, upon this river on rafts, by means of which they transport the wood to New York at very little cost.

GOVERNOR"S ISLAND. Nature seems to have placed this spot at the entrance of our
harbour, on purpose for a pleasurable occasional retreat to the citizens of New-York
during the spring, summer and fall seasons. The soil, naturally good, and consisting of
about seventy-five acres, when improved into walks, groves and gardens, cannot
otherwise than present a delightful scene of recreation to the man of taste, particularly
after the fatigues and cares of business. The distance from the city is about three
quarters of a mile, being a safe and easy passage, and free from the inconveniencies
and expence which the Philadelphians experience in their three miles ride, through a
suffocating species of dust, from that city to Gray’s gardens. As improvements, in this
view, are now begun on Governor’s island, a house and summer houses erected, and
several thousand trees planted out, we may soon expect to see it metamorphosed from
a neglected spot, into a seat of taste and rural elegance. The island abounds with
excellent fresh water; and a clean gravelly shore, washed by waves that are poured in
upon us, twice every twenty four hours, directly from the bosom of the Atlantic, attended
by a fresh sea breeze, offers every inducement to gratification, to those who are fond of
bathing and swimming, or wading in the water. The prospect from the plains and rising
grounds is delightful; on one side a spacious and beautiful bay, covered with vessels of
every description, either leaving or coming into port, from all parts of the continent, and
every quarter of the globe: That part of the Sound called the East River, and the
majestic Hudson, who invites the eye to follow his waves a considerable distance, as
they roll toward the mountains of the north, form a grand and picturesque scene on two
other sides, and to be equalled in few situations, in this or any other country. The city of
New-York, (the Naples of America) exhibits from this place, an elegant appearance,
which will daily become more so, as the improvements are completed in the
neighbourhood of the old battery, and new buildings erected in the place of stables,
barracks, and other petty edifices, which ought always to be in the back ground or less
noticed parts of a large city.

October 15th [1783].   We went to the boat which was already full of passengers; they were all, as they say in America, gentlemen, that is, merchants, butchers, laborers, on their way to Albany to clear themselves of the suspicion of Toryism.  They drank all day in order to forget their situation.  If to be a bore were a crime, they all certainly deserved to be hanged.  The greatest annoyance to me was that the wind was adverse and the ebb was too strong.  It seemed that I should be obliged to stay a few days in this company.  
           
The Hudson is, without doubt, one of the most beautiful and extraordinary rivers in the world.  It flows straightly from north to south and often forces its way through a chain of mountains which it divides perpendicularly; it is more like a perfect canal which a human had led through the rocks.  It would be impossible to describe the astonishing impressions, picturesque situations and charming banks of this river.  The most talented painter, a poet of a most exuberant imagination could only give a feeble notion of it.  Nature did everything to this land, and art as yet spoiled nothing in it; everything there breathes majesty, a greatness which astonishes man, and a variety which charms him.  Because of insufficient tide and steady adverse winds we cast anchor six miles from the city, opposite the beautiful house of Mr. Apthorp, one of our traveling companions who was accused of being a Tory and had to go to Albany to clear himself.  His house, built well and with great taste, has a spacious garden, perfectly planned, with a giant rock in the middle of the yard; one can see from thence both rivers, the East River and the Hudson, which water both sides of the island.
           
October 16th.  At 11 in the morning the wind blew from the south and we set out on our way.  The weather was beautiful, nearly as warm as in Summer.  We had plenty of leisure to observe the charming banks of New Jersey in all their beauty.  They are covered with impenetrable forests which look as if they grow on rocks; the rocks rising perpendicularly over the water or scattered at random present a picture of immense disorder.  In one hour we made as much progress as we made (p. 126) all day yesterday with so much difficulty and passed near Forts Lee and Knyphausen.  The latter was called Fort Washington before it was captured by Gen. Howe.  It is still guarded by British troops whose lines extend to King's Bridge, or rather to a small natural port Spuyten-Duyvil, in the northern part of Manhattan.  The American pickets are stationed on the opposite bank.  We saw two hostile sentries holding a peaceful conversation.
           
From Spuyten-Duyvil to the Croton River we sailed along the estate of Philipse's; it extends nearly twenty four miles along the bank and reaches from four to five miles in depth.  This land is of high value and best cultivated in the State of New York; it is now to be taken from the proprietor, confiscated and sold.  The old Colonel pays for his loyalty to His Majesty, the British King, with a loss of an estate worth nearly a million pounds sterling yearly and is left with his wife and children to the discretion of the British parliament.  I saw him at New York, broken down with age and sickness; he was preparing to leave his country and follow the rest of the British army.
           
The river widens here and forms a large lake which the Dutch called Tappan Sea; the name was preserved till now.  Before entering a place which is called Rockland, one crosses the boundary of New Jersey; beyond that point both banks belong to New York.  Tappan Sea is nearly five miles long.  The river then resumes its usual width.  To the east we see a land cultivated very carefully; the houses, settlements, and mills fill the valley and adorn the highlands, while the western part preserves constantly its wild beauty.  The mountains which present an array of cliffs and dense forests seen to indicate a very monotonous view, but the skilled hand of nature scattered this deformed material with such an art and placed it in situations se well chosen that it forms an unbroken chain which enchants the eye.  On top of one of the highest peaks we saw a large pile of dried wood together with various combustible materials and we were informed that such precautions extend to Albany and served as signals in case a move by the British army or fleet.
           
Our attention was called also to a very lofty peak on which there is a lake, where very good fish can be caught.  A mile beyond this point the land begins to grow level on both sides and the river widens again and forms a kind of bay which has preserved its old Dutch name Haverstraw-Bay.  But the river does not long enjoy this enlargement; two capes, Stony Point and Verplancks Point, close it in and form a kind of narrows.  These two important (p. 127) points were captured by Henry Clinton in 1777, but two years later General Wayne attacked Col. Johnson at Stony Point and took him prisoner with all his men; the timely action of Col. Webster of the 33rd Regiment saved Verplancks.
           
I forgot to mention that on this side of Stony Point we saw the small house of Mr. Smith, where the inquisitive Andre and Gen. Arnold had their meetings; I was told that Arnold was not the only one in his family who was cheated and that love strew with flowers the way which brought the Major to his degrading death.
           
If this be true, then I do not know of any more unhappy end than the one which this young officer had found; but let us hope that some day an impartial historian combining this dolorous war with the fate of this unhappy man will do justice to his virtue and will console his tormented soul.
           
From Stony Point the mountains rise higher and higher, and the bed of the river becomes narrower and narrower; the river is deeper here, but not swifter; it flows majestically and is in no hurry to leave its beautiful banks.
           
It is difficult to imagine surrounding more romantic than these.  The pen of Ariosto could not invent a like miracle.  One breathes here a mild melancholy; and deep silence which reigns here invites one to meditation and opens a broad vista to the imagination.
           
It was after sunset when we passed between the rocks.  The pale moonlight illumined the mountain tops which bowed, as if vaults over our heads; looking at my reflection in the clear and tranquil water I remained in ecstasy for a few moments, but I awoke soon when the ship trembled slightly as she started to move forward.

We passed quickly the Forts Clinton and Montgomery which were captured by the British after a stubborn defense.  The young Count Grabowski was killed there in the attack; he was a Captain of the English army and gained the friendship and respect of his generals.
           
The wind which gained entrance into these narrows began to blow with greater force and carried us off sooner than I wanted.  It was eight o'clock when we disembarked at West Point where we had to stop.  Gen. Knox to whom we handed the letters from Gen. Washington was so good that he invited us to his house, and as I spent a very bad night on the boat, I felt happy finding myself in a tolerably good bed.
           
October 17.  This morning I saw from the windows of my room two regiments of infantry; they looked quite well in arms.  Those who are accustomed to the appearance of the European soldiers would not be satisfied with the manner in which American soldiers go through their exercises.  They would find in them neither that martial step, nor that admirable coordination which particularly distinguishes the German army.  Yet these men and the militia so badly drilled forced two whole armies, excellently disciplined and presenting a formidable array, to surrender.
            
Opposite West Point is Constitution Island.  A chain stretched from one bank to the other completely closes the passage.
           
The highest of the forts is called Fort Putnam; when Arnold planned his treason, he ordered a large breach to be made there leading the American officers to believe that he did it to enlarge the interior of the fort.  All these fortifications are in poor condition, but nature herself contributed abundantly to their defense; the towering rocks everywhere make them nearly impregnable, and even the smallest handful of men skilfully managed would be able to stop a large army here.  The rest of the American army is camping on a small plain at the foot of the (p. 129) mountains.  We were assured that it numbers nearly four thousand men, but I hardly believe it to be that large.
           
At noon we left our General; he is an ardent Republican, formerly a bookseller in Boston; he was one of the first of the 'rebels' and one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the Revolution.  He lent us his boat which conveyed us to Poughkeepsie in less than five hours.  After we left the narrows formed by West Point and Constitution Island, we saw another small island called Pollopells.  Though both banks are rather well cultivated, their aspect is less pleasing; one does not meet here those charming pictures which distinguish the vicinity of West Point.  We saw several iron foundries, but the British army destroyed the settlements.  The surrounding woods are mostly oaks, pines and cedars and greatly facilitate the mining of iron ore.  This mining is easy, anyhow, as the mineral is found on the surface of the earth.  I read during the day the English translation of the Travels of Peter Kalm; it amuses me especially by its exaggerated exactness; the author omits no story which he heard from the people.  I think he was a better botanist than historian, for everything which he describes of the herbs and trees of this land is instructive.
           
We were much dissatisfied when, after arriving at Poughkeepsie, we learned that Gov. Clinton was away; we were especially recommended to him and I hoped that he would give me accurate information concerning this State and some events of the Revolution.  His mother-in-law whom we found at home received us very hospitably; she is 74 years of age, a Presbyterian; her hospitality and kindness were extraordinary.
           
October 18th.  We expected to leave this morning and to reach the Livingston Manor by land, but it rained all day; and since the carriages used here are not covered, we preferred to stay and await better weather.  I used my leisure time in arranging the material for my diary and in supplying you with a few of the particulars still wanting to complete the picture of American customs and manners.  It may be taken as an axiom that a traveler dining each day with a different host will eat for a month the same kind of dishes prepared in the same manner.  The table of a general, a governor, a tenant or an inn-keeper is similar in all respects: mutton, beef, pork; pork, beef, mutton; beef, mutton, pork -- these are the fundamental articles of food at each meal.  It consists mostly of two large pieces of meat served with potatoes and with various salads.  I saw only one exception to this rule, and this was in the home (p. 130) of the richest citizen of Philadelphia at a dinner for twenty persons.
           
They are accustomed here to satisfy the appetite, not to irritate it; to be sure, those two large pieces are sufficient for anyone to eat his fill.
           
The poorest tenant in American eats more meat in one week than many a European farmer does, even in the countries where he fares best, in a whole year.  Rum mixed with water is the most popular drink, but you can find Portwine or Madeira everywhere.  Here they make excellent beer from molasses and some kind of fir-tree, called spruce-beer.  All inventions which make life more comfortable and pleasant, all luxuries are unknown to them, except in the cities; and even there these are very rare.  But those few pieces of furniture which serve their daily use are kept with cleanliness and elegance unseen in our countries.
           
October 19th.  We had a shower this morning; a very strong northern gale did not stop the rain.  We remained the whole day with our good old lady and with Mr. Benson, which whom I discussed the tax system of this province.  I also looked over a large book of laws of this State and saw that here, as everywhere, their sphere of application is very limited and their conception evidently contingent.
           
As to the tax system it may be said it is very imperfect and even arbitrary, and subject to many formalities.
           
October 20th.  On rising from my bed this morning I saw the tops of the Catskill mountains covered with snow; the weather was rather frosty, but clear, and the wind quieted completely; we decided to set out and bid farewell to our hosts.  I was sorry that we could not travel by water, but the wind was adverse and, moreover, we could not find a boat.  The only way to travel in this land when one has not his own horses is to hire a small wagon which makes nearly forty miles a day; these carriages are very inconvenient, especially when the roads are bad as they are now, but it is possible to suffer this fatigue, and, I think, it makes itself less felt if one travels far, than if one does so on horseback.  You can cross the whole of America in these wagons and reach the most remote points; and though the inns are not situated most conveniently, there is always something to eat -- good bread, fresh butter, potatoes, which are much more tasteful than the European, and often good mutton; this is a very good meal after a whole morning of shaking and fasting.  One often finds inns with beds, but it is safer to have one's own mattress and cover.  Fresh straw is more comfortable than an old bed, which is frequently full of vermin and never clean enough to assure the traveler a restful night.

We left Poughkeepsie at ten o'clock and for some time followed the bank of our beautiful river.  The ground was a little elevated and overlooking the banks of the river; after viewing sufficiently the fertile fields which the river waters, our eyes rested on the endless chains of bluish mountains.  Their tops covered with snow presented us a picture of severe winter, while we in the valley enjoyed a moderate temperature.  Often the turning of the road or a rock projecting from the water covered the view before us, but soon our attention was attracted to another surprise and the eyes, sensible to casual impression, forgot quickly what they beheld a moment before.
           
We soon saw the ruins of Kingston which was burnt by Gen. Vaughan who was sent with Henry Clinton to help Burgoyne.  These two Generals said that they came here in vain because he whom they had to join, no longer needed their help.  They burned all the houses here.  Several inhabitants perished in the flames.  Instead of going to Albany, which was then without a garrison and where the Americans had their stores and about two thousand sick in the hospital, they returned whence they came and a most terrible devastation was the only result of their expedition.   
           
We lost sight of the river two miles from Esopus and passed the forests of Rhinebeck Township; this region throughout its extension has nothing remarkable except that its inhabitants are mostly Germans or Dutchmen; they speak bad English and their accent is wholly foreign.  We saw on our way as many churches as houses and observed that the inhabitants of this region are better devotees than farmers.  In the main this country is badly cultivated and the forests are destroyed in such a manner that their absence will soon be painfully felt.  When they want to clear an acre of land, they set fire to the trees which cover it; many trees still show incisions which they make to get resin used in making pitch and tar.  All fences are made of timber and are built with imprudent waste; no wonder that we failed to see even one hundred large trees in a stretch of twelve miles.
           
At about five in the afternoon, leaving  [?] Albany county, we turned on our way to see Chancellor Livingston; this excursion brought us again to the banks of the river.  ***  His house had been burnt by the British and only recently rebuilt; we were received very hospitably and spent the evening very agreeably; therefore, it required much courage to leave such a charming place the next morning.  The house is situated very delightfully; the family occupying it is kind, and every traveler after a fatiguing and tedious voyage fells the charm of an agreeable society here more strongly.  Our fear to meet impassable (p. 132) roads was the only cause which prompted us to leave the place where we have been received so well; on leaving, we turned our eyes toward it several times and rewarded with sincere regret the hospitality showed to us.
           
October 21st.  The day was beautiful and sometimes the heat became nearly unbearable.  Traveling is disagreeable here; the road and bridges are in a bad condition and we moved slowly in mud; we had to ford several creeks.  The aspect of the country gave us ample time to meditate over the tediousness of our journey.  I was happy when the day was over; we spent the night near Kinderhook, 25 miles from Albany, in the inn of a Captain.
           
October 22nd.  My mattress was very useful to me last night; the innkeeper, though a Captain, had no beds for us and demanded such a price as if we had slept on feather beds instead of on the floor.  We left him wishing that he might get a quicker promotion in the army and be more moderate in his prices.
           
The roads were again bad and tedious this morning; we passed through a forest of fir-trees where we found several hunters lying in wait for squirrels.  The Americans are wonderful marksmen and seldom miss their mark.  Their column aimed always at the British officers during the war and several persons assured me that Great Britain lost more officers in America during the last war than America had lost in all parts of the world at any time.
           
After making twenty miles through the woods, mostly on foot, we saw Albany from the top of a hill and soon found ourselves there, safe and sound.
           
We lived beyond the city with Mr. [Alexander] Hamilton, brother-in-law to Gen. Schuyler.  His beautiful house stands on a hill overlooking a large portion of the country.  We intend to stay here two days to get the needed information about our voyage.  I hope that my diary will be more interesting henceforth; we are penetrating a country less known though famous because of important events.  
           
October 24th.  We came this morning to the city to dine with Col. Lewis, brother-in-law to Chancellor Livingston, and at the same time to visit the city.  Col. Hamilton accompanied us on this excursion, and we had the pleasure of being entertained by his conversation; he is a young man of twenty seven years and certainly one of the most distinguished citizens of America.
            
Albany has absolutely nothing deserving attention; only the large hospital built by the British during the war in Canada, may be interesting to the traveler; but the situation of the city is very beautiful and the river which serves to embellish it contributes also to facilitate trade with New York.        

October 25th.  We left Albany at noon, having only two small bundles as our whole baggage and a little sugar, tea and a few lemons as our whole stock of provisions.  At first we followed the bank of the Hudson to a place called Schuyler-Farms where we turned to the left to see the great Cohoes Falls on the Mohawk.  We had scarcely made three miles when we heard distinctly the roar of the falls.  "What is this noise" -- asked Mr. Vernon.  "That is the echo of the falls," I answered, and we forced our way ahead through the forest; with each step of our horses the noise increased until it became so great that we could not hear each other speak.  From time to time we saw through the trees the river sweeping vehemently away the foam collected at the banks.  The weather was fine and agreeable, but the spray caused by the violent commotion of the water falling from a considerable height warned us that we are near the place; the view of the falls was still obstructed by the wood, but the terrific noise itself made an impression on us.  The impatience of our curiosity, the strong feeling of loneliness which surrounded us -- all this produced a chaos in my soul which I like to experience.  At this point we left our horses and penetrated on foot into the wood, but it was impossible to describe my feelings when from the height of a hill I saw the gigantic cascade of water falling into the abyss; the river is 329 yards wide in this place and the height of the falls is 75 feet.
           
The river gains in swiftness before the falls because of the declivity of the ground.  The rocks at the brink of the falls form (p. 134) a series of dams which by checking to flow seem to add to the impetuosity and determination of the water to plunge headlong into the steaming surge.  Add to this an astonishing charm of a rainbow which unites the most vivid colors to the dusk of a dark, dense fog, the terrible roar caused by the falling of a large mass of water from a great height and the curious effect of boiling water at the foot of the falls -- and you will have a faint idea of the picture.
           
​We would have remained there perhaps till sunset in ecstasy over this most beautiful view entrancing us, were it not for our men who pressed by hunger and evidently not so sensible to beauty of this kind, reminded us that we had yet to make more than twelve miles before dinner, and that we are already very late.  We returned to our horses two miles below, crossed the Mohawk, and rode along a highway to Saratoga.  We dined in a place called the Half-Moon where the junction of the Mohawk and the Hudson forms something like a half-moon.  I will not tell you of the bad roads we encountered.  The night overtook us as we were leaving the Half-Moon, and we forded several large creeks in darkness and without a leader, running a chance of drowning; at last a redeeming light showed us our inn.  Our horses exerted their remaining strength at the sight of this good star and soon brought us to a house more comfortable than we could expect.  A Captain of the militia was the owner of this inn.  His family consisted of his wife, about thirty years of age, and of a beautiful daughter of fifteen or sixteen.  A baby eight months old rested peacefully in the middle of a room where the whole family slept.

Scow Sloop LITTLE MARTHA
 
African Americans played a vital role both before and after slavery as skilled captains and boatmen on the Hudson River. Built circa 1870 to carry lumber, Little Martha was captained by African American Clint Williams and his two brothers. They were described by sloop historians Collyer and Verplank as “capital boatmen.”  The sloop was owned by William Bull Millard of the Millard Lumber Co. and operated principally between Chelsea, Dutchess Junction, Marlboro, Milton, Barnegat and Poughkeepsie. She was named for the builder’s daughter, Martha Hyer Millard.
 
Scow sloops and schooners were more easily and inexpensively built than their fully-molded counterparts. The shallow draft boats were surprisingly good sailers and appeared on the Hudson River, Lake Champlain, the Great Lakes and San Francisco Bay where they remained in use well into the 20th century.

Earlier this month we profiled the Mayflower II for Sail Freighter Friday. So we thought we'd share a few British Pathe newsreels of this momentous occasion. We'll start with this short newsreel of her under sail, arriving in New York in 1957:

Built between 1955 and 1957 in England the Mayflower II sailed across the Atlantic in 1957 and was welcomed to New York Harbor in June of that year. British Pathe also did this slightly longer account of her arrival:

Of particular note is the U.S. Navy blimp flying overhead and the harbor fireboats blasting their hoses and turrets to welcome Mayflower II to New York. 

To learn more about the Mayflower II's voyage across the ocean in 1957, check out this short documentary film, which features captain Alan Villiers, who shepherded the square-rigged ship across the Atlantic. 

In 2020, a young sailor who was aboard the Mayflower II on her transatlantic journey recounted his experience for the Associated Press. He took a color film camera along and shared some of his footage below.

To visit the Mayflower II in person (and to learn more accurate history about the original Pilgrims), visit plimoth.org. ​

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In 1964, New York hosted the World's Fair. The theme was "Peace Though Understanding."  As part of the festivities, an unusual sight was to be seen in New York Harbor that summer - a sight likely not seen for at least a few decades (although probably less time than most spectators would expect) - a gathering of large square-rigged vessels from all over the world. 

Operation Sail - also known as OpSail - was founded as a non-profit in 1961 and coordinates international sailing events centered around promoting goodwill and cooperation between nations as well as celebrating maritime history and sail training efforts around the world. The 1964 World's Fair was OpSail's inaugural event. On July 14, 1964, a parade of some of the world's last windjammers took place through New York Harbor. British Pathe covered the event: 

"Gathering of Great Ships" by Anthony Anable, Jr. 
The Jan-June, 1964 issue of Boating magazine included the following article describing the origins and plans for the 1964 OpSail:

On July 14th, if the wind is fair, New York Harbor will be treated to a sight not seen in over half a century; a fleet of square-rigged ships slipping in under thousands of square feet of sail. As they pick up their moorings in the river, they will be completing a history-making voyage that for most of them began in Lisbon six weeks ago. "Operation Sail" will be the largest rendezvous of square-riggers - now mostly maritime training vessels - assembled in any port in modern times.

As of this writing, 13 countries will send some 25 sailing craft to participate in "Operation Sail," and by the time July 14th - the rendezvous date - rolls around it is hoped that the latter figure will be doubled. While the fleet will consist of all manner of ships, boats and yachts, the most spectacular sight will be ten, or more, full-rigged ships, barks, brigantines and topsail schooners towering above their smaller sisters as they move up the river.

Nations sending vessels are, in alphabetical order: Argentina, the full-rigged ship Libertad and the yacht Fortuna; Canada, the privately-owned brigantine St. Lawrence II; Chile, the four-masted schooner Esmerelda; Republic of China (no training ship, but a contingent of midshipmen and a 70-foot junk from San Francisco); Denmark, the bark Danmark; Dominican Republic, the bark Patria; Germany, the bark Gorch Fock; Great Britain, (two yachts, as yet unspecified); and Italy, the yawl Corsaro II. Also Japan, a motor training ship; Norway, either one or all of the Christian Radich, the Sorlandet and the Staatsraad Lemkuhl, all full-rigged ships; Panama, the three-masted schooner Wandia; Portugal, the full-rigged ship Sagres; and Spain, the four-masted schooner Juan Sebastian de Elcano.

Undecided as of this writing are Sweden's Albatross; Poland's three-masted schooner Iskra; Romania's bark Mircea; and Nova Scotia's Bluenose II, a replica of the original fisherman owned by Col. Victor deB. Oland. 

The United States will be represented by the bark Eagle from the Coast Guard Academy, which will be the host ship; the Icefire and Mariner from the Merchant Marine Academy; Freedom and Royono from the Naval Academy; the brigantine Tabor Boy from Tabor Academy, Marion, Mass.; and the bark Joseph Conrad and the schooners L. A. Dunston and Brilliant from Mystic Seaport, Mystic, Conn.

Operation Sail grew from one man's dream
Nils Hansell, an ardent yachtsman and Art Director of the IBM Journal of Research and Development, was among an admiring crowd gazing at the Coast Guard's stately bark Eagle lying along a New York City dock in the early spring of 1960. He wondered to himself what it would be like if most, if not all, of the square-riggers in the world were to convene in New York Harbor and then participate in the ceremonies to be held in the city and at the grounds of the World's Fair.

Contronted with Nils' idea, the Coast Guard and the State Department were among the first to endorse the proposal. An "Operation Sail" committee was formed and included Hansell, Frank O. Braynard, Director of Information for Moran Towing and Transportation Co., and Commodore John S. Baylis, former Superintendent of the New York State Maritime College and a retired Coast Guard officer. General Chairman of "Operation Sail" is John J. Bergen, Rear Admiral USNR (Ret.); Chairman of the Executive Committee is the well-known yachtsman Walter S. Gubelmann.

Further endorsement came from many sources including New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller, who sent out invitations to more than 20 countries requesting participation; New York Senator Jacob K. Javits; New York City Mayor Robert F. Wagner; General Dwight D. Eisenhower; Capt. Alan Villiers, skipper of Mayflower II; Edouard A. Stackpole, Curator of Mystic Seaport; and Prince Philip of England. Also endorsing "Operation Sail" are the federally-sponsored People-to-People Program; the Sail Training Association of London; and most recently, the late President John F. Kennedy. 

Impressive as are these, and other endorsements, the success of "Operation Sail" will be due to the efforts of Braynard, Baylis and Hansell, all of whom have given freely of their time and money to arrange the whole program.

A trans-Atlantic race will begin many events
The program will begin on June 5th with a race from Lisbon, Portugal to Bermuda. Sponsored by the Sail Training Association, there will be four classes of vessels competing; Class Ia for square-rigged vessels of 500 tons and over; Class Ib for square-rigged vessels between 50-499 tons; Class II for fore-and-aft rigged vessels of 50 tons and over; and Class III for fore-and-aft rigged vessels under 50 tons and over 30 feet on the waterline.

Those ships participating in the race will convene with others at Bermuda and will embark in company for New York City, where they are expected to arrive on July 12th. They will lie at anchor off Graves End for two days, until the fleet is complete, and on July 14th will set sail and head out to sea for about 10 miles for the benefit of press photographers and the huge spectator fleet which is expected to cluster about the windjammers. The flotilla will then come about, make for the Narrows, and will enter New York Harbor and the Hudson River. Whether they will be able to sail up the river is anybody's guess at the moment, but if a fair wind fails to materialize the ships will power, or be towed, along the parade route.

Upon making fast to moorings assigned to them, all hands will take up review positions on deck and the yardarms as the Reviewing Vessel proceeds along the formation. Although not yet assigned, either the Navy's Enterprise, the country's newest carrier, or Mystic Seaport's Joseph Conrad, the maritime museum's famed square-rigger, may be the Reviewing Vessel. Whichever wins the honor, she will have an impressive company of dignitaries striding her decks, including the President of the United States, the Governor of the State of New York, the Mayor of New York City, several Ambassadors, distinguished guests, and reviewing officers. 

The second day of the planned ceremonies will see the crews of the various ships assembling at the Battery with escort contingents from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy and/or the New York State Maritime College. Thus formed, the cadets and their escorts will proceed under a ticker-tape parade to New York's City Hall for the Mayor's Reception.

Following the formalities, numerous events are planned throughout the week for officers and crew alike. A full-dress inspection of the ships is planned; a symposium for the officers and contests of seamanship for the crews will be held; and it is expected that television networks will program various national groups singing sea chanties. Receptions at the Merchant Marine Academy and various consulates are planned, as are such divertissements as longboat racing near the World's Fair Marina, soccer games between ships's [sic] crews, and sightseeing trips to Washington, D.C., the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., and Mystic Seaport.

The program will come to a close at the World's Fair grounds, where plaques, prizes and certificates will be presented. That evening an Operation Sail Grand Ball will be held at Madison Square Garden with the Naval Attaches as Honorary Patrons. The following day the cadets will set sail and the ships will disperse for their various home ports. 

The project is a tribute to training under sail
In this modern age of nuclear power and Polaris missiles, it may seem odd that so many nations train their naval and merchant marine cadets under sail. However, such training has many advantages, not the least of which is learning a respect for the sea - which makes equal demands of a huge carrier or a brigantine. There is no better way to gain an intimate knowledge of these natural forces than to serve in sail.

As Nils Hansell - whose feeling for the sea resulted in the project - put it:

"Operation Sail in New York excites the imagination of so many of us. Sailing ships of all kinds, large and small and fore-and-aft and square-rigged, will crowd the harbor for a sight that few shall have seen before, and one that may never come again.

"But for all the excitement of the many masts and sails, the show will be meaningful, for these are sail training ships manned by seamen trainees. Their work aboard is not easy. Discipline is firm. They will have sailed from distant shores, on foul winds probably as much as fair or, sometimes, no winds at all.

"Theirs should prove an exciting demonstration of training under sail as a way for character building of young men in today's world."

This, then, is "Operation Sail." Not only a demonstration of training under sail, but a reaffirmation of the fact that great sailing ships still span the seven seas.

The following tall ships ultimately participated in the 1964 Operation Sail:

• Argentina, Libertad
• Canada, Bluenose II
• Canada, St. Lawrence II
• Chile, Esmeralda
• Denmark, Danmark
• Dominican Republic, Patria
• Germany, Gorch Fock
• Germany, Peter von Danzig
• Great Britain, Merlin
• Great Britain, Tawau
• Indonesia, Dewarutji
• Italy, Corsaro II
• Norway, Christian Radich
• Norway, Sørlandet
• Norway, Statsraad Lehmkuhl
• Panama, Wandia
• Poland, Iskra
• Portugal, Sagres
• Romania, Mircea
• Spain, Juan Sebastián de Elcano
• Sweden, Albatross
• United States, Eagle

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This one's for the film buffs AND the sailing buffs! Today's Media Monday post features the 1958 film Windjammer: The Voyage of the Christian Radich. Filmed aboard the Norwegian three-masted bark Christian Radich, "Windjammer" was filmed in the groundbreaking (and short-lived) Cinemiracle wide screen process. Long before IMAX, Cinemiracle was a strikingly immersive film experience for 1958, and Windjammer was the only feature-length film ever produced by this process.

Based on a book written by Allan J. Villiers, the film follows a crew of young Norwegian men on a sail training mission aboard the Christian Radich. The film covers a journey of 17,500 nautical miles from Norway to Madiera, the Dutch West Indies, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston before heading back to Oslo across the North Atlantic and around Scotland. Although the young crew of the vessel (some as young as 14) are numerous, the storyline focuses on only a few, including one boy training to be a concert pianist. The entire film runs about 2 hours and 30 minutes (including prologue and intermission). 

It premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood April 8, 1958, and on April 9, 1958 premiered at the Roxy Theater in New York City on a curved, 40 foot high by 100 foot long screen. It needed three film projectors to synchronize the wind screen format. The screen size and curve (nearly identical to Cinerama) made the viewer feel as if they were immersed in the film. And as you'll see below, the film started out in standard format, the screen flanked by theater curtains, which were then drawn back to expose the enormous wide screen. 

The film was later converted to Cinerama, which required only one projector, not three. It went on to be nominated for several awards, and was so popular in Norway that in 1959 it was seen in Oslo more times than there were people in city. You can watch the restored trailer below.

No Cinemiracle or Cinerama theaters survive today, but the Christian Radich does. Built in 1937 specifically as a sail training vessel for Norway, she remained at that post until the 1990s. Today, she is operated as a private vessel that offers sightseeing tours of coastal Norway and sail training for young people - as she originally intended. 

​Windjammer is available for streaming purchase on Amazon Prime. If you want to learn more about Windjammer, including the technical process, screenings, interviews with cast and crew, etc., visit here. 

And if you're curious about historic sailing vessels, be sure to check out our upcoming 2022 exhibit, "A New Age of Sail: The History and Future of Sail Freight on the Hudson River," Opening May 1, 2022!

​​​If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!​

Newburgh was the shipbuilding center of the mid-Hudson for well over a century and a half. Although the earliest accomplishments of local shipwrights are clouded by the passage of time, sailing vessels were constructed during the colonial days by such men as George Gardner, Jason Rogers, Richard Hill and William Seymour along the village’s waterfront, which extended approximately from the foot of present day Washington Street north to South Street.
 
Strategically well placed at the southernmost point before one entered the Hudson Highlands, Newburgh became the river transportation center, serving the inland towns and villages to the north and west. The Highlands form a magnificent scenic delight in the mid-Hudson region, but in the pre-railroad era they were decidedly unfriendly to the movement of goods and people. In short, the Hudson became a marine highway which connected upstate regions to the Metropolis at its mouth. A significant freighting business therefore developed at Newburgh, and, in addition, the village became one of the region’s bases for the whaling industry. Both of these undertakings required sailing vessels, and with forests of suitable timber nearby, the local shipbuilders were well placed to support the burgeoning commerce on the river.

​Much of this changed with the introduction of the steamboat in the summer of 1807, when Robert Fulton’s North River Steamboat made her first trip to Albany. It was inevitable that steam should be adopted almost universally on America’s waterways. The earliest steamboat built at Newburgh is reputed to have been the side-wheel ferry Gold Hunter, constructed in 1836 for the ferry between Newburgh and Fishkill Landing. We are not certain of the identity of her builder, but her appearance coincided with the start of local shipbuilding by the dynasty which dominated that industry for 110 years - Thomas S. Marvel; his son of the same name; and his grandson, Harry A. Marvel.
 
The shipbuilding activities of these three generations of the Marvel family encompassed the period from 1836 until 1946, when Harry Marvel retired from business. Although their activity was not continuous throughout this period, the reputations of these men as master shipbuilders survived the periodic and all too frequent ups and downs that have always plagued this industry.
 
The senior Thomas Marvel, born in Newport, Rhode Island in 1808, served his apprenticeship as a shipwright with Isaac Webb, a well-known shipbuilder in New York. Around 1836, he moved to Newburgh and commenced building small wooden sailing vessels, sloops, schooners and the occasional brig or half-brig, near the foot of Little Ann Street, later moving to the foot of Kemp Street (no longer in existence). Among the vessels he built was a Hudson River sloop launched in the spring of 1847 for Hiram Travis, of Peekskill. Travis elected to name his vessel Thomas S. Marvel, a name she carried at least until she was converted to a barge in 1890.
 
An unidentified 160-foot steamboat was built at the Marvel yard in 1853. She was described by the local press as a “new and splendid propeller built for parties in New York.” Possibly the first steamboat built by Thomas Marvel, this vessel was important for another reason- she was propelled by a double-cylinder oscillating engine built on the Wolff, or high-and-low pressure principle. Ernest Wolff had patented his design in 1834, utilizing the multiple expansion of steam to improve the efficiency of the engine. The Wolff engine was a rudimentary forerunner of the compound engine, which did not appear for another two decades.
 
The younger Thomas joined his father in 1847, at the age of 13. The young man, who was born in 1834 at New York, was entrusted with building a steamboat hull in 1854. This was a classic case of on-the-job training, for the boat was entirely young Tom’s responsibility. She is believed to have been Mohawk Chief, for service on the eastern end of the Erie Canal. The 85-3/95 ton Mohawk Chief, 86 feet in length, was described in her first enrollment document as a “square-sterner steam propeller, round tuck, no galleries and no figurehead.” The dry, archaic language of vessel documentation was hardly accurate, for her builder’s half model, still in existence, proves that she was a handsomely crafted little ship with a graceful bow and fine lines aft.
 
The elder Thomas Marvel retired from shipbuilding at Newburgh sometime around 1860. He later built some additional vessels elsewhere, including the schooner Amos Briggs at Cornwall. He may have commanded sailing vessels on the river in his later years, for he was referred to from time to time as “Captain Marvel.”
 
By the mid-1850s, the younger Thomas Marvel had become a thoroughly professional shipwright, and undertook the management of the yard’s operation, at first as the sole owner and later in partnership with George F. Riley, a local shipwright. The partnership continued until Marvel volunteered for service in the Union Army almost immediately after the start of the Civil War in April 1861. He served as Captain of Company A of the 56th Regiment until he was mustered out due to illness in August 1862.
 
He returned to Newburgh, but shortly afterwards moved to Port Richmond, Staten Island, where he built sailing vessels and at least one steamboat. A two-year period in the late 1860s saw him constructing sailing craft on the Choptank River at Denton, Maryland, after which he returned to Port Richmond.
 
During the Civil War and for a few years afterwards, George Riley continued a modest shipbuilding business at Newburgh, later with Adam Bulman as a partner. They went their separate ways in the late 1860s, and Bulman teamed with Joel M. Brown in 1871, doing business as Bulman & Brown. For the next eight years, they built ships in a yard south of the foot of Washington Street, where they turned out tugs, schooners and barges. Their output of tugs consisted of James Bigler, Manhattan, A.C. Cheney and George Garlick, and their most prominent sailing vessels were the schooners Peter C. Schultz (332 tons) and Henry P. Havens (300 tons), both launched in 1874.
 
Another source of business was the brick-making industry, which required deck barges to move its products to the New York market. Nearly all of 19th century New York City was built of Hudson River brick, and the brick yards on both shores of Newburgh Bay contributed to this enormous undertaking. In 1872 alone, Bulman & Brown built at least five brick barges for various local manufacturers.
 
Vessel repair went hand in hand with construction. Bulman & Brown built and operated what might have been the first floating dry dock at Newburgh. In 1879, the firm moved to Jersey City, New Jersey, and Newburgh lost a valuable asset. This prompted Homer Ramsdell, the local entrepreneurial steamboat owner, to finance construction of a marine railway located at the foot of South William Street. Ramsdell, whose interests included the ferry to Fishkill Landing and the Newburgh and New York Railroad, as well as his line of steamboats to New York, wanted to be sure that his fleet could be hauled out and repaired locally without the need for a trip to a New York repair yard.
 
The mid-1870s, which marked the end of the wooden ship era at Newburgh and the start of the age of iron and steel, brings us to the close of this portion of the sketch of the area’s shipbuilding. From this time onward, the local scene would change radically. The firm of Ward, Stanton & Company, successors to Stanton & Mallery, a local manufacturer of machinery for sugar mills and other shoreside activities, entered shipbuilding and persuaded Thomas S. Marvel to join the company in 1877 to manage its shipyard. Newburgh, which had been incorporated as a city in 1865, was about to enter the major leagues in ship construction.

Editor's Note: This article was originally written by William duBarry Thomas and  published in the 2000 Pilot Log. Thank you to Hudson River Maritime Museum volunteer Adam Kaplan for transcribing the article.

Northwest Passage is the title track of a 1981 album by Stan Rogers. "Northwest Passage" compares the singer's own travels across the prairie provinces to the exploratory adventures of Sir John Franklin, Alexander Mackenzie, David Thompson, and Henry Kelsey.

Stanley Allison Rogers (November 29, 1949 – June 2, 1983) was a Canadian folk musician and songwriter. Rogers was noted for his rich, baritone voice and his traditional-sounding songs which were frequently inspired by Canadian history and the daily lives of working people, especially those from the fishing villages of the Maritime provinces and, later, the farms of the Canadian prairies and Great Lakes.[1] Rogers died in a fire aboard Air Canada Flight 797 on the ground at the Greater Cincinnati Airport at the age of 33.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Rogers
This performance  by The Longest Johns & El Pony Pisador is presented by  Caraway Studios.  El Pony Pisador are an incredible group of musicians from Barcelona. They play a fantastic combination of Sea Shanties and Irish music in a unique and spellbinding style. https://www.facebook.com/elponypisado... The Longest Johns are a fantastic group of folk singers from Bristol. Rooting their elaborate harmonies in strong bass tones with elegant highs, their sound is truly captivating and original. https://www.thelongestjohns.com

The Northwest Passage - Lyrics

Westward from the Davis Strait
'Tis there 'twas said to lie
The sea route to the Orient
For which so many died
Seeking gold and glory,
Leaving weathered, broken bones
And a long-forgotten lonely cairn of stones

Ah, for just one time
I would take the Northwest Passage
To find the hand of Franklin
Reaching for the Beaufort Sea
Tracing one warm line
Through a land so wide and savage
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea

Three centuries thereafter
I take passage overland
In the footsteps of brave Kelsey
Where his "sea of flowers" began
Watching cities rise before me
Then behind me sink again
This tardiest explorer
Driving hard across the plain

Ah, for just one time
I would take the Northwest Passage
To find the hand of Franklin
Reaching for the Beaufort Sea
Tracing one warm line
Through a land so wide and savage
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea

And through the night, behind the wheel
The mileage clicking west
I think upon Mackenzie,
David Thompson and the rest
Who cracked the mountain ramparts
And did show a path for me
To race the roaring Fraser to the sea

Ah, for just one time
I would take the Northwest Passage
To find the hand of Franklin
Reaching for the Beaufort Sea
Tracing one warm line
Through a land so wide and savage
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea

How then am I so different
From the first men through this way?
Like them, I left a settled life
I threw it all away
To seek a Northwest Passage
At the call of many men
To find there but the road back home again

Ah, for just one time
I would take the Northwest Passage
To find the hand of Franklin
Reaching for the Beaufort Sea
Tracing one warm line
Through a land so wide and savage
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea.
​